IMCI Director becomes ICOMIA President
IMCI is proud to report that at the Annual General Meeting of ICOMIA at the end of May 2020, Ms Sara Anghel, Board Member of the International Marine Certification Institute, was elected as the new ICOMIA President.She is the first woman to head the International Council of Marine Industry Associations.
Sara has been the President of the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) of Canada for more than 12 years. With her nearly 25 years of experience in lobbying she represents the interests of the entire Canadian boat industry, including Canadian boat dealers representing US manufacturers.
Under Sara's guidance, the industry's first national statistics were compiled and published, and Recreational Boating Day was proclaimed with the participation of several Canadian parliamentarians. She secured more than EUR 540,000 in government grants to help Canadian manufacturers export abroad and EUR 360,000 to develop boat safety programmes in Canada. She has also contributed to the harmonisation of technical standards between Canada and the USA.
In particular, Sara's activities extend to the promotion of women in the boatbuilding industry. Of particular note is the creation of an expanded maternity/parental benefit package for NMMA US employees. Sara is passionate about working with women in the industry to help them gain more confidence in their skills and to help them develop their ideas.
Sara Anghel said: “It is an honour and privilege to become ICOMIA President. I commit to the global recreational boating industry that I shall work tirelessly to steer us through this most difficult time while charting the future growth of the industry and ICOMIA”.
Her elections were supported by another strong woman who is Ms Vanessa Davidson, Chairperson of IMCI, representing at ICOMIA the South African Boat Building Export Council (SABBEX) based in Cape Town (South Africa).