WGIC announces new executive line-up

By on 31 May, 2021

WGIC’s new executive board. Image courtesy WGIC

The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) has announced a new executive board, office bearers, committee chairs and corporate members following its AGM in mid-May.

The new executive board, which will serve from May 2021 until the end of April 2023, comprises 11 members from the list of patrons, three corporate members and one each from the ranks of associate members and honorary members.

  • AAM — Brian Nicholls, Executive Director
  • Autodesk — Theo Agelopoulos, Senior Director, Architecture & Engineering Design Strategy
  • Bentley Systems — Benoit Fredericque, Senior Director of Product Management, Reality & Spatial Modeling
  • Cyient — John Renard, Geography Head, Europe
  • Esri — Dean Angelides, Corporate Director, International
  • GHGSat — Adina Gillespie, Director of Business Development, Europe
  • Hexagon Geosystems — Ken Mooyman, Executive Vice President
  • IIC Technologies — Steven Sawdon, Managing & Operations Director, Europe
  • Maxar Technologies — Andrea Bersan, Vice President Global Industry Business Development
  • RIEGL International — James Van Rens, Senior Vice President
  • Rolta — Shafik Jiwani, President, Canada, UK, and Middle East
  • Spatial Vision — Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Executive Director
  • Terra Analytics — Willy Govender, CEO
  • TomTom — Arnout Desmet, Vice President, Maps
  • Trimble — Ronald Bisio, Senior Vice President, Geospatial
  • Honorary Member — Sanjay Kumar, CEO, Geospatial World

New lists of office bearers and committee chairs have also been announced. The office bearers are:

  • President — Ken Mooyman, Hexagon Geosystems
  • Secretary-General — John Renard, Cyient
  • Treasurer — James Van Rens, RIEGL International

The incoming chairs of the WGIC committees are:

  • Finance & Audit Committee — James Van Rens, RIEGL International
  • Industry/Academia — Zaffar Sadiq Mohamed-Ghouse, Spatial Vision
  • Marketing & Communications — Pier Francesco Cardillo, e-GEOS
  • Membership — Dean Angelides, Esri
  • Partnerships & Industry Engagement — Robert Hoddenbach, Fugro
  • Policy Development & Advocacy — Arnout Desmet, TomTom
  • Public-Private Partnerships — Willy Govender, Terra Analytics

Sanjay Kumar, WGIC founder, said that the organisation’s formation and achievements so far “would not have been possible without the enormous trust and confidence shown by geospatial leaders across the entire geospatial ecosystem, including commercial industry, government agencies, and the United Nations,” the latter of which facilitated the launch ceremony of WGIC on August 1, 2018, in its premises at the UN headquarters.

“There is a growing recognition of geospatial value in addressing political, social and environmental issues,” said incoming president, Ken Mooyman.

“WGIC Members’ work is imperative in articulating this value proposition and creating an enabling environment for harnessing the geospatial Industry’s commercial potential.

“I am honored and look forward to advocating on behalf of WGIC Members and the global geospatial Community.”

“With a growing and diverse membership in an industry that is rapidly evolving, the next couple of years promises to be an inspiring time for the WGIC,” added Secretary-General, John Renard.

“I feel very privileged to be part of the executive leadership, and I am committed to building on the ground-breaking work done by the founding team and helping the WGIC realise its full potential.”

The executive board endorsed a new committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which will “assess the current scenario and targeted actions whereby organisations and the Council can help grow the next generation of industry leaders that reflect the diversity of the communities served”.

That ambition is reflected in the ascension of four new associate members, being:

  • GeoSAS Consulting, Ethiopia, represented by Dr. Menghestab Haile, Director
  • Satellogic, Uruguay, represented by Thomas VanMatre, Vice President Global Business Development
  • SI Analytics (SIA), the Republic of Korea, represented by Taegyun Jeon, CEO and Founder
  • Voxelmaps, United States, represented by Peter Atalla, CEO and Founder.

“At WGIC, we believe in Diversity of Thought and representation across the Board. As part of this philosophy, WGIC identifies the need to recruit members from small and large enterprises from different geographies and ensure racial and gender diversity,” said WGIC Executive Director, Barbara Ryan.

“Having these new geospatial companies with unique offerings from Africa, Asia, and North and South America joining WGIC is very rewarding, and we look forward to their active contributions to WGIC’s Mission and Programs.”

The latest corporate member to join the WGIC is GHGSat, Canada, represented by Adina Gillespie, Director of European Business Development, who was also nominated as an executive board member.

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