A familiar face will lead at the helm of the International Co-operative Alliance (ICA) for the next four years.
Ariel Guarco has been re-elected as the President of the ICA at the ICA General Assembly which is taking place in Seville, Spain. The new term will last four years and end in 2026.
A co-operator since his youth, Guarco has had an impressive resume under his belt. Having served as a member of the ICA Global Board since 2013, he was first elected as President of ICA in November 2017. Prior, Guarco is a prominent figure leading the co-operative movement within Argentina. His roots began within the electric co-operative in his hometown some two decades ago.
In his previous tenure as President, Mr Guarco vowed to amplify the voice of the co-operative movement and strove to strengthen the participatory involvement between co-operatives around the globe. One of his wider known projects includes two massive membership surveys that aimed to progress the international co-operative movement and pave the way for the Second Plan for a Cooperative Decade (2020 - 2030). He also saw the creation of the International Cooperative Entrepreneurship Think Tank (ICETT) which welcomes major entities and industry experts to be integrated within ICA so as to address challenges faced by co-operative enterprises.
Guarco had served as Deputy Vice President of Cooperatives of the Americas between 2014 - 2018 and has been the President of the Cooperative Confederation of the Argentine Republic (COOPERAR), the apex body of Co-operatives in Argentina, since 2011. He is also the author of the book "The Argentine Cooperative Movement: A Hopeful Look Into the Future".
At a press conference, he said: “I am humbled to be re-elected president of the ICA. In these four years I have done my best to meet the commitments of my mandate and I will offer once again my commitment, my dedication and my enthusiasm to move forward in a new chapter where we can crystallize new achievements.”
According to the election committee, a total of 769 votes were cast. Of which, Guarco polled 58% of the votes cast (445 votes). His rival candidates: Melissa Morrison and Jean-Louis Bancel, are the chief executive of the Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals in Australia and chair of Crédit Cooperatif in France respectively. Morrison bagged 164 votes, while Bancel, who is the Vice President of ICA took home 160 votes.
A new board of directors has also been elected at the General Assembly. Singapore National Co-operative Federation (SNCF) did not run at this year's General Election.
For more information on the new board and press updates, please visit here.
SNCF congratulates Mr Ariel Guarco on his re-election.
By Sng Ler Jun
