Chairmanship and Secretary General

Philippe Varin was elected Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce in June 2024, having served on the executive board since 2018 and as First Vice-Chair from 2022-2024.

Mr Varin began his career in 1978 with Pechiney, where he held various R&D, Plant, and Business Unit Management roles in France and the United States. By the time he left Pechiney, he was Group Executive Vice President for the Aluminium sector. In 2003, Mr Varin became CEO of the Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus, where he led a major turnaround, culminating in the company’s acquisition by Tata Group in 2007. Mr Varin continued with Tata for two years, working in Mumbai and London, before joining PSA Peugeot Citroën as Chairman of the Managing Board (2009-2014). He subsequently served as Chairman of Areva and Orano, leading nuclear energy companies, until 2020.

In 2020, Mr Varin was elected Chairman of the Board of Suez, where he defended against Veolia’s acquisition bid, stepping down in 2022. Mr Varin has also held a number of key industry roles including as Chairman of “France Industrie” and Vice-Chairman of the National Council for Industry (Conseil National de l’Industrie), both from 2017-2021, and on the board of Saint-Gobain from 2013-2021.

Mr Varin has chaired the World Materials Forum since 2014, and in 2022, the French government enlisted him to propose measures for securing Critical Raw Materials supply. He is also an operating partner of the GVP Climate investment fund and chairs the French C’Possible Association, supporting the professional integration of vocational high school students.

A graduate of the Paris École Polytechnique and École des Mines, Mr Varin is an officer of the Legion of Honour, a knight of the National Order of Merit in France, and a Commander of the British Empire in the UK.

Ms Garza has served as an ICC Executive Board member since 2014 and is the ICC Regional Coordinator for the Americas and a member of the governing body of the ICC International Court of Arbitration.

A strong advocate of business ethics and corporate governance standards, Ms Garza was Chair of ICC Mexico until June 2020 and is a former member of the International Affairs Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Labour and former member of the National Advisory Committee of ACLAN. Ms Garza was Vice-President of the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (Coparmex) and was also a member of the Compliance Committee of Infonavit. She is a Board Member of the Corporate Responsibility Alliance AliaRSE and was a member of the Corporate Responsibility Network of the Business and Industry Advisory Committee to the OECD.

Chairman & Managing Director, JK Paper Ltd. and Director-J.K. Organisation, Mr Singhania became ICC Vice-Chair on 14 June 2022. He also serves as Director on the Boards of JK Fenner (India) Ltd., Bhopal Udyog Ltd., Pulp & Paper Research Institute, JK Lakshmipat University, International Management Institute, and Pushpawati Singhania Research Institute for Liver, Renal & Digestive Diseases. Mr Singhania is Past President of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry and Past President of ICC India. He served four terms as Coordinator of ICC’s Asia-Pacific Regional Consultative Group and is a current member of ICC’s Governance and NetCom Committees.

Mr Singhania holds an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and is an alumnus of Harvard Business School.

CEO, Sintesa Group; Vice Chairwoman, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KADIN Indonesia); Vice Chairwoman, Employers’ Association of Indonesia (APINDO); President, Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development (IBCSD); President, Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE); Founder, Angel Investment Network Indonesia (ANGIN); Member, APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Indonesia;

Mr Obath is a distinguished member of the Kenyan and East African business community with 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and over 12 years as a professional director.

At Shell East Africa, he managed corporate health, safety, and environment across 14 countries, optimising logistical costs and enhancing Shell’s competitive position. Mr Obath later served as CEO and Country Chairman for Shell in Kenya and Tanzania. Patrick has worked in Kenya, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and the UK. He has focused on improving corporate governance in the mining, energy, oil and gas sectors, emphasising sustainability. He is the former Chairman of the Kenya Private Sector Alliance and currently chairs several boards, including PZ Cussons EA Limited, Java House Africa, and Adrian Kenya Limited. Mr Obath also serves on the boards of UNGA Limited, Wananchi Limited, and various companies in the FMCG, IT, and services sectors.

John W.H. Denton AO @ICCSecGen is the Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). He is a global business leader and international advisor on policy and a legal expert on international trade and investment. 

In 2022, Mr Denton was appointed by United Nations Secretary General to represent the global private sector on the newly formed Steering Committee of the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance. 

He currently serves on the WHO Foundation Strategic Advisory Group and the Global Task Force on Refugee Labour Mobility and is currently chair of the UN Business and Human Security Initiative of the London School of Economics and Political Science’s foreign policy think tank LSE IDEAS.

Mr Denton is a Board member of the UN Global Compact and Co-chair of the B20 finance and infrastructure taskforce, as well as a founding member of the Business 20 (B20), Co-founder of the Australia–China CEO Roundtable and Patron of UNHCR in Australia. 

He serves on the Board of IFM Global Investors, a leading institutional investment manager, and is Chair of the Moeller Institute Advisory Board at the University of Cambridge. 

He additionally serves on the Boards of the UN Development Programme’s Impact Investing Steering Group and UNICEF’s global education initiative, GenU, and he is a member of the Advisory Board of the African Green Infrastructure Investment Bank (AfGIIB) and the G7 Working Group on Impact Investment. 

A former diplomat, Mr Denton co-led the Australian Government’s 2012 White Paper on “Australia in the Asian Century” and previously chaired the APEC Finance and Economics Working Group.