ICA General Assembly
" Innovation in Co-operative Business "
Singapore, 14-19 October 2006
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Biography of Speakers
Keynote Speakers -- Session I -- Session II - Session III -- Session IV -- Panel -- International Accounting Standards
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 Keynote Speakers
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Michael Henriques
Michael Henriques is Director of the Job Creation and Enterprise
Development Department of the International Labour Organisation
(ILO). He joined the ILO in 1982 at the Regional Office in
Bangkok where he became responsible for the ILO’s
enterprise development programme in the Asia and Pacific
Region. He has worked throughout the Region and has provided
policy advice to Member States and developed and implemented
a substantial portfolio of technical assistance programmes
dealing with productivity and competitiveness, small enterprise
development, privatization and public administration. In
1993 he moved to ILO headquarters in Geneva where he took
his present position. The Department, with a global team
of around 100 staff, is responsible for all activities related
to quality job creation through enterprise including small
enterprise development, informal economy upgrading, micro
credit programmes, small business association building, co-operative
enterprise development, socially sensitive enterprise restructuring,
corporate social responsibility and local economic development.
Michael Henriques was the Operations Manager of the ILO secretariat to support the World Commission for the Social Dimension of Globalisation. Prior to joining the ILO Michael Henriques worked as a business development manager with responsibility for identifying and implementing diversification strategies for a major Danish shipyard. This resulted in the establishment of a successful venture to produce and market prefabricated housing modules for the Middle East market. He has also worked as a corporate consultant for one of the largest Danish business groups where he was responsible for reviewing performance and strategic directions of business units and profit centers. During this period he was also Director of a subsidiary which was a leader in the field of marketing and maintenance of machinery and equipment for retail of gasoline throughout Denmark.
Mr Henriques has an MSc in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and an MBA from Harvard University, USA.
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David Cook
David Cook is Chief Executive Officer of "The Natural Step International" whose aim is to develop a genuine commitment to, and competence in, sustainable development throughout society.
He has led partnerships on sustainable development with influential organisations around the world, concentrating on strategy in a variety of sectors, including BP, Du Pont, Nike, Skanska, Co-operative Bank, Interface, Sainsbury’s and Norsk Hydro.
He has been advisor to the Cement Industry Global Sustainability Initiative, the Mutual Insurance Industry Federation, the EU Commission Environmental Technologies Group, the Facilities Management Association, the WBCSD, the Swedish International Development Association and several other bodies.
He is currently involved in developing joint work with the UN Global Compact.
Mr Cook has worked with Business Schools in the UK, Sweden and Brazil to encourage and challenge them on the integration of sustainable development into their core programmes, and to develop case studies.
His work with the Co-operative Bank in the UK assisted that award- winning organisation in some truly innovative new strategies. Building The Natural Step into the Bank’s core mission led to radical changes in investment practices and performance monitoring over a number of years. The Bank continues to be regarded as a world leading exemplar of sustainable development applied to the financial sector.
As CEO of The Natural Step International, Mr Cook is in a position to share and disseminate an international perspective. In the globalised world today there is a need to spread good practice. New regions are coming to the sustainable development agenda very rapidly. They need to learn from the mistakes and successes of those who have gone before. Yet there is too little opportunity to spread such learning in a way that can also fit local cultures. Major corporations are starting to wake-up to the need for less hierarchical and less centralised structures. The divides between sectors in society are breaking down and we need to adapt to the new challenges. Distinctions between the market economy and civil society are being re-shaped and it is vital that sustainable development is a key-component of the new order. This has major local and global implications. The work Cook is leading with The Natural Step aims to explore that territory and raise our collective efforts to respond positively to today’s leadership challenges.
Mr Cook joined The Natural Step in 1997 as CEO of TNS UK, and was appointed as Chief Executive of TNS International from April 2004. His previous career involved various senior management appointments in the public sector, including work with colleges and schools, social services, the probation service and other local government activities. David spent three years as Chief Executive of a public/private Project Company, to plan, fund and deliver a new University in the UK. The project won a national award for a public and private partnership development. Cook has always had particular interest in the human behavioural aspects of organisational change, and in overcoming barriers to creativity and development.
Cook is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and author of the Schumacher Society book, “The Natural Step – Towards a Sustainable Society” published by Green Books in the UK. |
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Lim Boon Heng
Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office, Government of Singapore and concurrently Chairman, Social Enterprise Development Council of the Singapore National Trades Union Congress (SNTUC)which oversees the co-operatives within the Singapore Nation Trade Union Conference, such as NTUC Fairprice and NTUC Income, both of which are very successful co-operatives in Singapore.
Mr Lim's is also the Minister-in-charge on elderly issues as Singapore is rapidly becoming an ageing population and a Member of Parliament, Parliament of Singapore since 1980 to date. He is also the imediate past Secretary-General of SNTUC. He was Secretary-General from 1993-2006. Mr Lim has been with he SNTUC (the national centre for the labour movement in Singapore) for 25 years and was instrumental in the founding of several SNTUC co-operatives. |
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Session I
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Roberto Benia Parada 
Mr Benia is currently Vice-President of Federacion de Cooperativas
Agricolas (CAF) - the Agriculture Co-operatives Federation - the
umbrella organisation of co-operatives in Uruguay and a farmer
who
specialises in pasture based meat production (beef cattle and sheep). His organisation
is member of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers
(IFAP), the representative organisation of farmers' organisations.
An agronomist holding a degree in Agricultural Engineering,
Mr Benia is a member of the board of COPAGRAN (National Agriculture
Co-operative), a 900 member grain, oil seeds, grass and clover
seed co-operative, and
of Azucitrus S.A.
He is also Vice-President of
the Advisory committee of INIA Salto Grande ( National Agriculture Research
Institute) and a delegate of the Chamber of Industry
to the Citrus Commission of Uruguay.
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Bob Burlton
Bob Burlton is currently Chair, the Co-operative Group and Co-operative Financial Services and President, Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide, ICA's sectoral organisation for consumer co-operatives. He served as Chief Executive of Oxford & Swindon Co-operative Society from 1987 to 2006, standing down from this post having successfully led the merger that created the Midcounties Co-operative. During his tenure, sales quadrupled and net assets increased from £14m to £150m.
He was elected the Chair of Co-operative Group, the largest consumer co-operative in the world in May 2004 and is also Chair of Co-operative Financial Services Limited, the parent of the Co-operative Bank plc and the Co-operative Insurance Society. He was formerly Chair of Co-operativesUK Limited, the representative body of retail consumer co-operative societies in the UK and the Co-operative College. Bob was elected as President of Congress in 1999, the annual conference of the UK consumer movement. He was a leading member of the Corporate Governance working party that was responsible for the production of the Corporate Governance Code of Best Practice that was introduced in 1994.
Mr. Burlton was also one of twelve members of the Co-operative Commission, that was established with the support of the UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair. Its report was published in February 2001. |
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Pete Crear
Pete Crear is the chief executive officer of World Council of Credit Unions, Inc. (WOCCU), with headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. Crear directs the activities of the World Council, the leading advocate, platform for innovation and development organisation for credit unions in 90 countries, with over 43,000 member credit unions serving more than 197 million people worldwide. These 43,000 credit unions have collectively 4 billion in assets. With Crear's leadership and vision, World Council continues to try to reach its goal of developing "Quality Credit Unions for Everyone," enabling millions of people to gain access to affordable financial services.
Prior to joining World Council Crear was the executive vice president of external relations for Credit Union National Association (CUNA). Serving CUNA and the US credit unions as an internal and external ambassador, Crear worked to build relationships and synergies within the Credit Union System and between the system and external audiences. Crear also held the post of executive vice president and chief operating officer for CUNA. As chief operating officer, he oversaw the daily operations of CUNA & Affiliates' offices in Madison, Wisconsin, USA, which provide education and training, publications and web services, research, new product development, and other services for state leagues and credit unions.
Crear joined CUNA in September 1990 as senior vice president, association services. Before that, he was president and CEO of the Indiana Credit Union League. Active in the credit union movement since 1965, he has served as president of the Connecticut Credit Union League, as vice president of information and technical services for the Michigan Credit Union League, and as executive director of the American Association of Credit Union League Executives.
In June 2006, the Consumer Federation of American awarded Crear with the Esther Peterson Consumer Service Award for his outstanding service to consumers. Crear received the Inaugural African-American Credit Union Lifetime Achievement Award and was further honored by having the award named after him and a college scholarship established in his name. His contributions to the credit union movement have merited his induction into the Credit Union Executives Society Hall of Fame. Crear was also recently inducted into the Co-operative Development Foundation Hall of Fame and received the US credit union movement's highest award, the National Credit Union Foundation Herb Wegner Lifetime Achievement Award.
Crear has organised 23 credit unions since he began his career as a management trainee at the Michigan League while attending Wayne State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in accounting. |
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Session III |
Mr. Li Chunsheng is the ICA Vice-President for Asia-Pacific and the Vice-President of All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Co-operatives (ACFSMC) with a Doctorate in Botany. During his long period of service, he worked with Helihe farm in Heilongjiang Province, Ministry of Forestry, and the State Council in China. During his service in the State Council, he was deeply engaged in strategic planning and policy-making for rural areas and made enormous contribution to the co-operative development in China. In 1995, he joined ACFSMC as the Deputy Secretary-General and Director of Farm-inputs Bureau. He later assumed office as the Secretary General and the Director of International Co-operation Department before being elected the Vice President of ACFSMC in 2000.
At present, his responsibilities in ACFSMC include supervision of Co-operative Guidance Department, Department for Science, Technology, Education and Industry, International Co-operation Department, and China Chamber of International Commerce SMC Sub-Chamber, which means he takes charge of a wide range of co-operative works, inter alias, the reform and growth of affiliated enterprises and primary co-operatives, guild development, industrial planning and guidance, co-operative legislation, scientific research and innovation, training and education, and international relation, co-operation and trade promotion. |
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Alexandra Wilson
 Alexandra Wilson's discovered a passion for co operatives in 1974, when she and her neighbours organized the conversion of Toronto's Bain Avenue Apartments to a housing co-operative, putting a stop to the owner's plans to evict the low-income tenants and sell the 260 flats as condominiums. Her involvement in saving her own home led to professional roles in the development, management and provision of association services to housing co operatives in Toronto and on the national scene. After 15 years' service, Alexandra stepped down from her post as executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada to start up the Agency for Co-operative Housing, becoming its first CEO in 2005. Canada's co-operative housing movement embraces more than 2,000 co-operatives that are home to some 90,000 households located in every Canadian province and territory.
Ms. Wilson joined the board of directors of The Co-operators Group in 2000. After chairing the audit committee for four years, she was elected first vice-chair of the board in 2005. Owned by 37 Canadian co operatives, credit unions, and like-minded organizations, The Co-operators Group has assets exceeding CDN $7 billion and is Canada's largest Canadian-owned, multi-product insurer.
Ms. Wilson's other co-operative engagements include serving on the board and chairing the audit committee of Citizens Bank of Canada for the past five years, a three-year stint with the International Affairs department of the Canadian Co-operative Association, and eight years' service with the credit committee of Alterna Savings Credit Union. |
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Nicholas Gazzard
Nicholas Gazzard is the Executive Director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of Canada and a member of ICA Housing's board of directors. Nicholas has been involved in the co-operative housing movement for more than 25 years and has written extensively on sound, ethical co-operative business practices. |
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U.S. Awasthi
Dr. Uday Shankar Awasthi is currently Managing Director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO)the largest producer and marketeer of Fertiliser in India.
Born in July, 1945 in the District Unnao of Uttar Pradesh in India, Dr. Awasthi obtained his Chemical Engineering degree in 1967 from the Banaras Hindu University and was conferred Honorary Doctorate by University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad in 2006. Dr. Awasthi started his career as Chemical Engineer in 1967 and become the Chairman-cum-Managing Director of a public sector company M/s Pyrites, Phosphates and Chemicals Ltd in the short span of 19 years and was also holding the charge of Chairman-cum-Managing Director of M/s Rastriya Chemicals& Fertiliser Limited (RCF) during 1991-92.
Dr. Awasthi was the first Asian to be elected as President of International Fertiliser Industry Association(IFA) during 1997-1999. Presently, he is Chair of Industries Chemique Du Senegal (ICS), Senegal, Executive Chair of Indo Egyptian Fertilisers Company, SAE, (IEFC), Egypt and on the Board of Directors of many companies viz; Oman India Fertiliser Company (OMIFCO), Oman, IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance Co. Ltd. (ITGI), Agricultural Co-operative Development International, USA, Kisan International Trading (KIT) FZE Dubai, UAE, Indian Potash Ltd., National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd. (NCDEX), National Collateral Management Services Ltd. (NCMSL), Fertiliser Association of India and Indian Tourism Cooperative Limited (Cooptour). A pioneer in fertiliser industry, Dr. Awasthi has a vision and dream to meet the India's fertilizer requirements for producing food it needs. |
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Session IV
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Seah Kian Peng
Seah Kian Peng is the Chairman of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), the apex body of all co-operatives in Singapore. In September 2005, he was elected as a member of the Board of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA), making him the first Singaporean to be on this global board in the 112-year history of ICA. Since February 2003, he has been a member of the ICA Asia-Pacific Standing Committee.
Mr Seah is also the Managing Director (Singapore) of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative Ltd - Singapore's largest supermarket chain with a network of over 210 hypermarkets, supermarkets and convenience stores, with an annual turnover of over USD1 billion and staff strength of more than 5,300 employees. He is responsible for the overall running of the chain's local operations.
Mr Seah became a Member of Parliament in the Marine Parade group representation constituency (GRC) in May 2006. At the same time, he is also the Chairman of NTUC Media Co-operative Ltd, which is in the publishing business. Besides holding directorships in NTUC Co-operatives and public-listed companies, Mr Seah serves the community actively through various platforms. This includes being a Board Member of the Centre for Fathering, a not-for-profit organisation, and Vice-President of The Singapore Compact for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) - a society formed from an initiative by Singapore National Employers Federation (SNEF) and the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) to advance and promote the CSR movement in Singapore. |
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Stefania Marcone
Ms Marcone is Head Officer of the International Relations Office of Legacoop. In this function she works directly with the national Board and the sectoral associations of Legacoop, one of the national apex organisations of Italy. Her areas of activity cover in particular, but excluding others, internationalisation, co-operation to development, and institutional representation.
Ms Marcone has been associated with ICA's work for many years and in 1997 she was elected as Board member of the International Co-operative Alliance, representing the three Italian apex co-operative organisations, ICA members (AGCI, Confcooperative e Legacoop). In this position she was involved in gender equality policy, in the establishment of a global network of young co-operators, co-operation to development projects, organisational and financial issues, relations with international institution and the United Nations agencies, promotion of the collaboration among co-operatives; etc. In October 2001 she was re-elected for a second mandate in the ICA Board.
She is also currently the chairperson ICA Gender Equality Committee, elected in September 2005 and in March 2007 on occasion of the Legacoop congress, she was elected in the national management committee.
Ms Marcone began her co-operative career as External Relations officer at Cassa per il Credito alle Imprese Artigiane (ARTIGIANCASSA) in 1983. From 1987 to 1992 she also held the position of President of a co-operative society, located in Rome and active in the service sector. |
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Takayuki Furukawa
 Mr Furukawa was elected to the board of the Hokkaido Workers and Consumers Insurance Co-operative (Zenrosai Hokkaido) in 1983. He served as Head Director of the Hokkaido Workers and Consumers Insurance Co-operative from 2001 to 2005. In August 2005, he was appointed as Vice President of the National Federation of Workers and Consumers Insurance Co-operatives (ZENROSAI).
Mr Furukawa holds several important positions at related organisations, including being a trustee of The National Workers' Welfare Council, President of "Space Zero" and Board member of the Japan-China Skilled Workers' Exchange Centre. |
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Ann Hoyt
Ann Hoyt is a Professor of Consumer Science at the University of Wisconsin - Madison in the United States, a Consumer Co-operative Specialist at the University of Wisconsin - Extension. She teaches, does research and develops training materials for consumer and purchasing co-operatives throughout the country. Ann is also Director of the Consumer Co-operative Management Association's annual conference.
Dr Hoyt has trained hundreds of co-operative and non-profit directors throughout the US and is the creator of a video-based director training programme for co-operatives. In addition, she serves on several co-operative and foundation boards of directors. She is past Board Chair of the National Co-operative Business Association (NCBA) and served 10 years as the Board Chair of the University of Wisconsin Credit Union. The credit union has nearly USD 1 billion in assets and more than 125,000 members. Dr. Hoyt has served on the Advisory Council of the Filene Center for Credit Union Research and is a past director of the National Co-operative Bank where she was chair of the NCB Development Corporation.
Dr. Hoyt received her Ph.D. in Home Economics from Kansas State University, USA, where she was also an instructor in Family Economics. At Wisconsin she teaches Retail Financial Analysis and supervises graduate students studying consumer and worker co-operation.
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Panel - Conclusion from Sessions
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Carol Hunter
 Carol Hunter is the Executive Director of the Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), a national association representing seven million co-operative and credit union members from over 2,000 organisations.
Carol began her career at the CCA in 1989 as an Information Officer where she was responsible for managing Canada's largest library of co-operative and credit union research materials. She went on to become Manager of Information Services where she assumed responsibility for corporate communications and publications, and the development of a business plan to cross-promote co-operative products and services. Named Director of Member Services in 2000, she held responsibility for national/provincial association relations, corporate communications, education and training, CCA's co-op sector engagement strategy, and CCA's knowledge area of co-operative governance.
Ms Hunter was appointed Executive Director in 2005 and has since led the association in its membership growth, a Canadian co-operative development strategy, and a pan-Canadian unity strategy to deepen relations and collaboration between Francophone and Anglophone co-operatives.
She is a volunteer board member with the Ottawa Women's Credit Union -- Canada's only credit union run by women for women; and past President of the Canadian Association for Studies in Co-operation.
Before joining CCA, Carol worked as a researcher, editor and writer with the National Library of Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. She holds an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and a graduate degree in Information Science. |
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Anne Santamäki
Anne Santamäki is Director international relations and public
relations of the SOK Corporation. She is also Vice-Chair of Cooperatives
Europe and President Eurocoop. At SOK Corporation she is responsible
for sponsorship agreements and market awareness actions for entire
S Group, and development and co-ordination of all market research
activities on the corporate level. She also provides lectures
and training on marketing for management.
Ms Santamäki previously held the position of Manager of Marketing
Services at SOK Corporation. Prior to working with the co-operative
movement, she worked with advertising Agency Markkinointi Topitörmä Oy,
with the Finnish Rails, and the Finnish Foreign Ministry, Union Bank, Sinebrychoff. |
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Shaun Tarbuck
Shaun Tarbuck was appointed chief executive of the International
Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) in 2005 having
been with the organisation for 10 years prior to his appointment,
latterly as its chief financial officer. ICMIF represents 182 mutual
and co-operative insurers in 70 countries. Mr Tarbuck regularly speaks
at conferences on mutuality, demutualisation, governance, marketing
and other strategic issues affecting the mutual and cooperative insurance
sector. He writes articles on mutual insurance and has been involved
in several research projects focusing on the value that mutuals and
cooperatives bring to the insurance market.
Mr Tarbuck is also the chief executive of the UK based Association of Mutual Insurers (AMI) being involved in its formation in 2004. AMI now represents 32 UK mutuals and is responsible for the self-regulation of the mutual industry's corporate governance through the Annotated Combined Code for Mutual Insurers published in 2005, a project in which he was very involved.
Mr Tarbuck, a chartered accountant, qualified in 1987 and subsequently worked in the captive insurance industry for 3 years in Bermuda before doing a year in corporate finance followed by three years as finance director of a newly demutualized life insurer in Manchester. He then set up his own successful insurance consulting and accounting practice before joining ICMIF full time in 1996. |
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International Acounting Standards
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Tricia O'Malley
Tricia O'Malley assumed the position of IFRIC Coordinator in July 2007 at the completion of her six year term as a member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). From October 1999 until her appointment to the IASB in January 2001 she was the first full-time Chair of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB). Before joining the AcSB, Ms O'Malley was a partner in the National Assurance and Professional Practice Group of KPMG Canada where she consulted with partners and staff on complex client accounting issues, with particular emphasis on financial instruments and structured finance transactions.
Ms O'Malley was a member of the AcSB’s Emerging Issues Committee from its inception in 1988 until 1997, when she was appointed Vice Chair of the Board. In her role as Vice Chair, Ms O'Malley represented the Canadian Board at the meetings of the G4+1 and the Financial Instruments Joint Working Group of national standard setters. She was chair of the Ontario Securities Commission's Financial Disclosure Advisory Board (1992 to 1999), was a member of the Independent Advisory Committee on Accounting and Auditing Matters of the Auditor General of Canada (1993 to 2004), and is a Past President of the Canadian Academic Accounting Association. |
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Jean-Claude Detilleux
Mr Detilleux has been the President of the Groupement National de la Coopération (GNC) since 1998. GNC brings together 15 national sectoral organisations in France. His principal occupation is President and Director-General of Crédit Coopératif, one of the five co-operative banks of France which has 175 branches and 2400 staff and a balance of 8.5 billion Euros. The membership of the Crédit Coopératif is constituted by non-profit organisations (associations, trade unions, mutuals, etc) as well as small and medium-size enterprises. Mr Detilleux's experience in the co-operative movement thus spans not only the finance and banking but also the wider non-financial co-operative movement.
He was appointed by the ICA Board as Chair of the ICA International Accounting Standards Working Group in 2005.
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