FIATA elects new global freight forwarding leadership team
FIATA acknowledged the contributions of the outgoing Presidency, Extended Board, and Chairs for strengthening the organisation’s role as the global voice of freight forwarders.
FIATA International Federation of Freight Forwarders Associations announced the election of a new leadership team during its 2025 Electoral General Meeting held on 10 October 2025 in Hanoi, Vietnam. The election decided the members of the FIATA Presidency, Extended Board, and Chairs of Institutes, Advisory Bodies, and Regional Bodies. The new team will lead FIATA’s global logistics agenda, and the event marked the first time a woman was elected to the FIATA Presidency.
The FIATA Presidency is headed by President Thomas Sim from the Singapore Logistics Association (SLA), Singapore. The Immediate Past President is Turgut Erkeskin from the Association of International Forwarding and Logistics Service Providers (UTIKAD), Türkiye. The Senior Vice Presidents are Jens Roemer from FORWARD Belgium W.E.B., Belgium; Nadia Abdul Aziz from the National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL), United Arab Emirates; and Yukki Hanafi Nugrahawan from the Indonesian Logistics and Forwarders Association (ILFA), Indonesia. Neil Taylor from the Asociación Logística de Chile (ALOG), Chile, was elected treasurer, and Keshav Tanna from the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI), India, was named secretary general.
The Extended Board comprises Vice Presidents Stephen Adjokatcher from the Ghana Institute of Freight Forwarders (GIFF), Ghana; Tej Contractor from the Federation of Freight Forwarders' Associations in India (FFFAI), India; Mauro Da Ros from the Federazione Nazionale delle Imprese di Spedizioni Internazionali (FEDESPEDI), Italy; Dao Trong Khoa from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), Vietnam; Guillermo Gonzalez Larsen from the Federación Colombiana de Agentes Logísticos en Comercio Internacional (Fitac), Colombia; Kaoutar Guessous from the Association des Freight Forwarders du Maroc (AFFM), Morocco; Ahmed Khaleel Mustafa from the Egyptian International Freight Forwarding Association (EIFFA), Egypt; Sheila Mashiri from the Shipping & Forwarding Agents' Association of Zimbabwe (SFAAZ), Zimbabwe; Farid Saffarzadeh from the International Transport Companies Association of Iran (ITCA), Iran; Angel Sanchez from the Asociación Panameña de Agencias de Carga (APAC), Panama; Edward John Urio from the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), Tanzania; and Adelaide Yang from the Taiwan Freight Logistics Association (TFLA), Chinese Taipei.
The Chairs of FIATA’s Institutes are Dawit Woubishet from the Ethiopian Freight Forwarders and Shipping Agents Association (EFFSAA), Ethiopia, as Chair of the Air Freight Institute (AFI); Steve Parker from the British International Freight Association (BIFA), United Kingdom, as Chair of the Customs Affairs Institute (CAI); Alperen Guler from the Turkish Forwarding and Logistics Association (UTIKAD), Türkiye, as Chair of the FIATA Logistics Institute (FLI); and Mark Bromley from BIFA, United Kingdom, as Chair of the Multimodal Transport Institute (MTI).
The Chairs of FIATA’s Advisory Bodies are Yuntao Yang from the China International Freight Forwarders Association (CIFA), China, as Chair of the Advisory Body on Legal Matters (ABLM); and Niels Beuck from the Bundesverband Spedition und Logistik (DSLV), Germany, as Chair of the Advisory Body on Safety and Security (ABSS).
The Regional Chairs and Vice-Chairs are Ali Al Mesned from the Qatar Association for Freight Forwarding and Logistics (QAFL), Qatar, as Chair of the FIATA Region Africa and the Middle East (RAME), with Ahmad Abdul Razeq from the National Association of Freight and Logistics (NAFL), United Arab Emirates, as Vice-Chair; Miguel Espinosa from the Federación Colombiana de Agentes Logísticos en Comercio Internacional (Fitac), Colombia, as Chair of the FIATA Region Americas (RAMs); Minh Duy Nguyen from the Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA), Vietnam, as Chair of the FIATA Region Asia-Pacific (RAP), with Samir Shah from the Air Cargo Agents Association of India (ACAAI), India, as Vice-Chair; and Antonella Straulino from FEDESPEDI, Italy, as Chair of the FIATA Region Europe (REU), with Tomas Arvidsson from the Swedish International Freight Association (SIFA), Sweden, as Vice-Chair.
Outgoing President Turgut Erkeskin expressed his confidence in the leadership of Dr Thomas Sim and extended his full support. FIATA acknowledged the contributions of the outgoing Presidency, Extended Board, and Chairs for strengthening the organisation’s role as the global voice of freight forwarders.
Newly elected President Dr Thomas Sim said, "As your President, I pledge to continue serving with humility, transparency, and dedication—to be a bridge between cultures, sectors, and generations with a collaborative spirit, ensuring that our Federation (FIATA) remains not just relevant but indispensable in shaping the future of logistics and trade."
FIATA stated that with this leadership structure, it will continue to represent the global freight forwarding community, support digitalisation and sustainability, and promote collaboration across all regions.
