São Paulo – Last Tuesday (29th) in São Paulo, the Management Council of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce elected the Board of Directors for the 2013-2014 period. The new president is Marcelo Nabih Sallum, formerly the administrative vice president. He will succeed Salim Taufic Schahin, who presided over the Chamber for two terms in the last four years.
Sallum holds a degree in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), a postgraduate in Corporate Law from Mackenzie, an MBA in Corporate Finance from Fundação Instituto de Administração (FIA), a specialization in Marketing from the Brazilian Marketing Foundation, and another in Real Estate from the United States’ Johns Hopkins University.
Aged 49, Sallum is a partner manager of the São Paulo-based shopping centre management company Lumine. He has been in the industry for 30 years, and has worked for several Brazilian and multinational companies such as Multiplan, Sonae-Enplanta and McDonald’s.
Sallum will be accompanied by a Board of Directors comprising Adel Auada, who was already a director and will now be administrative president; Rubens Hannun, who will leave his position as marketing vice president to become foreign trade vice president; Helmi Nasr, who will remain the international relations vice president; Riad Younes, who will cater to the marketing area; and Nahid Chicani, who will remain the treasurer.
The elected members of the Fiscal Board are Júlio Elito, Romeu Curi Cassia and Victor Nacim Abbud, and the deputy members are Luciano Jacyr Chuahy, Ricardo Elias Narchi and Wilson Haddad.
Sallum said he will maintain and expand the effective partnership that the Arab Brazilian Chamber maintains with the governments of Brazil and the Arab countries, work for ever-increasing professionalization at the organization, and foster exchange in culture, healthcare and tourism, in addition to trade promotion.
Schahin, in turn, gave an assessment of his term, highlighting, for instance, increased trade. Brazilian exports to Arab countries went from US$ 9.4 billion in 2009, his first year as president, to nearly US$ 15 billion in 2012, according to figures from the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. He also mentioned the myriad government and business missions from Brazil to Arab countries and vice versa that took place during the period.
The dean of the Council of Arab Ambassadors in Brazil, the Palestinian ambassador Ibrahim Alzeben said he hopes the Chamber will work in ever-tighter cooperation with the embassies to promote Arab exports to Brazil and Brazilian investment in the Arab world.
Michel Alaby, who will remain the Arab Brazilian Chamber CEO, submitted the 2012 activity report to the Board and stated: “The past has brought us experience, the future [will bring us] challenges!”
Approximately 60 members of the Management Council attended the session, which was presided over by Walid Yazigi, president of the Council and former president of the Chamber itself.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum