WCF leadership

Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu is the President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), the largest business organization in Türkiye, covering 365 chambers and commodity exchanges with over 2 million members.

He has worked in numerous international organizations and chamber organizations and holds many titles in various organizations including Vice-President of EUROCHAMBRES, Vice President of the Confederation of Asia Pacific Chambers of Commerce, President of the Union of Turkic Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Vice President of Islamic Chamber of Commerce and Development, Chair of B20 Türkiye, Member of the Executive Board of ICC and Chair of ICC Türkiye.

As a prominent businessperson in Türkiye and in the surrounding region, currently he is the Chairman of Eskihisar Group, which operates in the fields of construction, construction materials, real estate, food industry and automotive sector.

Shevaun Haviland joined the Civil Service in 2016 as the Cabinet Office’s Deputy Director of Business Partnerships. In 2017, Shevaun also became the head of Business Relations at Number 10, Downing Street, alongside her Cabinet Office position. As Deputy Director of Business Partnerships, Shevaun has been a driving force for the Inclusive Economy Partnership. Prior to joining the central government, Shevaun was at the forefront of digital innovation through her work as the Founding Director of the Academy of Digital Business Leaders and as a Director at Independents United.

She has also worked for a wide range of other private sector firms. These include the agency group WPP, the Walt Disney Company, and Datamonitor based in London, Paris, and New York. Outside of Government, Shevaun sits on the U.K. National Advisory Board on Impact Investing and supports The Danson Foundation.

She has also shown her commitment to social enterprise as an ‘angel investor’. Shevaun graduated from PPE at the University of Oxford and has been awarded the ‘Freedom of the City of London’. Outside work, she is currently training to obtain a pilot’s license.

Andrew McKellar is the Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) – the nation’s largest business organization, representing employers of every size and sector in Canberra, across the country, and around the globe. Under Andrew’s leadership, ACCI champions policies that enable businesses to innovate, invest, and grow, promoting Australia’s economic strength and international competitiveness. Previously, Andrew served as secretary general for mobility at the Federation Internationale de l’Automobile, based in Paris; chief executive of the Australian Trucking Association; chief executive of the Australian Automobile Association; and Chief Executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Earlier in his career, Andrew worked in government, serving as a senior adviser to successive federal industry ministers. He also worked in the Department of the Prime Minister, Cabinet, Commonwealth, and Queensland treasuries.

Andrew holds a Bachelor of Economics from the Australian National University

Dalenda M’HAMDI MEKKI

Director General International Relations, Tunis Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Dalenda´s current position is Central Director of Events, Communications, International Relations, Economic Information and Archives at CCITUNIS. She also serves as Press Officer of the CCI of Tunis and Director of the Cabinet of the President of the CCITUNIS. She holds a Masters in Journalism and Information Sciences, plus is a specialist in communication, strategic marketing, advocacy and economic events.

She was recently appointed at the General Council of the World Chambers Federation WCF. Mrs. Dalenda is Member of the Steering Committee of the EU Neighborhood Policy Project and has always been very involved in organizations internationally as Co-Coordinator of the Economic Forum of La Francophonie, Djerba 20-21 November 2022, received a Certification training in advocacy policy in Paris, and a Certificate course in The Role of Public Policy in Private Sector Development Leadership, from the Academy for Development & Mediterranean School of Business.

Mrs. M’hamdi Mekki has also served as Communication correspondent for the CCI of Tunis within the CPCCAF, the Permanent Conference of African and French-speaking Consular Chambers, Member of the African Women Entrepreneurs Network, and Communication Correspondent within the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Mediterranean. She has also participated at the International Visitor Leadership Program “International Trade” Near East and North Africa in 2017 and at the Benevolence Association of the Sidi HAMADA Delegation.

She has Doctor and master’s in business administration from the Universidade Positivo and a Bachelor of Economics from the Jorge T. Lozano University (Colombia). She has worked in higher education – Undergraduate and Postgraduate Lato Sensu – since 2011. She is currently a professor at UNISOCIESC and President of IBEPES – Brazilian Institute of Social Studies and Research (2014-2017) with activities, also as a teacher and researcher.

She is a partner of Wellcome Ltda. in management and internationalization projects for private organizations. Mrs. Bustamante is President of the Chamber of Foreign Trade of the Federation of Industries of the State of Santa Catarina – FIESC. She works as an academic in Political Science, emphasizing International, Bilateral, and Multilateral Relations, mainly on issues such as international negotiations, regional Integration, and Mercosur.

Rim is an active Egyptian role model, advocating for better inclusion of women at all levels across the business not only in the MENA Region but Globally. She is committed to helping to increase the proportion of women in leadership roles and build a pipeline of talent and creative young entrepreneurs through partnerships and initiatives such as:” Empowering 20,000 Women and Youth by 2020″ & ” Teaching Woman Art & Craft Carpentry Skills”

Rim has been instrumental in creating an inclusive women’s culture at the Chambers of commerce across Egypt by bringing awareness to Chamber’s impactful and inclusion initiatives and programs. In March 2015, She became the founder/president of the “ Economic Business Women Council” in Egyptian Chambers of commerce. Rim’s activities internally focused on empowering women economically, bridging generation gap ,changing the business culture of the workplace, increasing the number of female owners/partners and creating an inclusive atmosphere for all.

Externally, Rim launched #WEBB-middleeast.com an internet-based women’s marketplace that brings together female entrepreneurs to form a powerful economic force of change, focusing on increasing the number of women digitally, giving them access to market their products, franchising, networking and partnerships. In November 2015,WEBB-Middle East put in action SDG5 and received support from the United Nations Global Compact.

Previously, Rim chaired the Women’s committee for the Canada-Egypt Business Council and served as a director in Egypt for the Asian-Arab Chamber of Commerce and the Regional country manager for the Hot Mommas Project affiliated to the George Washington University School of Business .

Siam has participated in corporate social responsibility and sustainability activities (CSR), with a focus on equipping women business owners with knowledge of the importance of being a socially responsible company to bolster a company’s image and build its brand. She is passionate about equipping these groups with knowledge to increase their competitiveness in business. She is also a strong advocate for women’s economic empowerment and has been recognized with several awards. For the last two years she has been named one of the 16 UNIDO Women Economic empowerment success stories ,She is also a notable alumni Ambassador of the Global Entrepreneurship summit(GES2016-2019) .

Mr. Giorgi Pertaia is a Founder and Director of Keystone Investments, an investment company based in Georgia. Previously, from 2012 to 2016, he served as the Director of the Georgian National Investment Agency, where he was responsible for Foreign Direct Investment facilitation in Georgia. From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Pertaia served as a Business Ombudsman of Georgia, responsible for defending the rights and interests of businesses with the government and protecting taxpayers’ rights and legal interests. In addition, from 2010 to 2011, Mr. Pertaia served as a Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister of Georgia, advising on issues of private sector protection.

His experience includes working for Booz Allen Hamilton in McLean, Virginia; the American Chamber of Commerce in Georgia; and the Department of Customs of Georgia. Mr. Pertaia holds an MBA from Western Illinois University (2009) and a B.A. in Finance from Tbilisi State University (1998).

Since January 2019, Treier is Chief Executive of Foreign Trade and a Member of the Executive Board – responsible for International and European Economic Affairs and the network of bi-national German Chambers, Delegations, and Representations of German Commerce and Industry (AHKs) in 92 countries worldwide. From January 2014 to December 2018, he served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer, before that as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of International Economics Affairs, Managing Director of the DIHK division “Economic Policy”, Chief Economist, Deputy Managing Director of the division Professional Education, Education Policy, and Executive of the DIHK limited company for vocational training, Bonn.

He studied Economics at the Universities of Bamberg and Budapest, is a Doctor of Economic Sciences at the University of Bamberg.

Mr. Mohammad Khazaei has a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Guilan. He also holds a master’s degree in international transactions from George Mason University in the United States. Mr. Khazaee has taught macroeconomics and philosophy at Tehran’s Allameh Tabatabai University. Also, from 1981 to 1988, Mr. Mohammad Khazaei was a Member of Parliament, where he served as a member of the Economic Committee (1982–1988) and the Banking Reform Committee (1981–1982). Furthermore, he served as Senior Advisor to the Board of Directors at the World Bank from 1988 to 2002.

Mr. Mohammad Khazaei held positions in international development financing between 2002 and 2007, serving as both Vice-Minister for International Affairs and President of the Organization for Economic and Technical Assistance in Iran’s Ministry of Economic Affairs (OIETAI). Concurrently, he served as Governor of the OPEC Fund, Vice-Chairman of that organization’s Investment Committee, Alternate Governor for the Islamic Development Bank, and a board member of the Iran-Misr (Iran-Egypt) Development Bank. After that, from 2009 to 2014, he held different positions, such as President of the Board of UNDP at the U.N., Vice President of the General Assembly of the U.N. and the Board UNICEF at the U.N., and Ambassador & Permanent Representative of Islamic Republic of Iran at the U.N.

Finally, Mr. Mohammad Khazaei is an aide to the Iran Chamber of Commerce President and the Director General of ICC Iran, serving as Secretary General and has been elected as a member of the General Council at the World Chambers Federation (WCF) of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).

Mr. Sabra has more than 10 years of executive-level experience in association with leadership, management, nonprofit governance, and sustainable economic development. He is currently the General Director of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon. He studied Natural Sciences at the College Protestant Francais, obtained an M.S. at the American University of Beirut, and an MBA at Ecole Superieure des Affairs ESA.

Trajan Angeloski is the sear holder of the company Ariljemetal, one of the leading companies for machine parts, tools, and fasteners active in many European markets. He has been active for many years on the board Macedonian Chamber of commerce and the country’s economic life.

Trajan Angeloski was born in 1977 in Skopje Capital of Macedonia and graduated from the University St. Cyril and Methodius on the faculty of Mechanical Engineering. He spent time on additional education for specific skills in Germany, Austria, the USA, Japan, China, Taiwan, and other countries. He speaks several languages English, Serbian German, Croatian, Bulgarian, and other languages from the Slavic group.

His professional career started in the family company Ariljemetal with his father, and he was responsible for international markets and the company’s development; he began to found the Bometal group of companies for direct access to the markets.

He has lived several times in different places in the world but always comes back to his homeland. His main objective is development, Innovation, and following World trends.

Trajan Angeloski is expected of the TUV Rhineland certification for Fastening products and technology and has much experience in this field. The Ariljemetal company and Bometal group are well-known in the European markets. His many years of experience in the industry field allows him to know the Industry situations very well.

Mr. Seong is a Yonsei University Graduate School, Department of Law. He is the President of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). He also serves as Vice President, International Trade Department Secretary General, ICC Korea, since February 2022. Previously, he served as Director and Team Leader of the Asia-Pacific Team (Asia-Pacific, Oceania Trade & Economic Cooperation).

He was Project Director, at the P4G Seoul Summit Business Forum. From 2011 to 2020, he served as Head of the Corporate Relations Team (Member companies, Regional Chambers, and National Assembly Relations); before that, he was part of the Americas/Asia-Pacific Team, International Cooperation Dept.

Born in 1984 in Istanbul, İzzet Volkan started his primary education at Çorlu Uncular Süleyman Pekel Primary School. After completing his secondary and high school education at Nişantaşı Işık High School, Volkan later completed his major in Economics and a minor in Political Science at Purdue University in the USA. He completed his internship in many corporate companies, such as Ford Otosan.

After university, he returned to Turkey in 2007 and started working in the family company. In this process, he attended training at many institutions, especially Boğaziçi University and Loughborough University in England. Today, he is the Deputy Chairman and Director of the Board of Directors of family companies operating in automotive, agricultural equipment, insurance, fuel, car rental, agriculture, and real estate development. In addition, he is Chairman of the Çorlu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman of the Board, TOBB Council Member, and the ICC Turkey Board Member.

He is member of the Board of Directors of the General Assembly of the European Parliament EUROCHAMBERS and the Board of Directors of the World Federation of WCF, member of the supervisory board of Aspen Institute Kyiv, member of the supervisory board of UkraineInvest, member of the supervisory board of Mariupol State University and, member of the supervisory board Business Ombudsman Council.

Founder and President of the Hughes Business Club. Founder of the first local AIESEC committee in Ukraine. Doctor and professor of Economics. Awarded the National Order of Merit (France), Cavalier Ordine della Stella d’Italia (Italy).