22nd June 2009

Ambassador Sergio Marchi Joins ICTSD

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Former Canadian Trade Minister and Ambassador to the WTO, the Honourable Sergio Marchi, has joined the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), in Geneva. He will serve as a Senior Fellow.

“We are absolutely delighted that Ambassador Marchi has joined the ICTSD family,” said Ricardo Meléndez-Ortiz, CEO of ICTSD. “His extensive diplomatic and political experience, particularly in the area of trade policy and a number of crosscutting sustainable development issues will be most valuable to our work.”

“As a Senior Fellow”, added Mr Melendez, “Mr Marchi will bring the leadership and substantive expertise that will enable ICTSD to serve its field more effectively, providing the trusted expertise, balance, and context upon which negotiators and sustainable development advocates alike have come to depend.”

Ambassador Marchi also brings substantial private sector and academic experience to ICTSD. He is currently the advisor to the chairman of a holding company based in Geneva and he teaches in the International Relations Division of Webster University, and the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations in Geneva.

ICTSD is a nonpartisan, international global think tank and policy network based in Geneva, Switzerland that partners globally to advance sustainable development in trade relations multilaterally through the World Trade Organization and numerous regional agreements as well as through national trade policy development processes.

Ambassador Sergio Marchi Biography

Ambassador Sergio Marchi is an active participant in the world of international affairs. He is a Canadian, who was born in Argentina and also holds Italian citizenship. He currently serves as Senior Advisor to the Chairman of a private Holding Company headquartered in Geneva. Ambassador Marchi also teaches at Webster University and at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and International Relations, in Geneva.

Before this, Mr. Marchi enjoyed a distinguished political and diplomatic career. He was first elected as a Toronto City Councillor, before moving to the national level where he was elected as a Member of the Canadian Parliament for 15 years. During all of his time in Government, Mr Marchi served as a federal Cabinet Minister. As a Minister, he was responsible for three different portfolios; International Trade; Environment; and Citizenship and Immigration.

He was subsequently appointed as the Canadian Ambassador to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the Office of the United Nations (UN) in Geneva. During his diplomatic mandate, Mr. Marchi was elected Chair of the WTO General Council; Chair of the WTO Council for Trade in Services; Chair of the Working Party on the Accession of Ukraine to the WTO; and co-Chair the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources. He was also a member of WIPO’s Policy Advisory Commission.

In 2004, Ambassador Marchi was appointed as a Commissioner to the UN Global Commission on International Migration. Until recently, he also held the position of President, of the Canada China Business Council. Mr Marchi also sits on a number of non-for-profit boards.

He earned an Honours BA in Urban Planning from York University, in Toronto. He also completed the Directors’ Education Program, with the Institute of Corporate Directors at the Rotman School of Management, at the University of Toronto.

Mr Marchi is married, and he and his wife have two children.

One response to “Ambassador Sergio Marchi Joins ICTSD”

Manzoor Ahmad 26th June 2009 at 16:31
Getting Sergio Marchi on board is a great achievement. He is a really gifted individual or a man of all seasons - a politician, a technocrat, an excellent public speaker and a very gifted writer. I am sure with his addition to the team, ICSTD’s stature will increase substantially.

Manzoor Ahmad, Director, FAO Liason Office, Geneva