Godfried De Vidts, chairman of the European Repo Council and director of European affairs at London inter-dealer broker ICAP, has stepped down as president of ACI – the Financial Markets Association, the foreign exchange dealers’ club. His three year term had come to an end.
At the ACI Council meeting, held in the margins of the 46th World Congress hosted by ACI Canada, the national associations elected Manfred Wiebogen, an Austrian currently employed by Volksbank Austria, to succeed De Vidts for a term of three years. Wiebogen is currently head of CEE Treasuries (running operations in Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia, Serbia, Romania, Malta) and also in charge of sales of structured products into the CEE region.
His track record in ACI is impressive – starting as Vice-Secretary/Secretary ACI Austria, being a founding member and member of the German Language Board, member of the organizing committee 4th European Congress Vienna 1997, member of ACI Euribor founding group, Marking Centre ACI Diploma in the late 1990s, co-operation in the re-formatting of the ACI Education programme, Regional Executive for Germany, Switzerland and Austria, chairman of the International ACI Dealer Seminar in Davos 2002, treasurer of ACI on an interim basis and currently member of ACI’s Committee for Professionalism.
“Every three years the members of ACI elect a new president,” says De Vidts. “This opens new possibilities for our association as it provides an opportunity for the change necessary to stay abreast of the events in the world’s currency markets. During the many years as member of ACI I had the opportunity to get to know Manfred very well and can assure all members that he is the right person for the job and to continue the reforms I have instigated during my presidency.”
Manfred Wiebogen agrees that De Vidts “moved ACI into the new requirements of today. The restructuring of the association took place and gives room for further modernisation.” He adds that the financial markets are facing accelerating change that makes it inevitable for ACI to “revalue” its global position. “Daily FX volume skyrocket, [while] turnover in complex compound structures adds enormous liquidity to the markets but [there are] also new market participants are entering the global financial world,” says Wiebogen. “Retrospectively, I would like to thank Godfried for his tireless engagement and the visionary structuring of the association.”