IOC Officers
About IOC's Officers
The Officers of the Commission are the Chairperson and five Vice-chairpersons. They are elected every two years on their own capacity by the IOC Assembly.
Vice-chairpersons are nationals of Member States of each of the five electoral groups. The Chairperson and the five Vice-chairperson are eligible for re-election in their capacity as Chairperson or Vice-chairperson, but only once for successive terms. Each term lasts two years, corresponding to the interval between ordinary sessions of the Assembly.
IOC Officers can serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms.
IOC Officers prepare, support and run the IOC Governing Body meetings, under the leadership of the IOC Chair, in close alignment with the IOC Secretariat, under the leadership of the Executive Secretary.
The Chairperson
Yutaka Michida
Dr Yutaka Michida is a distinguished professor at the University of Tokyo who has been actively involved in the field of oceanography for nearly 40 years. He has been recognized for his outstanding achievements and contributions to international marine science cooperation, including as recipient of the Japanese Prime Minister’s “Promoting Japan as a maritime nation Award” and the "IOC/WESTPAC Outstanding Scientists Award” in 2015.
Dr. Michida has played a crucial role in developing systems to warn and protect against tsunamis, and he has helped establish coordination systems in different parts of the world. In 2015, he was elected as a co-chair for the IOC/UNESCO International Oceanographic Data and information Exchange (IODE), the first person from an Asian country to hold this position. Dr. Michida has been dedicated to promoting cooperation among countries in the Western Pacific and nearby regions, and he has been influential in managing ocean data and information in Japan, through active involvement in the IOC/UNESCO Sub-commission for the Western Pacific and Adjacent Areas (WESTPAC). In Japan, he played a key role in the establishment of the Marine Information Clearing House (MICH) and Marine Cadastre.
The Vice Chairpersons
Marie-Alexandrine Sicre (France) - Electoral Group 1
Marie Alexandrine Sicre is a Senior Scientist at CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) based in the Laboratoire d’Océanographie et du Climat: Expérimentation et Approches Numériques (LOCEAN) in Paris, France. She earned her PhD in Marine Sciences in 1987 at the Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris. She was a postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA) from 1987 to 1988 in Dr. R. Gagosian research group, until she was hired at CNRS in 1988. Her current research expertise is in oceanography and paleoceanography. Over the past 15 years, she has been working on the role of the ocean on climate variability and has published more than 100 papers in peer-review international journals. Her research has led to improvement of high-resolution sea surface temperature and sea ice reconstructions over the Common Era. She served as vice-president in the national reviewing panel in marine biogeochemistry at CNRS for more than 10 years (2001 to 2012) and was a member of the Images-France committee for eight years. She served as SCOR president from 2016 to 2020.
Nikolay Valchev (Bulgaria) - Electoral Group 2
Dr. Nikolay Valchev is the Director of Institue of Oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Science (IO-BAS). He has a PhD in Oceanography, MSc in Ecology and environmental protection and 20 years of professional experience at the IO-BAS in the field of wind wave modeling, study and monitoring of coastal processes, disaster risk reduction planning, marine spatial planning.
Juan Camilo Forero Hauzeur (Colombia) - Electoral Group 3
During his accomplished career, he has held numerous noteworthy positions, including Chief of Staff of the Pacific Naval Force, Naval Attaché to Germany and the Netherlands, Deputy Director of the "Almirante Padilla" Naval Academy, Aide-de-camp of the Vice President, and Head of Special Projects and Maritime and Port Protection Area. He has also served as Captain of the Port, Head of the Merchant Marine and Coastlines, Secretary General, Commander of the Maritime Patrol Vessel ARC "San Andrés," and Commander of the Oceanographic Vessel ARC "Gorgona."
His commitment to professional development is evident through his completion of various national and international courses. These cover areas such as oceanography, ports, maritime transport, maritime defense, and security. Notable achievements include roles as a Maritime Security Officer, a graduate of strategic studies courses, and a Naval Command and Staff Course graduate.
Since December 2018, he has held the positions of Executive Secretary of the Colombian Ocean Commission and Director of the Colombian Antarctic Program, where he continues to contribute to the advancement and protection of Colombia's maritime interests.
Srinivasa Kumar Tummala (India) - Electoral Group 4
Dr Srinivasa Kumar Tummala is a marine scientist with over two decades of experience in operational oceanography, holding senior scientific and managerial positions at organizations such as the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. He led the successful implementation of several projects, including the establishment of the Indian Tsunami Early Warning System after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami, and served as the Head of the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System Secretariat of the IOC-UNESCO in Perth, Australia from 2016 to 2020. Dr. Tummala has played important roles in various international scientific bodies, such as the WMO Standing Committee on Marine Meteorology and Oceanography and the Inter-ICG Task Team on Tsunami Watch Operations of the TOWS-WG of the IOC-UNESCO. He has been recognized with numerous national and international awards for his contributions to the field.
Amr Zakaria Hamouda (Egypt) - Electoral Group 5
Prof. Amr Zakaria Hamouda is the president of National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Egypt. Prof. Hamouda is the focal point of IOC in Egypt; the focal point of the Decade Implementing partner of the UN Ocean Decade in Africa; The focal point of NEAMTWS Tsunami early warning system in Egypt; member of the Africa Ocean Decade Taskforce; member of Data Buoy Cooperation Panel (DBCP) and Expert on IOC Group of Capacity Development.
He is specialist in the field of marine geophysics. His studies on tsunamagenic earthquakes including the structural development related to tectonic processes along convergent margins; mapping the sea floor using marine geophysical techniques (Acoustic, Seismic, Gravity and Magnetic) to prepare seabed classification and bathymetric maps, hydrocarbon exploration, archeological studies and detecting the impact of the climate change on the biodiversity along Egyptian Coast.
He is an expert in preparing strategies of the Research and Development Program during his work as Assistant of President of the Academy of Scientific Research and Technology; Minister Advisor at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research; and Member of Strategic Planning of the Scientific Research Ministry. He had managed more than 100 scientific national and international research projects. Member in the editorial board of many international scientific journals. Publishing many scientific books and more than 60 scientific articles.
