Today, President Bill Clinton opened the 2012 CGI America meeting, which convenes nearly 1,000 leaders representing Fortune 500 companies, nonprofits, foundations, and government, including governors, mayors, and members of the Obama Administration. The meeting is dedicated to forging collaborative solutions and generating commitments to address the United States' most pressing economic challenges. “As of today, our attendees have made 58 commitments, which, when fully funded and implemented, will directly affect the lives of nearly 3.9 million people,” said President Clinton. Read the full press release here.
In the Opening Plenary Session, President Clinton announced progress of previously made CGI America commitments, and welcomed J.B. Pritzker (Managing Partner, The Pritzker Group) to the stage to announce a new commitment:
Fareed Zakaria (Host, CNN's GPS) then spoke about “The State of Our Union” and led a dialogue on public-private partnerships between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Randi Weingarten (President, American Federation of Teachers):
The session concluded with a panel discussion called “Jumpstart Nation”, moderated by President Clinton. Panelists included: Ellen Alberding (President, The Joyce Foundation), Steve Cahillane (President and CEO, Coca-Cola Refreshments, The Coca-Cola Company), Darlene Miller (President and CEO, Permac Industries), Hilda L. Solis (Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor) and Robert G. Wilmers (Chairman and CEO, M&T Bank Corporation):
The Afternoon Plenary Session began with a dialogue between Larry Harlan (Executive Director, ExxonMobil Foundation) and Bill Haslam (Governor, State of Tennessee), moderated by Matthew Bishop of the Economist. The session concluded with a panel discussion on “Place-Based Innovation” hosted by CNBC's Maria Bartiromo. Panelists included: John Sibley Butler (The Herb Kelleher Chair and J. Marion West Chair of Management and Sociology, The University of Texas at Austin), Ann Miura-Ko (Managing Partner, FLOODGATE), Jerry Sanders (Mayor, City of San Diego) and Christine Shapard (Executive Director, Colorado Cleantech Industry Association):
