Maria Livanos Cattaui

Maria Livanos Cattaui became the Secretary General of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in July 1996 and held until 2005.

On her appointment "her immediate task was to raise the public profile of ICC and make it a more vigorous advocate of business while dealing with international organisations and governments. "A task that reached its successful completion at ICC's 33rd World Congress in Budapest. Attended by an impressive collection of influential business and political leaders, the congress attracted worldwide media coverage and marked the emergence of the ICC as an important player in the international stage."

According to her biographical note:


 * Mrs. Cattaui has been instrumental in establishing a close global partnership between ICC and the United Nations (UN). The partnership has led to greater business input into UN economic activities, given rise to a powerful public sector/private sector alliance and subsequently boosted business activity in the world's least developed countries.


 * Mrs. Cattaui has also worked hard to champion the role of world business in the new economy. By placing ICC at the vanguard of international policy making for business applications on the internet, she has helped world business to become a vital player in the new - and constantly evolving - cyber world.


 * She works regularly with the World Bank, speaking often at many of their international seminars and in 1998, convened the Geneva Business Dialogue - a conference designed to build cooperation between business and governments in meeting the challenges of globalization, held against a background of global financial and economic turmoil.


 * Mrs. Cattaui worked with the World Economic Forum in Geneva from 1977 to 1996. Her role was crucial in the development of the Foundation as a unique partnership of leaders. She was responsible for the much celebrated Annual Meeting in Davos. Mrs Cattaui rose to become a member of the Executive Board, then Managing Director.


 * She holds board and advisory board memberships on the Institute of International Education (New York), the International Youth Foundation (Baltimore), the Council of Women World Leaders (Kennedy School/Harvard), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Washington), the East West Institute (New York), the Elliott School of International Affairs (George Washington University), the Schulich School of Business, York University (Toronto) and the London Symphony Orchestra. She is Vice-Chairman of ICG.


 * Mrs. Cattaui, who is of Swiss nationality and Greek origin, was educated in the United States. She is an Honours graduate of Harvard University. During her early career, she was engaged in writing and research, then editorial supervision and planning with Encyclopaedia Britannica, and with Time-Life Books. She was a freelance editor and writer of books, speeches and articles.


 * She is on the international board of advisors for the Business Humanitarian Forum


 * She is a former director of the International Center for Research on Women.


 * Director, National Bureau of Asian Research
 * Director, International Youth Foundation
 * Serves on the Council of Women World Leaders
 * Trustee, Institute of International Education

Biographical Notes

 * "Building Trust in the Online Environment: Business-to-Consumer Dispute Resolution - Biographies of Participants", OECD, accesed October 2006.
 * "Maria Livanos Cattaui", Open Democracy, accessed October 2006.
 * "Maria Livanos Cattaui", The National Bureau of Asian Research, accessed October 2006.

Articles By Maria Livanos Cattaui

 * Maria Livanos Cattaui, "Business is part of the solution", Open Democracy, August 2, 2001.