The panelists were Martha Field, manager of community relations with Thomson Reuters, Gretchen Korf, director of finance and social responsibility with UnitedHealth, Mary MacDonald, director of business development and managing director of EarthShare, and Jillian Walsh, director of corporate giving and community relations with Zurich North America.

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In late July CCBN.com, a web-based communications company that handles investor relations, filed suit against Thomson, the Canadian information-services giant.

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Mr Dumas had earlier vetoed the sale lest it imperil French relations with China, at which point Thomson apparently called on Elf's persuasive powers.

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