Sir Rod Eddington to give keynote speech at ICC Cricket Business Forum

The ICC today confirmed that British Airways Chief Executive Sir Rod Eddington will make the keynote speech at the fourth annual ICC Cricket Business Forum on Tuesday 28 June at Lord's Cricket Ground.

The recently knighted Sir Rod, who was named as the airline industry's leading executive by his peers in 2003 and is also a board member of News Corporation, will be drawing parallels between the challenges he has dealt with in his own successful business career and those facing the sport of cricket in 2005. He will also reflect on the relationship between his sporting passion and his business decisions.

ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed said that Sir Rod's presence at the ICC Cricket Business Forum was a reflection of the growing importance of the event to the international sporting community.

"Over the last four years the ICC Cricket Business Forum has grown to become a key information-sharing platform for the international game's stakeholders," said Mr Speed.

"Sir Rod Eddington is a proven business leader with a keen interest in our sport and I have no doubt that he will provide valuable insights to the attendees at this year's event."

The ICC Cricket Business Forum 2005 will begin with speeches on the `state of the game' from ICC President Ehsan Mani and ICC Chief Executive Malcolm Speed.

Mr Mani will focus on governance issues while Mr Speed will address some of the key issues facing the game in 2005.

Also speaking will be three ICC Directors - Shaharyar Khan from Pakistan, Ray Mali from South Africa and David Morgan from England - who will be reviewing cricket issues in their respective countries.

Proceedings will conclude with a presentation from Chris Dehring, Managing Director and CEO of ICC Cricket World Cup 2007, who will be providing an update on the preparations for the next ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

The fourth ICC Cricket Business Forum will be streamed online at www.icc-cricket.com from 11.30am local time.