International industry leader Philippe Varin has been elected chair of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – the voice of world business, representing over 45 million businesses.

He succeeds Maria Fernanda Garza, who becomes ICC’s honorary chair, following a unanimous vote of the organisation’s more than 90 national committees at its global headquarters in Paris, according to a press release. 

Varin is an operating partner of the GVP Climate Investment Fund and chair of the C’Possible partnership to enhance vocational education opportunities in France. He served as group executive vice president for aluminium at Pechiney before becoming CEO of Corus in 2003, overseeing its acquisition by Tata in 2007.

He also chaired PSA Peugeot Citroen from 2009 to 2014 and subsequently, Areva and Orano until 2020. He led France Industrie and the Conseil National de l’Industrie from 2017 to 2021, chaired Suez from 2020 to 2022 and has co-chaired the World Materials Forum since 2015.

Upon his election, Varin said: “I am deeply conscious that the founding mission of the International Chamber of Commerce, to promote peace and prosperity through global trade, is of immense strategic importance and a challenge in a world that is increasingly characterised by conflicts and intense geoeconomic competition.”

Varin has set out a five pillar strategy for his two-year tenure as ICC chair, encompassing: international trade, the rule of law, climate action, trade digitalisation, and multilateral cooperation.

ICC World Council also elected three prominent business leaders in its chairmanship: Harsh PatiSinghania (first-vice chair) from India, Shinta Kamdani (vice chair) from Indonesia and Patrick Obath (vice chair) from Kenya.