Speakers
Helen Alexander, President, CBI
Helen Anne Alexander CBE was educated at St Paul's Girls' School, where she is now deputy chair of the Governors and chair of the Education Committee.
She obtained an MA from Hertford College, Oxford and became an Honorary Fellow in 2002. She obtained an MBA from INSEAD in 1984 and is currently chair of the Business Advisory Council of the Said Business School, Oxford University.
Helen began her publishing career at Gerald Duckworth and Faber & Faber.
She moved to The Economist in 1985 as marketing manager. She became managing director of The Economist Intelligence Unit in 1993 and in 1997 became chief executive of The Economist Group.
Helen was chief executive for 11 years until she stepped down in June 2008. She was awarded a CBE for services to publishing in 2004.
In addition to her experience at the helm of an international business, Helen also has extensive board experience across a range of sectors. She was a non-executive director at Northern Foods plc (1994-2002) and at BT plc (1998-2002).
She is currently non-executive director and chair of the remuneration committee at Centrica plc (2003) and Rolls-Royce Group plc (2007).
In 2008, Helen became vice-president of the CBI and senior adviser to Bain Capital. Helen is also senior Trustee of the Tate Gallery.
In 2009 she became president of the CBI and joined the Board of the Port of London Authority.
David Cameron, MP
David was elected leader of the Conservative Party in December 2005, on a mandate to change the party and change the country. Before he was elected MP for Witney in 2001, he worked as a special adviser in government, first to the chancellor of the Exchequer and then to the home secretary, and spent seven years at Carlton Communications.
Kenneth Clarke was elected a member of parliament for the constituency of Rushcliffe in 1970.
With the conservative general election win of 1979 he was appointed Minister for Transport; this was the start of 18 years in government, where he served under both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. Other positions he has held include: Minister of Health 1982-85; Chancellor, Duchy of Lancaster and Minister of Trade and Industry 1987 - 88; Home Secretary 1992-93 and Chancellor of the Exchequer 1993-97.
After some years as a back bencher, he was appointed Shadow Secretary of State for Business in January 2009. Kenneth is a graduate of Cambridge University and was appointed a QC in 1980.
Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP, Leader of the Liberal Democrats
Nick Clegg, MP for Sheffield Hallam, was elected leader of the Liberal Democrats in December 2007. Born in 1967 he studied at three universities: Cambridge, Minnesota and College D'Europe.
Nick worked as a development aid and trade expert in the European Union, including managing aid projects in the poorest parts of the former Soviet Union and overseeing the EU's side in negotiations for China and Russia to join the World Trade Organisation. He was elected as a member of the European Parliament in 1999, where he became spokesman on Trade and Industry for the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. He was a co-founder of the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform, which argued for more transparency and accountability in the European Parliament.
Nick was elected as MP for Sheffield Hallam in 2005 and was appointed Europe spokesman, acting as deputy to Sir Menzies Campbell. When Campbell won the 2006 leadership election, he appointed Nick as Shadow Home Secretary. In 2007 he launched a major anti-crime campaign and survey with Ming Campbell. Nick is a prolific author, journalist and pamphleteer, and has been a part-time lecturer at Sheffield University and a guest lecturer at Cambridge. He is a founding member of the cross-party Campaign for Parliamentary Reform.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
Dominique Strauss-Kahn became the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on 1 November 2007. Mr. Strauss-Kahn indicated that he will press ahead with reform of the 186-member country institution that helps oversee the global economy.
Prior to taking up his position at the IMF, Mr. Strauss-Kahn was a member of the French National Assembly and Professor of Economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris. From 2001 to 2007, he was re-elected three times to the National Assembly, and in 2006, he ran for the Socialist Party's nomination for the French presidential election. In 2000 and 2001, he taught economics at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and was named visiting professor at Stanford University. He was also a personal advisor to the Secretary General of the OECD.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn served as Minister of Economy, Finance and Industry of France from June 1997 to November 1999. In this capacity, he managed the launch of the Euro. He also represented France on the Board of Governors of a number of international financial institutions, including the IMF.
Mr. Strauss-Kahn holds a PhD in economics from the University of Paris. He also graduated in law, in business administration, in political studies, and in statistics. As an academic, his research fields include household saving behaviour, public finance, and social policy.
Stephanie Flanders, Economics Editor, BBC
In October 2002 Stephanie became the economics editor for Newsnight, progressing to BBC's economics editor in April 2008.
Stephanie wrote leaders and economics columns for the FT and worked as an economist for the Institute for Fiscal Studies and London Business School. She then moved to the US where between 1997 -2001 she was a speechwriter and advisor to the US Treasury Secretary, Larry Summers. During this time Stephanie was involved in the management of the emerging market crises of the late 1990's.
Stephanie has also worked as a reporter for the New York Times and as principal editor of the UN's 2002 Human Development Report.
Stephen Hester, Group Chief Executive, RBS Group
Stephen Hester became Chief Executive Officer of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group in November 2008 having been appointed non-executive director in October. Before joining RBS Stephen was Chief Executive of The British Land Company. He joined British Land in 2004 from Abbey National plc where he was Chief Operating Officer, having joined as Chief Financial Officer in May 2002.
For the previous 19 years he was at Credit Suisse First Boston, rising through various appointments to become Co-head of European M&A and Investment Banking, then Chief Financial Officer and then Global Head of the Fixed Income Division based in both New York and London.
In February 2008, he was appointed non-executive deputy chairman of Northern Rock Plc by the UK Treasury on its nationalisation, a position he relinquished in October 2008.
Stephen has a first class degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University. He is also a trustee of The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Foundation.
Christopher Rajendran Hyman, Chief Executive, Serco Group
Christopher Hyman was appointed Chief Executive of Serco Group plc in 2002. He is also chairman of the Prince of Wales' charity In Kind Direct, and a non-executive director for Habitat for Humanity and Africa Foundation. Earlier this year Christopher was appointed National Ambassador by the Prince of Wales for Business in the Community. He is also a member of the UK Government's Honours Advisory Committee for Economy and UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
Christopher graduated from Natal University in Durban, South Africa and qualified as a chartered accountant, serving with Arthur Andersen and Ernst & Young before joining Serco in 1994 as the European Finance Director. He was appointed Group Company Secretary in 1996, Corporate Finance Director in 1997 and Group Finance Director in April 1999. He is responsible for setting the vision and strategy of the Group.
Jeffrey B Kindler, Chief Executive Officer, Pfizer Inc
Jeff Kindler is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pfizer, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company. Prior to his appointment as CEO and election to the Board of Directors in 2006, he was Vice Chairman and General Counsel, where he led Pfizer's worldwide legal, compliance, communications, government relations, corporate citizenship, policy development and global security groups.
He joined Pfizer in 2002 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, with responsibility for Pfizer's Legal Division. He was named Vice Chairman in 2005, joining the company's four-person Executive Committee and assuming responsibility for Pfizer's Corporate Affairs Division.
Jeff Kindler earned his BA in 1977 from Tufts University summa cum laude, and his JD in 1980 from Harvard magna cum laude, where he was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. He began his legal career as an attorney at the Federal Communications Commission. He then served as law clerk to Judge David L. Bazelon of the U.S. Court of Appeals of the D.C. Circuit and later served as law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.
He joined the law firm of Williams & Connolly, became a Partner there, and then moved to General Electric as Vice President of Litigation and Legal Policy. He next joined McDonald's Corporation as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, responsible for both legal and corporate affairs. At McDonald's, he established a pro bono legal services program that has become a model for many corporations and law firms.
Richard Lambert, Director-General, CBI
Richard Lambert joined the Financial Times in 1966. He edited the Lex column in the 1970s, becoming financial editor in 1979. In 1982 he moved to New York as the Bureau Chief, returning to the UK a year later as Deputy Editor. He became Editor in 1991 and during his 10 years in this role launched the US version of the newspaper.
From August 2002 Richard spent a semester at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He was subsequently asked to write the Lambert Review of Business-University Collaboration.
A member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee from Spring 2003 until Spring 2006, Richard took up the post of Director-General of the CBI in July 2006.
Sir Stuart Rose, Chairman, Marks and Spencer
Appointed in May 2004. Age 59. Stuart became Executive Chairman on 1 June 2008. He is a non-executive director of Land Securities plc and Chairman of Business in the Community. Stuart began his career in retail at Marks & Spencer in 1972 before going on to the Burton Group in 1989. He left the Group following the demerger in 1997.
Stuart was Chief Executive of Argos plc in 1998 and later became Chief Executive of Booker plc. Before rejoining Marks & Spencer as Chief Executive in 2004 he was Chief Executive of Arcadia Group plc from 2000 until 2002. Stuart was knighted in the New Year Honours List this year, for his services to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility.
Lord Adair Turner, Chairman of FSA
Adair Turner was appointed FSA Chairman in September 2008, and has combined careers in business, public policy and academia.
In January 2008 he was appointed Chairman of the Climate Change Committee, and more recently, Chairman of the FSA. Lord Turner is also Chairman of the Overseas Development Institute. He is a Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and at Cass Business School, City University.
He became a cross-bench member of the House of Lords in 2005. He was Chairman of the Pensions Commission from 2003 - 2006, and of the Low Pay Commission from 2002 - 2006.
Until September 2008 Lord Turner was a non-executive Director at Standard Chartered Bank; from 2000-2006 he was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe, and from 1995-99, Director General of the Confederation of British Industry. Prior to that, between 1992 and 1995, he built the McKinsey's practice in Eastern Europe and Russia as a Director.
He is a trustee of Save the Children UK, and has been a trustee of WWF UK.
