By Ian Neubauer

More than 400 senior members of Australia’s business community attended the inaugural Chanticleer Luncheon at the Sydney Hilton yesterday (November 5).

Named after Chanticller — the popular back page column of The Australian Financial Review — the event saw a panel of Australia’s most prestigious chairmen discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on the domestic front.

Moderated by Chanticleer columnist Alan Jury and BOSS editor Narelle Hopper, the panel included JP Morgan chairman Sir Rod Eddington, Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie, BlueScope steel chairman John Schubert, Commonwealth Bank chairman John Schubert and Woolworths director James Strong.

They delivered a poignant analysis of the Australian business environment to representatives of Coca-Cola Amatil, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Virgin Blue, Qantas and Microsoft among other blue chip firms, who were invited to pose questions to the panel after lunch.

Financial Review producer – conference, exhibitions and events, Vanessa Seymour-Lee, said she was pleased with the attendance, with approximately 90 per cent of seats sold.