During the ICA General Assembly held on 20 June 2022 in Seville, Spain, the full ICA Board was elected.
The ICA Board is comprised of the President, four Vice Presidents, four representatives of the global sectoral organisations, one youth representative, the Chair of the Gender Equality Committee, and fifteen other at-large members.
The sectoral organisation, youth representative, and gender equality committee representatives are nominated by their respective constituents and formally elected by the General Assembly. The Vice Presidents are the individuals elected by the ICA Regional Organisations as Regional Presidents and ratified by the ICA General Assembly.
Below is information on each member by position.
President
Ariel Enrique GUARCO
Ariel Guarco is a cooperator since his youth, through his involvement in the Electric Cooperative of Coronel Pringles, in the south of Argentina. In 2008, he became the highest authority of the Federation of Electric and Public Utilities Cooperatives (FEDECOBA). In 2011, he was elected President of Cooperative Confederation of the Argentine Republic (COOPERAR). Now he represents the cooperative movement in the National Institute of Social Economy in Argentina. He was Board member of Cooperatives of the Americas (2014-2018) and elected President of the ICA in November 2017. He is the author of two books: Argentine Cooperativism, A Hopeful Look into the Future (2013) and Cooperative Principles in Action Addressing the Challenges of Today’s Global Agenda (2020).
Members At-Large
Vice President
Sectoral Organisation Representatives
Youth Representative
Harsh Mukeshbhai SANGHANI
I’m Harsh Mukeshbhai Sanghani, a passionate cooperator building 21st-century solutions through 100-year-old ancient values. From empowering farmers as Yuva Agriculture Minister of Gujarat to launching the Youth in Cooperatives movement, my journey has always been about unlocking the full potential of cooperative models—beyond tradition, into transformation.
I believe the future of cooperatives lies not just in agriculture and finance, but in AI, cybersecurity, climate tech, and digital infrastructure. That’s why I’ve championed farmer-owned Carbon Credit Cooperatives and helped prototype cooperative models in frontier sectors. My advocacy at the ECOSOC Youth Forum 2025 positioned cooperatives as the fastest route to achieving the SDGs.
2025 is the International Year of Cooperatives. Let’s make it the year youth take the lead.
Together, we can build a world where every solution begins with “we.”
Harsh Santhani replaces Ana Aguirre as Youth Representative on the ICA Board, to fill the remainder of the 4-year term ending in the next election to be held in 2026.
Chair of the Gender Equality Committee
Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes
Xiomara Nuñez de Céspedes comes from Cooperativa de servicios multiples de profesionales de enfermeria (COOPROENF), a cooperative of nurses in the Dominican Republic and has served as Vice President of the GEC and President of the Regional GEC of ICA Americas. As Chair of the GEC, she plans to raise awareness of the importance of gender equality, promoting best practices from around the world. She takes over from María Eugenia Pérez Zea from ASCOOP in Colombia, who has served as Chair of the Committee since 2011.
