Agnelli and Immelt Stress CSR

Roger Agnelli, chairman and CEO of CVRD and Jeffrey Immelt, chairman and CEO of GE, stressed the importance of corporate and social responsibility in Latin America at a dinner hosted by the World Education & Development Fund on Monday to honor the business leaders for their commitment to educating underprivileged children in Latin America. Immelt told CEOs, bankers, investors, attorneys and fund raisers gathered at the event that he had never been so optimistic about Latin America’s economies. “It is one of the great places to invest over the next five to 10 years. We have $7 billion in revenues in Mexico and I think we could double that in the next three years. Brazil is incredibly exciting and Chile, Colombia and Central America are opening up for the first time,” says Immelt. GE’s chairman also stressed the importance of building competitive and equitable societies by being a responsible corporate citizen. “All of us see globalization as a tremendous opportunity for our companies, but nobody outside this room agrees with us. We have to give back to make communities more responsible and more self confident,” says Immelt.