Lisbon, October 9-The International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO) has welcomed a new leadership team. Nitin Mantri, Group CEO, Avian WE, has become president of ICCO, while the organisation’s new vice-president is Grzegorz Szczepanski, CEO, Hill + Knowlton Strategies Poland. Mantri is the first Asian to hold this position.

The appointments were announced at the ICCO Global Summit in Lisbon this week.

The role of ICCO President is to lead the strategic vision and direction of the organisation, uniting a diverse membership around the most critical global PR issues. Mantri’s message to ICCO members focused on increasing visibility for the role and value of public relations by raising the industry’s ethical standards and instilling a sense of purpose in PR professionals to build a better world.

Mantri says “Our focus would be to promote professional principles such as honesty and transparency at all times. At the same time, we would focus on communicating the strong value proposition we offer to businesses by helping brands to define their purpose in a way that is meaningful to society.”

 Apart from leading Avian WE, Manti has also co-founded Chase India, a public policy firm in India. Before he joined Avian WE as its CEO, he held senior positions in Brodeur/Pleon (now Ketchum) and Genesis PR (now BCW). He is also President of the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), the apex body of communications and public relations consultancies in India.

ICCO board members also elected a Treasurer, who serves on the Executive Committee and supervises the organisation’s financial affairs. Alison Clarke for the PRCA in the UK was elected into this role. She has replaced Andrey Barannikov, CEO, SPN Communications.

ICCO represents over 3,000 PR firms in 66 countries across the globe: from Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Americas, and Australasia.