The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has elected its new board for 2026-2030 at its 2026 General Assembly in Panama.
The meeting, held at the Panama Convention Centre yesterday (16 September), saw Ariel Guarco returning unopposed as president, a role he has held since 2017. With 116 voters representing 193 members from 66 countries, 15 at-large directors were elected from 24 candidates, including seven returning directors and eight who are new to the board.
The last elective General Assembly was held in Seville, Spain, in 2022.
Thanking directors who chose not to stand again for their service, and welcoming the new board, Guarco said: “Democracy is not just an election mechanism; it’s a way to relate to one another …in a co-operative, everyone counts and we must be participatory, democratic and inclusive.”
Related: Ariel Guarco reflects on 2025 Global Conference and IYC celebrations
Returning to the board are:
Márcio Lopes de Freitas (Brazil), president of the Organization of Brazilian Cooperatives since 2001
Attilio Dadda (Italy), president of Legacoop Lombardia, vice president of Legacoop Nazionale, and president of the Alliance of Lombard Cooperatives.
Douglas O’Brien (USA), president and CEO of NCBA CLUSA
Simona Cavazzutti (Paraguay), president of the Confederation of Rural Cooperatives of Paraguay (Concopar Ltda.) and the Sectoral Organisation of Agricultural Cooperatives (Redacoop).
Íñigo Albizuri Landazabal (Spain), head of global public affairs at Mondragon Corporation and as President of its NGO Mundukide.
Maria Eugenia Pérez Zea (Colombia), executive president of Ascoop, principal member of the board of Coomeva and director of Confecoop.
Rose Marley (UK), CEO of Co-operatives UK.
“I look forward to working with the ICA and Co-operatives UK to build a better world through shared ownership and partnership,” said Marley, whose stated priorities are growing the movement, strengthening the ICA and delivering co-op solutions globally.
“We face many global and local challenges but co-operatives can provide solutions, impact, fairness and equity if we are bold and ambitious. I am absolutely honoured to be given the opportunity and sincerely thank all of the members that voted for me and trust in me.”
New directors are:
Marie-Josée Paquette (Canada), CEO of the Conseil québécois de la coopération et de la mutualité since 2021, who has served as executive director of the Office of the President of the ICA.
Dileep Sanghani (India), chair of Iffco and a former president of the National Cooperative Union of India.
Yuyan Wang (China), president of All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives (ACFSMC).
Yoshito Shinno (Japan), president of JA-Zenchu (Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives) and chair of JCA (Japan Co-operative Alliance).
Ünal Örnek (Turkiye), education, research and international relations coordinator of Orkoop, board member of Cooperatives Europe, and advisor to the board of the International Co-operative Agricultural Organisation.
Ryszard jaśkowski (Poland), vice president of the National Cooperative Council, president of National Union of Społem, board member of Euro Coop, and the Polish representative in Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide.
Abdul Fattah Abdullah (Malaysia), president of Angkasa, Malaysia’s national co-operative apex.
Bastien Sibille (France), secretary general of French co-op apex Coop FR.
Alongside the president and 15 at-large directors, the 30-strong ICA global board includes four vice presidents – one for each of the ICA’s geographical regions: Macloud Malonza (ICA Africa); José Alves de Souza Neto (Cooperativas de las Américas); Chandrapal Singh Yadav (ICA Asia-Pacific); Giuseppe Guerini (Cooperatives Europe).
There is also one member appointed by each of the ICA’s eight sectoral organisations: Carlos Zarco (International Health Cooperative Organisation); Blase Lambert (Cooperative Housing International); Noh Dong-Jin (International Fisheries Cooperative Organisation); Liz Green (International Cooperative and Mutual Insurance Federation); Bhima Subrahmanyam(International Cooperative Banking Association); Ho-dong Kang (International Cooperative Agricultural Organisation); Petar Stefanov (Consumer Co-operatives Worldwide); Osamu Nakano (International Organisation of Industrial and Service Cooperatives (Cicopa)
The president of the Youth Committee, Harsh Sanghani, and the president of the Gender Equality Committee, Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes, will also join the board.
Blase Lambert, chair of the Elections Committee, said: “It has been a real honour for me to chair the elections committee process for the ICA. I am very pleased to see that the event and the election have gone off so well, and that we have got a strong board that’s very representative of the movement in place for the next four years. I’m looking forward to working alongside them as a member of the board representing Cooperative Housing International.”
Also during the meeting, delegates approved the agenda and the minutes of the extraordinary general assembly which took place online on 18 June 2026, and heard Guarco give an overview of his activities as president during 2025, the International Year of Cooperatives.
Presenting the 2025 Annual Report, ICA director general Jeroen Douglas shared how the organisation’s 2026-2030 strategy, Practice, Promote, Protect, has led to five pathways of activity focusing on People, Data, Advocacy, Finance and Future. The full Annual Report can be found here.
Delegates were also consulted on a proposed overhaul of the ICA’s membership offer, which aims to address structural barriers and limitations, the unequal distribution of financial burden, and the complexity and lack of transparency around member formulas. Members tasked the incoming board with continuing to develop a new formula for calculating membership fees and voting rights.
Next year’s ICA General Assembly will take place before 1 July. The meeting closed with a ceremony welcoming members who had joined the ICA since the last in-person general assembly.
