The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, former Aer Lingus boss Mr Willie Walsh, and Irish rugby coach Mr Eddie O'Sullivan will share the podium at the Irish Management Institute (IMI) conference next April.
Institute chief executive Dr Tom McCarthy said yesterday that the organisation planned to revamp the conference to make it more relevant to those running businesses in the State today.
The shift in emphasis is part of a broader plan to get the institute ranked in the top 50 management bodies in the world within a decade. The body is not currently ranked at all.
"We will do that by focusing on delivering relevant programmes for business," Dr McCarthy said. "In our courses, we need to deliver improved business results, and that comes down to improved productivity."
The IMI will shift the conference from its traditional location in Killarney to the Druid's Glen hotel and golf course in Co Wicklow. Instead of taking place on a weekend, it will begin on Thursday, April 21st, finishing at lunchtime the next day.
Dr McCarthy said that its members had driven the switch to a new format. "Research among our members and customers showed there was a demand for change and we have responded to that," he explained.
The conference will focus on regulation and innovation. Along with Mr Ahern, Mr Walsh and Mr O'Sullivan, speakers will include Competition Authority chairman Mr John Fingleton, C&C chief executive Mr Maurice Pratt, and two other Cabinet members, the Minister for Transport, Mr Cullen, and the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen.
International speakers will include Prof Martha Maznevski of the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Mr Charles Leadbeater, author and adviser to UK Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair.
