IMI Chair 2010

Patrick Deane, Senior Counsel and Head of the Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice at Nestlé, has been appointed 2010 Chair of the IMI Board of Directors.

Michael McIlwrath, Senior Counsel – Litigation, GE Oil & Gas, who has served as the 2009 Board Chair, will remain a member of the IMI Board.

Being an accredited mediator himself, Patrick is a strong advocate of the use of mediation as an effective tool for resolving commercial disputes and the application of mediation techniques to resolve deadlock and conflict in difficult negotiations. An Australian citizen, Patrick is based at Nestlé's international headquarters in Vevey, Switzerland.

Commenting on his appointment, Patrick said:

"The time has come for mediation to be recognised as a true profession in its own right. With its increased use to resolve all types of conflicts, users of mediation services should be able to make informed choices, with meaningful information, based on a common set of standards. In this way proper assessments and comparisons can be made based on the needs of the users.

The reason why I gladly accepted the offer to lead IMI in 2010 is that IMI is in a unique position to provide transparency for users of mediation services and in so doing promote mediation and share knowledge and best practice in a complimentary way with other institutions, mediation services providers and thought leaders worldwide."