ICA People: Elected Officials and Staff
Board (2005-2009)
The ICA Board is comprised of a President, four Vice-President (one from each geographic region), and 15 members. In addition, the Board can co-opt additional members to ensure that specific groups of the ICA membership is adequately represented (women and youth). Members serve a four-year term. The following list of individuals were either elected or confirmed at the 2007 ICA General Assembly in Singapore.
President
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Ivano Barberini
Mr Barberini was elected as ICA President by the General Assembly in
Seoul in 2001 when he was President of Legacoop. He has over 40 years
experience in the co-operative movement. He began his co-operative career
in the consumer co-operative sector and held the position of President of
Legacoop, a multisectoral organisation which represents over 10,000
co-operatives with more than 5 million members, from 1996 to 2002. Mr
Barberini has also been very active in working with European and
international movements promoting co-operative values and principles,
collaboration among co-operatives and has also been involved in solidarity
actions for developing countries and emergency aid. Ivan Barberin i was elected unopposed for a second term at the Cartagena
Visit the President's Page |
Vice-President (Africa)
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Stanley Charles Muchiri
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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Carlos Palacino
Mr Palacino was elected by the Regional Assembly for the Americas as the
ICA Americas President and ratified by the ICA General Assembly in Oslo in
September 2003. He is the President of Saludcoop, a healthcare
co-operative in Colombia which is the second largest employer at the
national level.
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Vice-President (Asia & the Pacific)
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Li Chunsheng
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 Cooperation 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 Cooperation Department, and China Chamber of International Commerce SMC Sub-Chamber,
which means he takes charge of a wide range of cooperative works, inter alias, the reform and
growth of affiliated enterprises and primary cooperatives, guild development, industrial planning
and guidance, cooperative legislation, scientific research and innovation, training and education,
and international relation, cooperation and trade promotion. |
Vice-President (Europe)
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Pauline Green
Dame Pauline Green was elected by the European Regional Assembly in
October 2002 and ratified by the General Assembly in Oslo in September
2003. She was appointed Chief Executive and General Secretary of the UK
Co-operative Union in January 2000. She has been involved in the
co-operative movement at local, national and international levels for many
years and was recently member of the Co-operative Commission nominated by
the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Tony Blair. She is also
President of the Worker Co-op Federation in Britain. Pauline Green was
elected to the European Parliament in 1989 as a Co-op sponsored member,
and was a leader of the European Parliament's largest group, the
Socialist/Social Democrat Group between 1994 and 1999, during which time
she was heavily involved at senior levels of policy making in the European
Union and its member governments. |
Board Members
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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 agricultural industry 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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Alban D`Amours (Canada)
Mr Alban D’Amours, is President and C.E.O of Desjardins Group, the largest
integrated co-operative financial group in Canada, with assets of US$83 billion
and 5.5 millions membersand clients. After having distinguished himself in an academic
career in the field of Economics, he served in the Québec government as Deputy Minister
of Revenue and Associate Deputy Minister of Energy. In 1988, he joined Desjardins to hold
the positions of Inspector and Auditor General of Desjardins Group, Senior Vice-President
Planning, Communication, Marketing and Senior Vice President and Chief, Development and Audit.
He was elected in February 2000 and re-elected by acclamation for a second term in January 2004.
Mr. D’Amours is the recipient of several honorary prizes. |
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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. |
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Steinar Dvergsdal (Norway)
Mr Dvergsdal is a member of the Federation of Norwegian Agricultural
Co-operatives, member of the Board of Directors of the national consumer
co-operative organisation, Coop Norway (1995-2001), President of the
Norwegian Agricultural Purchasing and Marketing Co-operation since 1995
and leader of the Organising Committee of the 2003 ICA General Assembly in
Norway. Mr Dvergsdal is a farmer with more than 25 years active
participation in the local, regional and national co-operative movement in
agriculture, consumer and other co-operatives including the Norwegian
Standing Committee on Co-operative Affairs. |
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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. |
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Ramón Imperial Zúñiga (Mexico)
Ramón Imperial has worked in several positions in the federal organisation in the
financial sector of the Co-operative Movement in Mexico . 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 . He has 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. |
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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. |
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Gun-Britt Mårtensson (Sweden)
A graduate in English, French and Political Science, Ms Mårtensson has played an active role in politics and was Vice Mayor and Mayor of her local town of 60,000 inhabitants from 1985-1997. Elected in 1982 as a member of the Board of the Swedish Association of Local Authorities, Ms Mårtensson then became spokesperson for housing policies. Since 1997, she has been Chair and President of HSB, the National Federation of Tenants, Savings and Building Societies (HSB Riksförbund), Sweden's largest organisation for co-operative housing. Ms Mårtensson is a member of the Board of ICA Housing, CECODHAS, the European Organisation for Housing, and President of the Co-operative section and the Committee for social inclusion. She is also Board member of the Nordic Housing Alliance, the Swedish Co-operative Institute and Swedish Co-operative Centre. At the ICA General Assembly in Seoul (2001), she was elected Chairperson of the ICA Audit & Control Committee and stepped down from this position when she was elected to the Board in September 2003 at the General Assembly in Oslo.
She is also curretnly chair of the ICA's Governance Working Group. |
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Isami Miyata (Japan)
Isami Miyata is President of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives
(JA-Zenchu) and has worked in the co-operative movement since 1988. Mr
Miyata has held the positions of President of Shinshinotsumura
Agricultural Co-operative, President of Hokkaido Prefectural Union of
Agricultural Co-operatives and Member of the Board of National Press & Information
Federation of Agricultural Co-operatives. Mr Miyata was also an auditor with the Central
Union of Agricultural Co-operatives and in May 2003 became President of the Japanese Joint
Committee of Co-operatives (JJC). |
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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. |
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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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Felice Scalvini (Italy)
Felice Scalvini has a degree in Law from the Pavia University in Italy . A solicitor and auditor,
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 . At a national level,
he is Vice-President of Confcooperative Brescia, a Board member of Cariplo Bank Foundation and
President of CFI. At the European and International level, he is a member of the ICA Europe an
Council and Executive Committee, a member of the Cooperatives in Europe Council and President of
CECOP. He is also Vice-President of CICOPA. |
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Seah Kian Peng (Singapore)
Seah Kian Peng is the Chairman of Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF),
the apex body representing the Co-operative Movement in Singapore . Concurrently, Mr. Seah
is the Deputy Chief Executive Office (CEO) and Chief Operating Officer of NTUC FairPrice
Co-operative and the CEO of NTUC Media Co-operative. NTUC FairPrice is a leading retailer
in Singapore , running a chain of over 130 supermarkets and convenience stores with a combined
turnover of over US$780 million and a staff of over 5,000 employees. NTUC Media is in the radio
and broadcasting and publishing business. In February 2003 Mr Seah was elected as a member of
the ICA Asia-Pacific Standing Committee. Prior to his involvement in the Co-operative Movement,
Mr. Seah has worked in both the public and private sectors. He is Board member of various
subsidiaries with the NTUC Group and also serves various public and community organisations. |
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Thomas Tar (Nigeria)
Tom Tar is Executive Secretary of the Co-operative Federation of Nigeria (CFN), the national co-operative apex organisation. He has 20 years of professional experience with the Co-operative Movement in Nigeria during which time he has acquired considerable skills in co-operative education and training, specially on-the-job training and grassroots-based member education, design of need-based training materials, and exposure in gender equality and co-operative policy issues. Mr. Tar was co-opted by the ICA Board at its meeting in Lisbon in October 2008. |
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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
Cooperatives and Associations. |
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