WPP CEO receives Global Business Leadership award
29 Jun 2007
Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP was presented the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Leadership Award at a dinner held at Leeds Town Hall, attended by global business icons, environment and entertainment industry chieftains who had come together for the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum, as the flag-off event of the International Indian Film Academy Weekend in Yorkshire.
CEO of the global communications services group WPP, Sir Martin Sorrell was presented the honour by Habil Khorakiwalla, FICCI President and Lord Karan Billimoria, Chairman of the Indo-British Partnership Network and Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director of Idea Cellular. Sorrell was honoured in the presence of several international business delegations from India, UK, South Africa, Canada, New Zealand, Austria, Italy and Yorkshire.
In his acceptance speech, Sorrell outlined the WPP vision of building a global business; the use of the mergers and acquisition route, allowing companies to retain their identity and spirit even while exploring synergies across the group. He outlined trends in the communication industry and shared his innermost secrets.
The business leaders earlier met with policy makers and business leaders from India and the UK to share ideas, explore new synergies and build business partnerships that will be sustainable across borders with a view to developing the economies of India and UK.
The Global Business dinner was also addressed by Lord Karan Billimoria, CBE, DL, Chairman, IBPN, Chief Executive, Cobra Beer Ltd, Judith Donovan, Chair, Yorkshire Tourist Board, David Cameron, leader of the opposition (through a video message), and Sabbas Joseph, Director of the International Indian Film Academy.
Earlier that day, the FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum at Royal Armouries, featured headline thought leaders such as High Commissioner of India, Kamalesh Sharma, HRH Prince Charles through a special video message, Habil Khorakiwalla, President, FICCI and Chairman Wockhardt; India’s Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel; Richard Cabron, Minister of Sports, Amitabh Bachchan, Tom Riordan, CEO, Yorkshire Forward, Sanjeev Aga, MD, Idea Cellular, Andy Scott, Director, Confederation of British Industry, YK Modi, Chairman, Great Eastern Energy Corporation, Terry Hodgkinson, Chair, Yorkshire Forward and Barbara Stocking from Oxfam.
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The FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum was spearheaded by the IIFA in association with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), India’s apex business chamber and in the UK by the Indo British Partnership Network, led by Lord Karan Billimoria, the regional development authority, Yorkshire Forward, the CBI, the Indian High Commission and UKT&I.
The FICCI-IIFA Global Business Forum was one of the key events of the IIFA Weekend, which took place from 7th – 10th June 2007. The four-day extravaganza was a spectacular presentation of the best of Indian entertainment, business and culture which also included a celebrity charity cricket match, world premieres of Indian films, a film festival and the spectacular Idea IIFA Awardswhich were broadcast by STAR Television Network reaching out to a global audience in excess of 500 million viewers. The film promotions and presentations were uniquely powered by Eros International, India’s leading integrated media and entertainment company which has pioneered the creation of an international platform for Indian cinema over the last three decades.