Shanghai, 6 NOV 2007 – PricewaterhouseCoopers International Chief Executive Officer Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr is honoured to be appointed as the new Chairman of the International Business Leaders’ Advisory Council (IBLAC) for the Mayor of Shanghai. The Mayor and IBLAC bestow this important and prestigious accolade every two years on a distinguished business leader in recognition of their professional accomplishments, commitment to society and their potential to contribute to the future of the city of Shanghai. Mr DiPiazza’s appointment will cover 2008 and 2009, and will include the celebrations of the IBLAC’s 20th anniversary next year.
"I am honoured that I have been selected to chair the Mayor of Shanghai's IBLAC at a time when Shanghai is transforming itself into a leading international city. Multinational companies have extensive experience operating in cities around the world and I commend Shanghai leaders for tapping into this knowledge base," Sam DiPiazza said.
At the Council’s nineteenth annual meeting held in Shanghai on 28 October 2007, Mayor Han Zheng comprehensively briefed council members on the current state of the Shanghai economy and on recent developments in the city.
The theme of this year’s meeting was ‘Building a Resource-conserving and Environment-friendly City’. With this in mind, Mayor Han made it clear there is an urgent need for Shanghai to further strengthen its preservation policies and to speed up its steps towards becoming an energy-efficient and environmentally-friendly city. He said Shanghai will need to adjust its economic structure, and use economic, legal and technical measures to achieve this important goal. The government will also mobilise the public to become increasingly involved.
At the meeting, Mr DiPiazza highlighted the important role corporations played in working with the government to conserve and protect the environment. Leading global companies will be those that provide continually improving goods and services and reach new customers in ways that address the world's major challenges. Business, government and civil society must work together. Having visited Shanghai many times, Mr DiPiazza said Shanghai is making progress in the area of sustainability and carrying out many valuable preservation plans which have already produced positive results for the city and its people.
As the new IBLAC chairman, Mr. DiPiazza pledged to work in collaboration with other council members to ensure the IBLAC plays an even greater role in developing dialogue and exchange among leaders of Shanghai and established multinational companies to generate continued knowledge-sharing.
Note to Editors:
About IBLAC
IBLAC has discussed many topics during the past 19 meetings including reinvigoration of state-owned enterprises, financial services, planning for the 21st century, China's entry into the WTO, and Shanghai’s 2010 World EXPO. IBLAC will enter its 20th year in 2008 and the theme of next year's meeting is ‘Retrospect and Outlook – Shanghai in Globalisation’, focusing on various aspects of globalisation that are relevant to Shanghai.
The council has amongst its membership some of the world’s most dynamic and prominent business leaders, comprising 40 council members from different regions and industries. The mission of the council is to provide professional and timely advice to the leadership of Shanghai who aim to build the city into a global economic, financial, trade and shipping centre, and to raise international awareness of the exciting opportunities available in Shanghai.
About PricewaterhouseCoopers – Globally
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About PricewaterhouseCoopers – mainland China, Hong Kong, and Macau
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