María Fernanda Garza was elected President of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) for a period of two years after the meeting of the ICC World Council, held this Tuesday in Mexico City.

The ICC World Council further elected Philippe Varin, President of ICC France, as ICC First Vice President, and Nayla Comair Obeid and Harsh Pati Singhania as ICC Vice Presidents.

María Fernanda Garza is CEO of Orestia, a small home solutions manufacturer based in Mexico, which exports to North America, Latin America and Asia.

«A lifelong defender of small and medium-sized enterprises in her country and around the world, she participated for 19 years in the Employers’ Confederation of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX) and was vice president for four years,» the ICC said in a statement.

In her new role, the statement added, she will continue to advance the ICC’s mission of making business work for everyone, every day, everywhere.

A defender of business ethics and corporate governance standards, la Garza was President of ICC Mexico until June 2020 and was a member of the International Affairs Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Labor and a former member of the NAALC National Advisory Committee.

She is also a member of the Council of the Alliance for Corporate Social Responsibility AliaRSE and was a member of the Corporate Responsibility Network of the Business and Industrial Advisory Committee of the OECD.

María Fernanda Garza

Referring to her election, María Fernanda Garza said: «At this time, given the magnitude of the risks facing the global economy, it is vital that we have a united business voice committed to openness, fair competition and the empowerment of peace through international trade.»

Also the ICC World Council elected six new members of the ICC Executive Commission for three-year terms:

• Holger Bingmann, managing partner of Bingmann Pflüger International GmbH (Germany).
• Rebecca Enonchong, CEO of AppsTech and President of Afrilabs (Cameroon).
• Marjorie Yang, President of Esquel Group (Hong Kong).
• Lama Al Sulaiman, shareholder and member of the Board of Rolaco Holdings, KSA, and LUX (Saudi Arabia).
• Nicolas Uribe, President of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (Colombia).
• Justin D’Agostino, General Manager of Herbert Smith Freehills (Hong Kong).