16 July 2024 – ArbitralWomen is pleased to announce the results of the election of its incoming Board of Directors for the 2024-2026 Term, which includes eight new members. The 18 candidates elected to the Board are listed below alphabetically.
The incoming Board of Directors selected Rebeca Mosquera, an attorney at Reed Smith LLP in New York, to assume the role of President of the Board, and Katherine Bell, a Partner at Schellenberg Wittmer in Zurich, to assume the role of Vice President. As Vice President, Ms. Bell will also assume the role of Chair of Young ArbitralWomen Practitioners (YAWP), ArbitralWomen’s young practitioner group launched by former ArbitralWomen Vice President Gabrielle Nater-Bass.
“As I step into the role of President of ArbitralWomen, I am thrilled to champion our mission of enhancing diversity and empowering female practitioners. I look forward to leading initiatives that foster inclusivity within our community. Together with the dedicated team at ArbitralWomen, we will strive to create more opportunities and advocate for greater gender equality in the arbitration field globally,” said Ms. Mosquera. “I greatly appreciate the work Louise Woods and Dana MacGrath have done over the past six years at ArbitralWomen, to foster a strong and supportive environment. I am committed to continuing that essential work.”
“It has been an absolute pleasure working with the outgoing Board under the superb leadership of Louise Woods,” said Ms. Bell. “I am truly honoured to be appointed Vice President of ArbitralWomen and to assist our new President Rebeca Mosquera, who has always stood out as a strong advocate for women in arbitration. I look forward to collaborating with Rebeca and the new Board, supporting and promoting female practitioners in international dispute resolution across the globe, and hopefully making a meaningful contribution to the success story that is ArbitralWomen.”
The 2024 Executive Board also includes Nata Ghibradze, Counsel at Hogan Lovells in Munich, who will serve as Secretary; Alina Leoveanu, Group Senior Counsel at Eviden in Paris, who will serve as Treasurer; Cherine Foty, Senior Associate at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., who will serve as Communications Director; and co-founders Louise Barrington and Mirèze Philippe.
The incoming Board members represent a variety of countries and include arbitrators, experts, in-house counsel, institutional leaders, and practicing lawyers. Their diverse backgrounds perfectly align with ArbitralWomen’s mission to promote diversity and inclusivity in the field.
“It has been an honour and a privilege to serve on the Board of ArbitralWomen for the past eight years. I leave confident in the knowledge that ArbitralWomen will continue to flourish under Rebeca and Katherine’s leadership. I wish them and all the incoming Board members every success!” said Louise Woods, outgoing President of ArbitralWomen. Gaëlle Filhol, outgoing Vice President, said “Rebeca’s dedication and leadership have been instrumental in advancing ArbitralWomen’s mission over the past years. As she takes on the role of president, there is no doubt that Rebeca will continue to inspire and drive positive change within the international arbitration community.”
ArbitralWomen wishes to thank outgoing ArbitralWomen President Louise Woods,and the following 2022 Board members who are rotating off the Board for their hard work and dedication to ArbitralWomen’s mission to promote women and diversity in dispute resolution: Maria-Beatriz Burghetto, Elizabeth Chan, Gaëlle Filhol, Sara Koleilat-Aranjo, Floriane Lavaud, Marion Lespiau and Gisèle Stephens-Chu. We look forward to their continued involvement in our activities and initiatives as ArbitralWomen members.
“I’m delighted to see that eight new faces are joining the board for this term. I am confident that under the capable direction of our new President, Rebeca Mosquera, ArbitralWomen will flourish and grow, extending our recognition and influence in Latin America, Asia and Africa,”said ArbitralWomen Co-Founder Louise Barrington.
Co-Founder Mirèze Philippe further noted, “We wish to express our gratitude to all Board Directors who served on former Boards, who have immensely contributed and not spared their energy towards the success of the organisation. The newly elected Board is once again composed of Directors who are bringing their skills and experiences to continue moving ArbitralWomen forward. We look forward to working with this New Board.”
Please join us in congratulating the 2024-2026 ArbitralWomen Board Members listed in the table below:
ArbitralWomen Board of Directors 2024-2026 Term
(new members indicated by an asterisk):
| Name | Nationality(ies) | City(ies) of Residence |
|---|---|---|
| Louise Barrington | Canadian | Hong Kong, PRC and Toronto, Canada |
| Katherine Bell | British / Swiss | Zurich, Switzerland |
| Clea Bigelow-Nuttall * | British / Canadian / Irish | London, UK |
| Catherine Bratic | American / Italian | Houston, TX, USA |
| Kate Corby * | British | London, UK |
| Dilber Devitre * | Indian | Zurich, Switzerland |
| Sally El Sawah | Egyptian / French | Paris, France and Cairo, Egypt |
| Cherine Foty | American / French | Washington, D.C., USA |
| Nata Ghibradze | Georgian / German | Munich, Germany |
| Elena Guillet * | French / Italian | London, UK |
| Shanelle Irani * | Indian | London, UK |
| Anna Kelly * | British / Australian | Sydney, Australia |
| Niamh Leinwather * | Irish | Vienna, Austria |
| Alina Leoveanu | French / Romanian | Paris, France |
| Rebeca Mosquera | American / Panamanian | New York, NY, USA |
| Nesreen Osman | British / Sudanese | Dubai, UAE |
| Nicola Peart * | Irish | Washington, D.C., USA |
| Mirèze Philippe | French / Lebanese | Paris, France |
| Rekha Rangachari | American | New York, NY, USA |
| Mary Thomson | British / Chinese / Malaysian | London, UK and Edinburgh, UK and Hong Kong, PRC |
ArbitralWomen is an international non-governmental organisation for the promotion of women and diversity in international dispute resolution. For over 30 years, ArbitralWomen has developed many programmes and opportunities to support and promote women in international dispute resolution as well serving as a leader in the efforts to overcome gender bias in the legal profession.
Of note is ArbitralWomen’s Diversity Toolkit™, a unique training programme designed to help practitioners identify bias and explore ways to address and overcome it, which was shortlisted for the Equal Representation in Arbitration (ERA) Pledge Award.ArbitralWomen has a mentorship programme and a parental mentorship programme and regularly promotes the achievements and activities of its members in its News Alerts, on its webpage dedicated to news about its members, and in its periodic Newsletters.