A new leadership team has been voted in at the ICA following its annual general meeting, which took place earlier this month during the association’s Las Vegas 2022 trade event.
Mr Tim North (Tim North Consulting) takes on the role of ICA President. Tim will be supported by Ms Kim Hanna (President – TransGlobal Inspections) as First Vice-President and Mr Mohomed Bashir (Chairman, Gul Ahmed Textile Mills Limited) as Second Vice-President.
New to the board are Ms Alia Malik (Director for Sustainability – Better Cotton), Mr Yahya Saleem (Regional Director for Pakistan), Mr Jagan Gopinath (Regional Director for India), Mr Ismail Nohutlu (Regional Director for Turkey), Mr Ashok Hegde (Ordinary Director – Olam Global Agri Pte Ltd), Mr Hope Brooks (Ordinary Director – Staple Cotton Cooperative Association) and Mr Marco Antonio Aluisio (Ordinary Director – Ecom Agroindustrial Corp Ltd).
Speaking of his new role as ICA President, Tim said:
“Becoming President of the ICA is a great honour. And as I reach the latter stages of my career, the opportunity to lead the International Cotton Association is something I assume with great pride.
As the ICA President I must tell you all now that I recognise the importance of being a President to all participants in the textile chain – from the field to the end user and all those involved in that process. It is my duty to serve you. The textile chain is more transparent than it has ever been. It is essential that the ICA continue to evolve and keep pace with changes as they occur. Traceability using science and block chain capacity is holding the whole chain more accountable. There is a need and thirst for knowledge, especially on the retail side of the business. For too long, there have been virtual walls between various sectors of the industry. It is important that the ICA engage with brands and retailers as they play a vital role in the whole process. The inclusion of Andrew Olah on the Board offers a great opportunity for us to engage in more dialogue with brands and retailers due to his extensive contacts in the industry.
Sustainability is here to stay. It will evolve and the ICA can play a role in this important space. Whereas the raison d’être of the ICA is to provide Arbitration services and help to maintain integrity in the marketplace, having contact with all segments of the industry is essential to assist in contract sanctity.
My intention is to be able to stand before you in a year’s time and to be able to speak to important progress made in these various areas that will surely serve to create an increasingly safer trading environment.”
Tim entered the cotton business in December 1978 joining Weil Brothers-Cotton as a management trainee. In January 1983, he moved to South America to establish operations for Weil in Paraguay and to develop Weil’s South American business. He returned to the U.S. to Weil’s head office in December 1988 to oversea Weil’s South American business. Tim then went on to become the Senior Vice President for Weil Brothers-Cotton, Inc. in 2004, in charge of Weil’s Non-U.S. operations and overseeing Pima U.S. and C/A operations.
In December 2009, Tim joined Ecom cotton group in Dallas, Texas and became coCEO of Ecom, USA in January 2016. He then relocated to Pully, Switzerland in March 2019 for Ecom as Global Head of Merchandising.
Tim has held a variety of board and association positions in the industry, including President of Western Cotton Shippers Association (2016-2018), Chairman of American Cotton Shippers Association (2019/20) as well as serving on the boards of Cotton Council International and the U.S. National Cotton Council.
Comprising 24 members, the new board line-up continues to represent the ICA’s global membership across all sectors of the supply chain and builds on its commitment to engage the entire global cotton community.
View the full ICA Board line-up >
