BIAC Chairman Leads Annual Business Visit to the OECD
On April 16, Charles P. Heeter, Jr., a USCIB board member and chairman of BIAC, the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD, part of USCIB’s global network, led the fourth annual business visit to the OECD’s headquarters in Paris. Executives affiliated with USCIB and several other business groups had the opportunity for off-the-record exchanges with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría and other senior officials to discuss OECD’s priorities and its role in coordinating economic policies among its 34 member states and other nations.
Mr. Heeter, a principal with Deloitte LLP, was instrumental in organizing the visit. Along with BIAC and USCIB, he enlisted support and participation from the TransAtlantic Business Dialogue, the Washington International Business Council and the Geneva-based Council for Multilateral Business Diplomacy.
SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT
In addition to Mr. Gurría, the executives met with OECD Deputy Secretary Generals Richard Boucher and Pier Carlo Padoan
(who also serves as the OECD’s chief economist), Chief of Staff Gabriela Ramos (who is the OECD’s G20 sherpa), and a number of OECD directors and division chiefs. Swedish Ambassador to the OECD Anders Ahnlid hosted a dinner in honor of the Business delegation.
Some two dozen business representatives took part in the visit, including executive from USCIB member companies Deloitte, DuPont, Microsoft, Nestle, Pfizer, Siemens, Unilever and the law firm Wiley Rein. BIAC and USCIB staff were also a strong presence during the visit, with BIAC Secretary General Tadahiro Asami and USCIB Vice President Shaun Donnelly present throughout and co-hosting another dinner for participants.
The visit gave companies first-hand insight into the OECD, its structure and operations, and its work in important areas like financial regulation, international investment policy, the G20 process, anti-corruption Initiatives, global trade, health policy, and labor and social Issues. It also served as an excellent introduction to the BIAC process, through which business officially consults with the OECD and its member governments on an ongoing basis.
