Global public relations trailblazer joins stellar speaker line-up for APEC CEO Summit in November

Public relations trailblazer Richard Edelman will speak on the ‘business of trust’ as one of the keynote speakers confirmed for the APEC CEO Summit 2021 being hosted in Auckland, New Zealand, in November.

As the creator of the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, Mr Edelman has become one of the foremost authorities on trust in business, government, media and NGOs.

The CEO of Edelman has advised big companies such as Samsung and United Airlines and advised many countries on economic development programmes.

Mr Edelman will speak about The Primacy of Trust, one of the five themes of the Summit, and how businesses must factor in culture, purpose, and society into building trust as these are increasingly important among stakeholders, employees, customers and investors.

“With My Employer now the most trusted institution, business is expected to fill the void left by government,” says Richard Edelman. “From vaccine hesitancy and racism to automation and the infodemic, CEOs are being asked to stand up and speak up on societal issues.”

He believes stakeholders are looking for businesses to show they create value beyond making money.  This includes applying environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles in their strategies and operations. Businesses have the opportunity to become a force for community good – not merely to make money.

Last year Richard Edelman was inducted into the American Advertising Federation’s Advertising Hall of Fame and in 2019, he was named the PR Agency Professional of the Past 20 Years by PRWeek.

Mr Edelman joins Professor Jonathan Haidt, Dr David Suzuki, Amber Mac and Tony Fernandes as keynote speakers at the summit. More speakers will be announced in the coming weeks.

For the first time ever, this year’s APEC CEO Summit is a hybrid gathering of the world’s most powerful CEOs, business leaders, entrepreneurs, thought leaders, prime ministers and presidents of APEC economies. Delegates will attend online or in person at the Summit which is being hosted and broadcast from the Aotea Centre in central Auckland on 11 and 12 November 2021 (NZT).

The APEC CEO Summit 2021 will focus on five themes:

The state of the world with and post Covid: economic recovery, trade and protectionism.

The Digital Disruption Opportunity: digital transformation, technology and innovation, and the importance of digital equity.

The Primacy of Trust: ESG (environmental, social, governance) – the next focus for business, and business as a force for good.

The Future of Energy: clean technology, renewable energy, and energy transition including hydrogen.

The Sustainability Imperative: sustainable growth, climate change, food sustainability and provenance.

The Summit is being supported by premier partners:  PwC (Knowledge Partner), Contact Energy, Fonterra, Microsoft, and Westpac NZ.