ICGN Press Release

• Global governance opinion leaders’ annual meeting • Top line-up of international speakers including Oxley, McCreevy, Cadbury, Millstein • Delegates from over 30 countries, including investors representing $10 trillion, business leaders, trade unions and policy makers

London, 20th June 2005 - The leading players in the international corporate governance debate are meeting in London next month for a Global Summit. The annual meeting of the International Corporate Governance Network, the recognised clearing house for emerging governance issues, is bringing together key governance protagonists to address critical governance issues and map out a future course of action.

Anne Simpson, ICGN Executive Director, said: “This is the pre-eminent governance meeting internationally, at which thought leaders will take stock of recent developments and will tackle the critical issues for the future, including balancing regulation and market discipline across borders, investor governance, globalisation and development, and active share ownership.

It is a vitally important gathering – because of its global reach – but also because for the first time we are bringing all of the key players to the table. We want to move from talk to action, there is plenty of unfinished business to tackle. Getting corporate governance right matters for not just for shareholders, but everyone dependent upon companies for employment, services and contribution to the public purse. This is where private interest meets the public good.”

The outstanding speaker line-up includes representatives of the investor, corporate, labour, regulatory and standard setting communities, plus leading international agencies including the World Bank Group, with representatives from every region, including Europe, North America, Asia, and major emerging markets, including Brazil, China, South Africa and Russia.

The meeting will be opened by the founding fathers of corporate governance – Adrian Cadbury and Ira Millstein – who will take stock of progress to date, and outline their priorities for reform going forward.

Key note addresses will be given by Congressman Oxley, one of the architects of the Sarbanes Oxley Act, EU Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, responsible for the European Internal Market and corporate governance action plan and OECD Secretary General Don Johnston, responsible for the international benchmark principles in corporate governance.

The investor perspective will be put forward by the world’s leading pension funds – TIAA-Cref, ABP, UniSuper, AP3, Railpen, OTPP and CalPERS – and institutional investors – Axa, BGI, and AFG-ASFFI. Senior figures from the business community including chairmen, vice presidents and corporate secretaries from Motorola, Prudential, Reuters, Siemens, BP and Astellas Pharma will present the corporate view. Regulatory and standard setting bodies represented include the FRC, PCAOB, the World Bank Group and the London and Johannesburg stock exchanges. Senior figures in the international trade union movement, the accounting and legal professions will also be speaking, including Ken Georgetti, President Canadian Labour Congress, Canada and Chair, Joint ICFTU/GUF/TUAC Committee on Workers' Capital
and former Justice Norman Veasey, speaking for the American Bar Association.

The annual ICGN Award will, this year, be presented by the Chief Justice of Delaware, Myron Steele, at the Gala dinner in the City of London’s historic Guildhall. The event will be opened by the Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson MP, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry.

Alastair Ross Goobey, ICGN Chairman, said: “I am delighted that such a distinguished group of speakers are coming together in London to progress the governance debate. This, combined with the international experience and expertise of the delegates, makes the ICGN event unique. The pursuit of trust in company governance and the lower cost of capital that will result from that trust is a real benefit to companies and the world economy. We hope that our conference will assist in developing this agenda.”

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Press and broadcast facilities will be allocated in advance. If you or a colleague wish to attend, or arrange interviews with speakers and delegates, please contact: Andy Fleming, Press Officer, Conference Secretariat, andy.fleming@napf.co.uk, 020 7808 1312,

For further information on the conference itself, please contact: Anne Simpson, Executive Director, ICGN at execdirector@icgn.orgMobile: + 44 (0) 784 104 0317

Notes to editors

1. The ICGN is the leading investor-led authority on corporate governance. Its mission is to further governance best practice and to provide a network for the exchange of views and information about corporate governance issues internationally. ICGN’s members are drawn from all sides of the corporate governance community in over 30 countries.

2. To coincide with the ICGN Conference, several participating organisations will be holding special meetings – including the World Bank, OECD, State of Delaware, The Conference Board and Workers of the World (international trade unions).

3. A full list of speakers and the conference programme are available on the ICGN website at www.icgn.org