Your excellencies, ministers of the crown, members of parliament, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. I am Bill Day, vice-chair of the New Zealand Business Roundtable, and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the fourteenth Sir Ronald Trotter Lecture. I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to our guest speaker, Stephen Jennings.

As you may know, this lecture was originally scheduled for last October, but because of the unprecedented crisis in global financial markets that erupted at that time, it had to be postponed.

We are pleased that Stephen has managed to ride out the turmoil, and his insights will be all the more interesting for that. We are also delighted that Stephen’s parents, along with other family members and friends, are here tonight. Unfortunately Sir Ron Trotter is unable to be with us and I know others will be paying a special tribute to him this evening.

I also want to thank New Zealand Business Roundtable members for their generous support for this event. Without you it would not be such a success. A few words about the New Zealand Business Roundtable.