Business Roundtable (BRT), an association consisting of the chief executive officers of major U.S. corporations that was founded in 1972 through the merger of the three preexisting business organizations. The BRT was established to give large corporations a stronger voice in lobbying U.S. government officials on business-related issues, and it has become the most influential U.S. business lobbying organization. Within the BRT, task forces headed by CEOs are established to make policy recommendations on particular issues or areas, such as corporate governance, and to develop a plan of action to secure the recommendations implementation. The BRT has only a small permanent staff; most of its work is done by the staffs of member corporations or outside consultants. Currently the CEOs of 140 companies are members of the Business Roundtable; the organization has had as many as 200 members. Membership in the BRT is by invitation.
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