Leading Turkish businessman Rona Yircali will succeed Avijit Mazumdar as ICC World Chambers Federation (WCF) Chairman on 1 January 2006.

Mr Yircali’s election by the WCF Steering Committee was endorsed by the ICC Executive Board and World Council earlier this month. Mr Yircali is Chairman of the Board of Directors, Balıkesir Chamber of Industry and Past President of the Union of Chambers & Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB). He will be the first Turkish chairman of WCF in its fifty years of activity.  

Since 1976 Mr Yircali has been actively involved in the work of ICC Turkey, the International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) Turkish national committee, and is currently president of its executive committee. He has been a member of the ICC Executive Board since 1996 and became a WCF vice-chairman in 2003, the first chamber leader to assume this position. His group of companies specializes in mining, energy (electrical transformers, hydroelectric and wind power), animal feed, textiles, synthetic fibres and bags, tourism and finance.

Mr Yircali will be joined by a team of WCF vice-chairmen from various parts of the world who will be assisting him during his term. These are:  

• Peter Mihok, President, Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mr Mihok is returning as a WCF vice-chairman, having held this position since 2001. He is also Chairman of ICC Slovakia, President of the Slovak Sub-committee of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Slovakia, and Deputy President of Eurochambres.
• Robert Recker, Executive Vice President, Orlando Regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry (USA). The Orlando Regional Chamber is the largest local chamber of commerce in Florida. Mr Recker is also the Past Chairman of the Chamber Leadership Cabinet of ICC’s US affiliate, the United States Council for International Business.
• Pere Vicens, Commission Chairman, Barcelona Chamber of Commerce (Spain). Mr Vicens is Chairman and CEO of “Editorial Vicens Vives”, a leading publishing house in Spain and Latin America. Mr Vicens has been an active member of the Council of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Barcelona, in addition to holding posts such as Past President of the International Publishers Association. Mr Vicens is also an incoming member of ICC's 2006 Executive Board.
• Prince Sifiso Zulu, President, Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry (South Africa). Prince Sifiso Zulu is a businessman and a director of companies in a wide variety of sectors including tourism, trade, freight and timber. He is also a member of the South African Ministry of Trade and Industry Forum, as well as a member of the Presidential Joint Working Group on the South African economy.

The World Chambers Federation (WCF) is ICC's specialized division for its chamber of commerce members worldwide. WCF both helps individual chambers to become more productive and strengthens the links between chambers, encouraging the exchange of experiences to improve chamber performance in areas such as finance, management and the development and promotion of services.