Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani has been confirmed as the keynote speaker at the Australian and New Zealand Institute of Insurance and Finance’s In The Room conference.

The lawyer, businessman and politician was named Time magazine’s person of the year and received an honorary knighthood for his leadership after the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks on New York.

In The Room, which ANZIIF hopes will become “one of the best business conferences in Australia”, was originally arranged for last December but was delayed because of “scheduling conflicts”.

Other speakers will include Jackie Brock-Doyle, Director of Communications for the London Olympic Games; futurist Ray Kurzweil; financial consultant Satyajit Das; US community leader and author Bill Strickland; digital philosopher Tim Rayner; and CarbonSystems CEO David Solsky.

The event will be at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre on August 15-16.