The results of the elections for the ICA President, First and Second Vice President and Directors have been announced at the Association’s Annual General Meeting, held today on 9 December in Liverpool, UK.
Mr Ray Butler (Chairman & Managing Director, The Outlook Group Limited) takes on the role of President. Ray will be supported by Mr Antonio Esteve (CEO, Ecom Cotton Group) as First Vice President and Mr Ahmed Elbosaty (Chairman & Managing Director, Modern Nile Cotton Company) as Second Vice President.
New to the ICA board are Mr Bob Carter (Plexus Cotton Ltd), Mr Jürg Reinhart (Paul Reinhart AG), who have been elected to serve as Ordinary Directors and Mr Mohit Shah (Gill & Co), who will represent the common interests of the Indian cotton industry.
Now consisting of 21 members, representing 14 countries,the new board line-up represents the Association’s global membership and continues to build on the ICA’s international credentials to engage the entire cotton community.
On accepting the role of president at his inaugural speech, Ray explained: “During the next few months, the task for the Association, its directors and members, will doubtless be challenging, given the recent record level of prices and the tremendous volatility that has characterised the market.
“With the support of the Board, I want to ensure that the Association is fit for purpose, that our Bylaws & Rules are in their best possible shape and that our excellent ICA Management Team is continuing to develop. I intend to continue the good work of the past several presidents in ensuringthat our message about the benefit of ‘Sanctity of Contract’ continues to be spread as widely as possible.
“The Board’s aim is to reinforce our relationships in today’s main consuming markets and elsewhere, and to encourage more dialogue and cooperation with other associations, in pursuit of the goal of reinforcing this Association’s leadership role in the world’s cotton trade.”
Based on Merseyside in the UK, Ray has been involved with the cotton industry, and, specifically, with Cotton Outlook, in various roles for 35 years. He joined Cotton Outlook’s board in the nineteen eighties, took editorial control of the company’s services in 1989 and became its chairman and managing director in 2000. Ray has served on the ICA’s board continuously since its name change from the Liverpool Cotton Association, of which he was president in 2001.
