The Board of Trustees of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (Ciarb) has elected the following persons to fill seats created by recent changes to its Royal Charter and Bye-laws: 

- Rama Sridhar, Singapore, Executive Vice President, Asia Pacific Mastercard - Ron C. Hamilton, New York, Senior Vice President, Swiss Re 
- Anita Kimber, London, Partner, Ernst & Young 
- Nighat Dad, Lahore, Founder & Executive Director, Digital Rights Foundation 
- Charles Laganá Putz, São Paulo, Former CEO, NAMISA; former CFO, Brasil Telecom 

After the unanimous vote, Chair of the Board, Marion Smith KC FCIArb, stated, “My colleague Trustees and I wholeheartedly welcome these highly accomplished, diverse professionals to the Board. The depth and breadth of skills and experience they bring will greatly enhance the work of the Board and the success of the Institute.” 

The five new Trustees were identified through an extensive global search managed by the Board’s Nominations Committee with Prospectus, an executive and board search consultancy for non-profit and purpose driven organisations. A pool of several hundred potential candidates was gradually narrowed to the five nominees presented to the Board for consideration and vote. 

Ambassador (r.) David Huebner C.Arb FCIArb, Chair of the Nominations Committee and Deputy Chair of the Board, stated, “Diversifying the professional experience and networks represented on the Board is vital to Ciarb’s future success. I am pleased that we were able to identify five such extraordinary new colleagues. I am equally pleased that in recruiting the best people for the job, we also significantly increased demographic, geographic, generational, and intersectional diversity on the Board.” 

Commenting on the Board’s action, Catherine Dixon, CEO of Ciarb, said, “I am delighted at the election of these distinguished professionals to Ciarb’s Board of Trustees. I anticipate that they will play a critical role as Ciarb expands its global reach and builds on our 108-year history of growth, success, and thought leadership in private dispute resolution.” 

The election of these five new Trustees was a consequence of changes to Ciarb’s Royal Charter and Bye-laws proposed by the Board, approved by Ciarb’s membership at the Extraordinary General Meeting held in September 2022, and endorsed by the Privy Council and King Charles III in February 2023. The changes created five Trustee seats to be filled by vote of the Board rather than by regional vote of Ciarb members. 

About the Trustees: 

Nighat Dad is based in Lahore and is Founder and Executive Director of Digital Rights Foundation and an Inaugural member of Meta’s Oversight board. Nighat was named a “Next Generation Leader” by Time Magazine and identified as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum. Nighat champions online free speech, privacy, and digital safety. Nighat’s advocacy extends to global technology discussions, emphasizing platform accountability and AI governance. 

Ron C. Hamilton, based in New York, recently became Senior Vice President, Divisional Operations Leader at Swiss Re. Ron has extensive board experience. He has over 25 years of experience in global financial services, compliance and risk management. Previously, he was Head of Governance at Swiss Re, leading a global team focused on operational, regulatory, and financial risks for an insurance portfolio exceeding US $33B of premiums.