More than 500 Irish chief executives gathered at the Leopardstown racecourse in Dublin yesterday at the CEO Forum to discuss the challenge of turning small domestic companies into global players.

While Irish companies employ about 150,000 people and account for exports of about €10 billion, large firms such as Ryanair and CRH are few and far between. As many as 97 per cent of new companies stay small and only between five and six companies emerge each year with annual sales of more than €20 million, according to Enterprise Ireland.

Ireland must adopt a new business model if its companies are to compete better internationally and drive economic growth, Michael Ahern, the Minister for Trade and Commerce, told delegates.

"It is crucial that we recognise that the formula for growth in the last decade is not the same formula for success in the next," Mr Ahern said.

Enterprise Ireland, one of the sponsors of the event, introduced a new strategy in May to help Irish companies grow abroad and aims to bring in €3 billion in new export sales by 2007.

"The key element of the strategy is to build global companies of scale," said Julie Sinnamon, the head of corporate development at Enterprise Ireland, at the forum. Ms Sinnamon said international studies have shown that a small number of companies account for a disproportionate level of employment creation and revenue in an economy.

Raomal Perera, the chief executive of Valista, a Wicklow-based provider of payments software for mobile operators such as Vodafone and Orange, said successful start-up companies "start with good staff, make something customers actually want, and spend as little money as possible."