IMI Board of Directors
The IMI Board of Directors sets the overall direction of the IMI public service activities and ensures efficient operation and appropriate financial control. The Board also has an important responsibility to ensure that IMI is funded to meet its goals and properly staffed. All members of the IMI Board serve in a pro bono capacity.
The Board comprises people drawn from among leading stakeholder groups:
IMI Chair: Ute A. Joas Quinn, Associate General Counsel at Hess Services UK Ltd.
Qualified as a U.S. attorney and trained as a mediator, Ute has a wide range of experience in conflict management, including (among other things) ADR and community grievance mechanisms. In her current role, she leads legal upstream operations in Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia/Caspian. Ute is based in London, the United Kingdom.
Secretary: Shawn Conway, Conway & Partners, Rotterdam
Shawn Conway (1956) is Managing Partner of the law firm Conway & Partners, Advocaten & Attorneys-at-law, and is based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. He represents and advises multinational and other internationally operating companies on (international) business transactions as well as resolution of disputes.
Treasurer: Mark Appel, Senior Vice President, AAA/ICDR, EU - US
Mark Appel is Senior Vice President of the International Centre for Dispute Resolution (ICDR), the international division of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). A member of the Association’s senior management team, Mr Appel is charged with primary responsibility for operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Andrea Carlevaris, Secretary General, ICC International Court of Arbitration (Paris) and Director of Dispute Resolution Services of the ICC
Before joining the ICC in September 2012, Mr Carlevaris was a partner in the Rome office of Bonelli Erede Pappalardo. His practice covered international arbitration, judicial proceedings involving issues of public international law, conflicts of law and international civil procedure. Mr Carlevaris joined Bonelli Erede Pappalardo in 2003 and became partner in 2010. Previously, he was counsel at the Secretariat of the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
Patrick Deane, Senior Counsel and Head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group, Nestlé, Vevey
Patrick Deane is a Senior Counsel and Head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group in the Nestlé Legal Department based at Nestlé’s international headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland.
Jason Fry, Partner and Co-Head of the International Arbitration Croup, Clifford Chance
Jason Fry re-joined Clifford Chance, based in Paris, following 5 years as Secretary General, ICC International Court of Arbitration (Paris) and Director of Dispute Resolution Services of the ICC. At the ICC Mr Fry played a key role leading a number of important strategic initiatives, notably establishing the ICC Secretariat’s presence in Hong Kong and Singapore, the creation of the ICC’s Hearing Centre in Paris, and most recently the revision of the ICC Rules of Arbitration, which came into effect in early 2012. He is also co-author of a book on the new ICC Arbitration Rules.
Isabelle Hautot, General Counsel International Expertise & Conflict Resolution, Orange Group
Isabelle Hautot is a General Counsel for the Orange Group (former France Télécom SA) specifically in charge of the International expertise & Conflict Resolution, Litigation, Corporate Social Responsibility and Real Estate departments; the chair of the CCIAG (Corporate Counsel International Arbitration Group) and an Honorary member of the Paris Bar.
Wolf Juergen von Kumberg, European Legal Director and Assistant General Counsel, Northrop Grumman Corporation (IMI Chair 2008), London
Wolf von Kumberg has been the European Legal Director and Assistant General Counsel to Northrop Grumman Corporation and its predecessor, Litton Industries, Inc., for over 15 ye, ars. He is in addition a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and sits on its Practice and Standards Committee. He is also a member of CPRS European Advisory and Steering Committees.
Michael Leathes, Former Executive Director, IMI, UK
Michael Leathes is a former in-house lawyer with various international corporations and a user of mediation worldwide. He was pro bono Executive Director of IMI from 2007 to 2009 and is now a member of the IMI Board of Directors - Honorary Chair.
Diana Wallis, Former Vice President of European Parliament
For five years until January 2012, Diana Wallis was a Vice President of the European Parliament. She was one of the driving forces behind the EU Mediation Directive of May 2008 among many other distinctions in her 12-year period as a Member of the European Parliament representing the British constituency of Yorkshire and the Humber (1999-2012), following a successful career as a solicitor in commercial litigation. Diana has served throughout her parliamentary career as Coordinator of the European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, and in that role has been a powerful champion of better access to justice across civil society.
George Lim, Senior Counsel, Singapore
George is a Senior Counsel and former President of the Law Society of Singapore.
He is a partner in the firm of Wee Tay & Lim LLP, and serves on the Board of Directors of the Singapore Mediation Centre (SMC). George also serves on the Boards of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education, the Law Faculty's Advisory Body (NUS) and the Singapore Land Authority.
James MacPherson, CEO, BCDR-AAA
James MacPherson is CEO of the BCDR-AAA (The Bahrain Chamber for Dispute Resolution's joint venture with the American Arbitration Association). With over seventeen years experience, James has specialized in conflict resolution for corporate and governmental organizations, including designing and directing international, multilingual arbitration and mediation programs.
Deborah Masucci, Vice President, Legal Strategies, Office of Dispute Resolution, American International Group, Inc.
Deborah Masucci is Vice President of Legal Strategies in the Office of Dispute Resolution at American International Group, Inc., where she is responsible for the strategic use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) and increasing the alternative methods of appropriate dispute resolution used within the Claims Organization. She is an acknowledged expert on alternative dispute resolution who speaks regularly on the topic before legal and business organizations. She is Chair of the American Bar Association’s Dispute Resolution Section. She is a member of the International Arbitration Club of New York. She serves on the International Mediation Institute’s Task Force for Mediation Advocacy Credentialing. She is a Board member for Access ADR, an organization committed to Diversity in ADR. She also served on the New York State Bar Association’s Task Force on the Future of the Legal Profession.
Doug McKay, Vice President International Organisations at Shell International
Doug McKay is Vice President of International Organisations at Shell International Ltd and is responsible for Shell relationships and programs with key international organisations including: the G20, World Bank, IMF, UN, OECD, NATO, ASEAN and IEA.
Previously he was: Vice President, responsible for governance of Shell Gas & Power activities and joint venture relationships in Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and India; Director of Oman LNG, Qalhat LNG, Hazira Gas and Qatar Shell Research and Technology; Vice President Strategy, Portfolio and Planning in Shell Gas and Power; Senior Energy Analyst with Shell Scenarios; Senior Financial Analyst with the World Bank and Manager of Economics and Planning for an international engineering consulting firm.
Mike (Michael) McIlwrath, Senior Counsel - Litigation, GE Oil & Gas, Florence
Mike McIlwrath is Senior Counsel, Litigation, for the GE Oil & Gas division in Florence, Italy. His experience in international arbitration includes representing the company in disputes under the rules of various international and regional arbitration institutions and under ad hoc procedures around the world, and in coordinating the activities of outside counsel in domestic court and arbitral proceedings. He has published numerous articles in the fields of international arbitration, mediation, and negotiation.
Minn Naing Oo, CEO & Registrar, Singapore International Arbitration Centre
Minn started his legal career with Drew & Napier and later joined Rajah & Tann, practising commercial litigation and arbitration, with a specialisation in shipping and admiralty matters. He then joined the Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) in 2002 and rose to head the Ministry’s WTO and International Trade Negotiations Division. During this time, Minn was closely involved in the formulation of Singapore’s trade policy, the WTO Doha Round negotiations, as well as several Free Trade Agreements, including with the United States, Australia and China. He moved to SIAC in October 2008.
Kimberly Taylor, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, JAMS
In her role as COO, Taylor oversees JAMS operations in the United States. Working directly with the President and CEO, and leading a team that spans 25 resolution centers across North America, Taylor is responsible for the company’s day-to-day operating activities.
Taylor has been a key contributor to JAMS since she joined the organization in 1999, most recently serving as Vice President of the East/Central Region, where she oversaw unprecedented growth and expansion efforts, led panelist recruitment, business development, strategic planning and daily management of resolution centers in the region. As Associate General Counsel, and an expert on arbitration processes, she also developed and conducted training of staff and neutrals in arbitration matters and served on the JAMS National Arbitration Committee.
Honorary Directors
IMI Honorary Director: Annette van Riemsdijk, Mediator; Director, Mediators Beyond Borders, The Netherlands
Annette M. van Riemsdijk is a Certified Mediator with several bodies and has a distinguished record in ADR practice as a solicitor since 1988 and as a mediator since 1993. She is an arbitrator, trainer and director of The New Resolution Group.