A business who’s who on Obama guest list
Former US President Barack Obama will address and dine with 1000 people in Auckland tonight.
However, Obama’s office and the New Zealand United States Council that brought him here with the financial help of Air New Zealand, Westpac and Mastercard, have kept quiet on who will be in the room at the waterfront ANZ Viaduct Events Centre.
Despite the NZ US Council receiving nearly $170,000 a year of public funding, Obama’s office barred media from attending. Obama’s office said in an email that ‘‘the engagement in Auckland is closed [to] press’’ and did not respond to a request for a copy of Obama’s speech, or bullet points of the topics he would speak about.
The event is invite only. No tickets were sold.
NZ US Council chairman Leon Grice said in February that the business sponsors of Obama’s visit had ‘‘put forward some names’’ to invite to the dinner.
Westpac chief executive David McLean was on an overseas holiday and would not attend. Westpac head of consumer bank Simon Power, a former commerce minister, would attend on his behalf with a ‘‘small group of employees’’, spokesman Will Hine said.
BusinessNZ chief executive Kirk Hope was attending, as was Global Women chief executive Miranda Burdon.
SkyCity Entertainment Group chief executive Graeme Stephens, Ports of Auckland chief executive Tony Gibson and Mercury chief executive Fraser Whineray were all invited to the event but would not attend for undisclosed reasons.
Port of Tauranga chief executive Mark Cairns, Xero founder Rod Drury and Spark chief executive Simon Moutter said they were not attending.
Although media were barred from the event, Stuff chief executive Sinead Boucher and RNZ boss Paul Thompson would attend.
Speaker of the House Trevor Mallard, Labour deputy leader Kelvin Davis and Community and Voluntary Sector Minister Peeni Henare would be there, along with National’s leader Simon Bridges, deputy leader Paula Bennett and finance spokeswoman Amy Adams.
An executive who did not want to be named said Air New Zealand chief executive Christopher Luxon would make a speech at the event.
Hope said actor Sam Neill would interview Obama before dinner and open the floor to questions from the audience.
He said he hoped Obama would share stories from his presidency after the global financial crisis.