ICA People: Elected Officials and Staff
Board (2009-2013)
The ICA Board is comprised of a President, four Vice-President (one from
each geographic region), and 18 members - 15 nominated by ICA member organisations,
2 nominated by the ICA Sectoral Organisations and 1 nominated by youth
co-operators. Members serve a four-year term. The following list of
individuals were either elected at the 2009 ICA General Assembly
in Geneva (Switzerland).
President
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Pauline Green (United Kingdom)
Dame Pauline Green has been part of the Co-operative Movement for the past
35 years from its youth
movement to being its advocate on European affairs to the European Parliament
as a co-operative member
of Parliament. She was Chief Executive and General Secretary of Co-operatives
UK , a position she held
from 2000 to October 2009. She served as Co-President of Co-operatives
Europe and ICA Vice-
President for Europe up until her election as ICA President. Dame Pauline
has played an active role in the international co-operative movement
particularly in Co-operatives Europe and strongly supported the restructuring
process of the ICA. Dame Pauline stepped down as ICA Vice-President
and Co-President of Co-operatives Europe upon her election.
Visit the President's Page |
Vice-President (Africa)
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Stanley Charles Muchiri (Kenya)
Mr Muchiri was ratified as the ICA Vice-President for Africa by the ICA
General Assembly in Oslo in September 2003. Mr Muchiri is currently
Chairman of the Co-operative Bank of Kenya. Mr Muchiri studied
administration, bookkeeping and management at the Co-operative College of
Kenya. He obtained a certificate in co-operative administration and is a
certified public accountant. He also has a diploma in co-operative
management from Turin, Italy and attended the University of Wisconsin
(USA). He most recently held the postition of General Manager at Muranga
Union.
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Vice-President (Americas)
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Ramón Imperial Zúñiga (Mexico)
Ramón Imperial was elected as iCA Americas Vice President in November
2008 to fill a vacancy. He will be formally elected as the ICA Vice President
from the Americas region at the next ICA General Assembly in November 2009.
He is currently President of the Caja Popular Mexicana CPM, a financial
co-operative which has approximately 900,000 members plus an additional
200,000 children who are holders of savings accounts. he has held a variety
of other positions including board member of the Co-operative Development
Committee in the Parliament of Mexico, President of COLAC headquartered
in Panama , President of COMACREP, and a Board of Director in the International
Raiffeisen Union IRU, Germany . Mr. Imperial has worked in several positions
in the federal organisation in the financial sector of the Co-operative
Movement in Mexico. He has also participated in several national and international
events related with the Co-operative Movement and he has represented the Movimiento
Cajista Mexicano in different international congress and
conferences. He is also co-author of the book, Banca Social Historia,
Actualidad y Retos de las Finanzas Populares, 2001. |
Vice-President (Asia & the Pacific)
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Li Chunsheng (China)
Mr. Li Chunsheng is the President of ICA Asia-Pacific and the Vice
President of All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Co-operatives
(ACFSMC) with a Doctor degree 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 cooperative 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 Cooperative 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, cooperative legislation, scientific research
and innovation, training and education, and international relation,
co-operation and trade promotion. |
Vice-President (Europe)
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Felice Scalvini (Italy)
Felice Scalvini, a solicitor and auditor, has a degree in Law. He first became involved with the co-operative movement when in 1976 he participated in the founding of one of the first social solidarity co-operatives in Italy. After 1981, he devoted himself to the development of the legislation on social co-operatives, work that led 10 years later to the enactment of Law no. 381/91, the first Italian law on social co-operatives. During his career, he has held various positions in the social co-operative sector, in the financial sector and in Confcooperative’s national and local governing bodies. He is currently a member of the Board of Confcooperative Brescia (a Confcooperative local union), President of the Social Housing Foundation and member of the Board ofEuricse, the European Research Institute on co-operative and social enterprises. At European and international level he is President of CECOP (European Confederation of workers’ and social cooperatives), and Vice-president of CICOPA. Mr. Scalvini was elected as the co-president of Cooperatives Europe in May 2010 to replace Dame Pauline Green and is serving his second ICA board term. He will be formally elected as ICA's Vice-president at the ICA General Assembly in November 2011. |
Board Members
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Jean-Louis Bancel (France)
Mr. Bancel has served as the Chairperson of the International Co-operative
Banking Association (ICBA)
since 2006 and is currently the President of the Crédit Coopératif
Group in France. He joined Crédit
Coopératif in 2005. Prior to that he was active in the insurance
mutual sector serving as Chief Executive
Officer of the Fédération Nationale de la Mutualité Française
and Secretary-General of the Groupement des
Entreprises Mutuelles d’Assurances. In addition, Mr. Bancel
has been active in the International Co-operative
and Mutual Insurance Federation (ICMIF) and its European region (ACME)
since 1993. Within
ICMIF, he chaired the Development Committee (1999-2001) and was Chair
of ICMIF from 2001-2005. He
was co-opted to the Board in 2008 representing the sectoral organisations
and elected as one of the nominees of the sectoral organisations. |
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Kathy Bardswick (Canada)
Ms. Bardswick is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Co-operators
Group Ltd. (insurance). She began her career with The Co-operators
in 1978. Prior to her appointment as President and CEO in 2002,
Ms. Bardswick served as Chief Operating Officer of Sovereign General
and L'Union Canadienne, subsidiaries of The Co-operators. She is
Chairperson of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction and past
Chair of the International Co-operative and Mutual Insurance Federation
(ICMIF). She is currently a member of the ICMIF Executive. In
addition, she is a member of the Executive Committee of the Conference
Board of Canada and is Vice-Chair of the Board of Governors of the University
of Guelph in Canada. Ms. Bardswick holds a Masters in Business
and Mathematics degree. |
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José Antonio Chávez Villanueva (Mexico)
Mr. Chávez has been the youth co-operator representative
on the ICA Americas Board since 2007. He is
employed by the Federación de Cajas Populares Alianza, a financial
co-operative in Mexico. Mr. Chávez
established the first national youth co-operative committee in Mexico
and has participated in the activities
of ICA Americas to develop regional activities for youth co-operators.
Mr. Chávez was nominated to the Board as a representative of
youth co-operators. |
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Won-Byung Choi (Korea)
Won-Byung Choi was elected as Chairperson of the National Agricultural
Co-operative Federation (NACF) of Korea on 27 December 2007. He began
his co-operative career in 1972 when he joined the Angang Agricultural
Co-operative in his hometown. In 1986 he was elected as the President
of this co-operative and served six consecutive terms. He has also
served as president of the NACF Rice Processing Complex Business Operation
Council. His contributions to strengthening the Korean agriculturalindustry
and in particular the rice industry were honoured by the Ministry of
Agriculture and Forestry in 1987 when he received the Meritorious Achievement
Award. In 2000 he was further recognised by the President of Korea
and received the Meritorious Achievement Award for outstanding performance
in the rice business and further in 2003 when he was awarded the Suktop
Industrial Medal. Mr. Choi has also served as a member and Chairperson
of the Gyeongsanhbuk-do Provincial Council where he was a leader in local
politics. Mr. Choi holds degrees in Fisheries Business Administration,
a Bachelor of Science, and a Master of Business Administration. |
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Jean-Claude Detilleux (France)
Mr Detilleux has held the position of 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 served on the ICA
board from 2005 to 2009 and was re-elected at the ICA General
Assembly in Geneva for another four-year term. |
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Hajah Armi Zainuddin (Malaysia)
Madam Hajah Armi has been actively involved in co-operative development
in Malaysia for more than 30
years. She is currently the Vice-President of the National Co-operative Organisation of Malaysia (ANGKASA), a position
she held 1979–1988 and from November
2004 to the present. Given her expertise in the co-operative movement,
she has also served as the Director
of the Co-operative College of Malaysia (CCM) from 1970-2004. Madam
Hajah Armi is also involved in non-governmental
organisations within Malaysia. She has continuously participated
in co-operative activities
internationally and had previously served as the Council Member of
ASEAN Co-operative Organisation
(ACO) and ICA Asia–Pacific. |
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Paul Hazen (United States of America)
Paul Hazen has been President and Chief Executive Officer of the National
Cooperative Business Association since 1998. Well-known for his knowledge
of the co-operative sector and speaks often at national and international
forums on the role of co-operatives in community and economic development.
He has led several important NCBA initiatives including the creation
of .coop, the top-level Internet domain exclusively for co-operatives.
Since coming online in early 2002, the .coop domain has enhanced public
awareness of co-operatives and created new business opportunities by
allowing co-ops to differentiate their member-owned businesses from other
domains. Since 1998 NCBA's international co-operative development programme
has grown to more than US$20 million in annual funding. Paul Hazen also
serves on the boards of the Consumer Federation of America and the NCB
Credit Corporation. He served on the ICA board from 2005 to 2009 and
was re-elected at the ICA General Assembly in Geneva for another four-year
term. |
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Lennart Hjalmarson (Sweden)
Mr. Hjalmarson has been Chief Executive Officer of the Swedish Co-operative
Centre (SCC) since 2000 and
of Vi Agroforestry since 2003. He has a long experience in the co-operative
movement starting in 1967
with various appointments with KF (Federation of Consumer Co-operatives)
where he was head of research
(1974), Director of Training and Education (1979-1983), and Executive
Vice-President (1990-2000). He also served as Chief Executive Officer
of a local Consumer Co-operative Society Sörmland (1983-89). Mr.
Hjalmarson serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of OK (an energy co-operative),
a position held since 2003,
and is a member of the Board of OKQ8, the largest petrol company in
Sweden. He is Chairperson of the
Board of a university in Sweden and Deputy member of the Board of the
Olof Palmes International Centre
since 2007. Mr. Hjalmarson holds degrees in political science and management. |
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Evgeny Kuznetsov (Russia)
Mr. Kuznetsov was elected as President of the Central
Union of Consumer Societies of Russia in May 2009
and is also President of the Association of the League or National
Unions of Co-operative Organisations of
Consumer Co-operation in CIS countries. He is also currently a member
of the Board of Co-operatives
Europe. He has served as Chairperson of the Council of Centrosoyuz
and has held a number of
governmental positions including administrator of the President of
the Russian Federation. He holds a
number of board positions working with community action groups, agrarian
policy issues, the fisheries
industry, and health care and is on the Presidium of the Board of
a non-profit partnership, the Association
of Entrepreneurial Organisations of Russia. Mr. Kuznetsov holds degrees
in law, management and a PhD in economics. |
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Surinder Kumar Jakhar (India)
Mr. Surinder Kumar Jakhar was elected to the Board at the General Assembly
in Singapore in 2007. Mr. Jakhar has worked for more than three decades
to improve the lives of rural poor through co-operatives. As Chair of
the indian Farmers' Fertiliser Co-operative Organisation (IFFCO), he
interacts with more than 55 million farmers through membership of more
than 38,000 co-operatives. He is Chair of Indo-Egyptian Fertiliser Company;
IFFCO Kisan Sewa Trust; IFFCO Kissan Sanchar Ltd and Director, IFFCO
Foundation and Director of the Board of IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance
Company. Mr Jakhar died on 17 January 2011. See ICA's condolence message >>> |
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Mamoru Moteki (Japan)
Mr. Mamoru Moteki was elected as President of the Central Union of Agricultural
Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu) by its General Assembly in August 2008 replacing
Mr. Isami Miyata, former ICA Board member. Mr. Moteki began his career
in the co-operative movement in 1985 as an auditor. He quickly moved
into leadership positions in a primary agricultural co-operative and
a prefectural agricultural co-operative union and federations. Mr. Moteki
is Chairperson of the Japan Joint Committee of Co-operatives (JJC) which
consists of 12 Japanese organisations that belong to the ICA including
consumers, fisheries, workers, forest owners and agricultural co-operatives
and President of the Institute for the Development of Agricultural Co-operatives
in Asia (IDACA). |
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Lourdes Ortellado Sienra (Paraguay)
Mrs. Ortellado has been member of Cooperativa Universitaria Ltda.
since 1976, an organisation with more than 60,000 of members.
She has held a variety of position with the co-operative including
member of the Education Committee, the Credit Committee, and
Board member of Cooperativa Universitaria. She was appointed
Director of PANAL, Compañía de Seguros-Propiedad
Cooperativa in 2003. And continues to hold the position today.
During the Regional Conference of ICA Americas in Asunción,
Paraguay in October, 2002, she was elected chairperson of
the Americas Regional Committee of Co-operatives Women, (CRAMC
ICA Americas). As chairperson of this Committee, she has participated
actively in several meetings with co-operative women in Dominican
Republic , Brazil , Mexico , Paraguay and Canada. Ms. Ortellado
served on the ICA Board from 2005 to 2009 and was re-elected
at the General Assembly for a further four-year term. |
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Janusz Paszkowski (Poland)
Janusz Paszkowski is actively engaged in the Polish co-operative Movement. He is a graduate of
the Law Faculty of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow . At a local level he has been active
since 1976 in the workers co-operative movement. From 2000-2004 he was Chairperson of the
Supervisory Board of NAUWC and since then has been President of the Management Board of NAUWC.
He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Co-operative Council and to date
is Deputy President of the National Co-operative Council. At the international level he is a member
of the Executive Committee of CICOPA and CECOP. He is also a consultant on Polish co-operative law. |
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Anne Santamäki (Finland)
Ms. Santamäki has been President
of Eurocoop since 2006 and was elected the President of Consumer
Co-operatives
Worldwide (CCW) in November 2009. A member of the Executive Board of Co-operatives
Europe and former Vice-President
(2003-2006), she is also a Board member of SOK Association SOKL (Finland).
Ms. Santamäki has been
working with SOK Corporation in Helsinki, Finland, since 1990 where she
is currently the Director of
International Relations. Prior to this, she was responsible within SOK
for sponsorship agreements and
market awareness actions for the entire S Group, a leader in the retail
market in Finland with a 42.4%
market share. She has prior employment experience with the advertising
agency Publicic, Finnish Railsand Nielsen.
She has degrees in business and administration, and marketing
management. Ms Santamäki was elected as one of the
nominees of the sectoral organisations. |
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Petar Stefanov (Bulgaria)
Mr. Stefanov has been President of the Central Co-operative Union
since 2003. The Union has 162,000 co-operative
members, 850 co-operatives and 34 regional co-operative unions. Mr.
Stefanov is an active co-operative
leader at the national level participating as a member of the Supervisory
Board of Central Co-operative
Bank, and Board of Directors of Coop Media. He is a Board member
of Co-operatives Europe and
also active in the sectoral organisations as a member of the Executive
of Consumer Co-operatives
Worldwide (CCW), a member of EUROCOOP, a member of the Board of Co-operatives'
House-Europe, and a
member of the Supervisory Board of the Buying Alliance of Purchasing
Association in Central Europe
COOPEURO. In 2008, Mr. Stefanov received the Medal of the Republic
of Bulgaria, “Civil Merits”, for his
contribution to the development and promotion of the values and institutions
of the co-operative movement
in Bulgaria over two decades of continuous business management. |
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Seah Kian Peng (Singapore)
Mr Seah is currently the Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Fairprice Co-operative of Singapore. NTUC FairPrice is a leading retailer in Singapore, running a chain of over 245 supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores. Its turnover exceeds USD 1.6 billion and has a staff strength of over 7,000. In February 2003, Mr Seah was elected as a member of the ICA Asia-Pacific Board. Prior to his involvement in the co-operative movement, he has worked in both the public and private sectors and also serves in many public and community organisations. He was also the Chairman of the Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF), the apex body representing the co-operative movement in Singapore, from 2002 to 2008. Mr Seah is serving his second ICA Board term.
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Americo Utumi (Brazil)
Mr Utumi has most recently worked as the ICA President's chief advisor
and is member of the Consultative Committee of Sao Paulo State Organisation
of Co-operatives (OCESP). He began his co-operative career in 1952 in
a farmers' co-operative and has held a variety of positions in the Brazilian
co-operative movement including Vice-President of OCB, President of OCESP
(for four mandates), Director-General of OCB and President of CAC Rural
Credit Co-operative. Mr Utumi has been member of the Board of the Organisation
of Co-operatives of the Americas (OCA) as well as Executive Secretary
of the International Co-operative Agricultural Organisation, an ICA specialised
organisation. He has also held governmental posts such as Secretary of
Supply for the City of Sao Paulo, and advisor to the Secretary of Agriculture
of Sao Paulo State and to the Institute of Co-operatives and Associations. |
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Len Wardle (United Kingdom)
Mr Len Wardle is Chairperson of the Co-operative Group of the United
Kingdom. The Group has four
million members in the UK and business interests in food, pharmacy,
funerals, travel, banking, insurance
and farming. As Chairperson he oversees the strategic direction of
the businesses so that they fulfil co-operative
principles, and adopt ethical values such as fair trade and responsible
retailing. Mr Wardle is
also a member of the Board of the Co-operative Insurance Society,
Co-operative Financial Services and the
Co-operative Bank. He is a graduate in economics and has experience
in teaching, management and
strategic planning. |
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