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FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism 2005

9th June 2005

At a special ceremony at The Ritz Hotel, London, attended by prominent business leaders, parliamentarians, and Ambassadors, Lord Howe presented the FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism to Mr Jaime Zobel de Ayala, Chairman of the Ayala Corporation, the largest and one of the most highly respected business groups in the Philippines.

Mr Ayala becomes the sixth head of an international corporation to receive the award. The previous winners have been Lord Browne of Madingley, Group Chief Executive of BP (2000), Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Carlson Companies (2001), Sir Robert Wilson KCMG, Executive Chairman of Rio Tinto (2002) and now Chairman of the BG Group, Dr Daniel Vasella, Chairman and CEO of Novartis AG (2003) and Mr Morris Tabaksblat KBE, Chairman of Reed Elsevier, the joint winner for 2004.

When making the Award, the judges are looking for a business leader who has demonstrated social responsibility as an integral part of commercial success. Among the qualities which have commended recipients to the judges have been their concern for the environment and for the local communities in which their companies are active.

The Judging panel is chaired by the leading economist Lord
Dahrendorf KBE and includes Chief Emeka Anyaoku GVCO TC CFR,
Lord Browne of Madingley, Marilyn Carlson Nelson, Rt Hon Lord
Howe of Aberavon CH QC, Lord Plant of Highfield, Hon Raymond
Seitz, Sir Robert Wilson KCMG, Dr Daniel Vasella, Sir Patrick Cormack FSA MP, President of FIRST and Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge.

In making the Award to Mr Ayala, Lord Howe said
“Jaime Zobel de Ayala has the rare distinction of practising Responsible Capitalism in a rapidly developing country. He combines the long term vision for his business with active concern for education, community development, the environment and the arts thus he sets an outstanding example for others”.

About the Award
FIRST initiated the FIRST Award for Responsible Capitalism in 2000 to honour business leaders who have excelled in both commercial success and social responsibility. Rupert Goodman, Chairman of FIRST said ‘We at FIRST believe that commercial success can be assessed in terms of standard criteria, but that social responsibility involves a greater sense of the needs of the wider community as well as shareholders, a special interest in the well-being of groups in need, care for the areas in which the business operates, environmental initiatives, and support for the arts and culture’.

About FIRST Magazine
The recipient of a PPA Award for publishing excellence, FIRST Magazine was established in 1984 to enhance communication between leaders in industry, finance and government at the strategic level. Past contributors to the publication have included Prime Minister Rt Hon Tony Blair MP and his two predecessors, President Hu Jintao of China, President Jacques Chirac of France, President Roh Moo-hyun of Korea, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, OECD Secretary-General Donald Jonston, U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, OPEC Secretary-General Purnomo Yusgiantoro, WTO Director General Supachai Panitchpakdi and leading business figures including Carly Fiorina of Hewlett Packard, Bill Gates of Microsoft, John Chambers of Cisco Systems and Lord Browne of Madingley and Sir Robert Wilson, both previous winners of the Award.

For more information please contact:

Rupert Goodman, Chairman of FIRST
Tel: +44 20 7389 9640
Fax: +44 20 7389 9644
Mob: 07899 900 156
Email: rupert.goodman@firstmagazine.com
www.firstmagazine.com

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