IGD 2009 National Summit May 6-7

PUTTING ECONOMIC GROWTH AND OPPORTUNITY AT THE HEART OF U.S. FOREIGN AID, TRADE POLICY
~ Business Leaders, Government Officials Meet to Advance Strategies to Reduce Poverty ~

Washington, D.C. - On May 6 and 7, 2009, the Initiative for Global Development (IGD) will hold its National Summit in Washington, D.C., co-chaired by former U.S. Secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell. The Summit marks the second gathering of America's most prominent business leaders and policymakers, who will meet to advance a bold strategy to reduce global poverty. Now more than ever, addressing the inequity of a world in which almost half of the population lives in poverty is critical to ensure the future prosperity and security of us all.

At the Summit, business leaders will come together to advance specific public and private sector efforts that will significantly improve the lives of the world's poorest people. IGD will also launch a new program in collaboration with Dalberg Global Development Advisors called Frontier 100, which will connect frontier market CEOs from sectors with a high impact on poverty with CEOs of established global companies who want to engage in those markets.
These CEOs will benefit from exposure to each other's networks and will work together to leverage their companies' resources, not only to benefit their shareholders, but also to help lift people out of poverty. All members in the first group of frontier CEOs are from Africa; subsequent groups will come from other regions. Many of the frontier CEOs will attend the IGD National Summit.

Summit speakers include: Jeff Immelt, Chairman & CEO, General Electric; Neville Isdell, Former Chairman & CEO, The Coca-Cola Company; Terry McGraw, Chairman, President & CEO, The McGraw-Hill Companies; Farooq Kathwari, Chairman & CEO, Ethan Allen Interiors, Inc.; Sally Jewell, President & CEO, Recreational Equipment, Inc.; and Tim Solso, Chairman & CEO, Cummins, Inc.

Global poverty is at the root of many of the world's greatest challenges, and IGD believes that dramatically reducing it is one of the most powerful steps we can take in creating a better future. Trade alone cannot work. Aid alone is not enough. Private investment is critical but insufficient on its own. These efforts must work together to have real impact, and improved U.S. policies can bring them into better alignment to have an exponential effect on economic development and poverty reduction. Government and business leaders must also develop new partnership models and leverage the strengths of both the public and private sectors.

For more information, go to: http://www.igdleaders.org