Meet the New Chair and Vice-Chair of CIArb’s YMG Global Steering Committee

Meet the New Chair and Vice-Chair of CIArb’s YMG Global Steering Committee The Chartered Institute of Arbitrators’ (CIArb) Young Members Group (YMG) brings together dispute resolution practitioners below the age of 40, and students interested in building their careers in this fast-growing and dynamic field. The young members community is overseen by a Global Steering Committee who volunteer their time to plan, organise, and promote activities targeted at young practitioners across the globe. The group actively collaborates with other international and regional groups.

The YMG is delighted to announce that Noreen Kidunduhu and Ana Gerdau de Borja Mercereau have been appointed Chair and Vice-Chair of CIArb YMG’s Global Steering Committee.

Noreen Kidunduhu is a common law qualified energy lawyer based in Nairobi, Kenya. She routinely represents clients in both institutional and ad hoc arbitrations under a wide variety of arbitral rules and has also appeared in numerous court matters related to arbitrations. Noreen holds a master’s degree in International Energy Law and Policy from the University of Dundee with a core module in international energy arbitration and is co-founder of the Energy Related Arbitration Practitioners, Kenya Chapter. Since her admission to the Kenyan bar, she has been a member of the Law Society of Kenya’s Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Committee and in 2020 she led the Committee in developing the draft Law Society of Kenya Arbitration Rules, 2020. Noreen says, “I am honored to chair the most regionally diverse and inclusive Committee in the history of CIArb’s YMG. We have a pipeline of interactive programmes and projects for our members to deepen their understanding of ADR, hone their skills and network. I look forward to a dynamic and interactive YMG that caters to our members’ priorities and specialisms. I’d also like to thank our predecessors, Laura West and Sebastiano Nessi, for their enthusiasm and dedication to the Committee. Ana and I have big shoes to fill!”

Ana Gerdau de Borja Mercereau is a Cambridge-educated lawyer at Derains & Gharavi, Paris. She has over 12 years’ experience, having acted as counsel and secretary to arbitral tribunals in commercial and investor-State arbitrations relating to commercial transactions, joint ventures, large infrastructure projects (in construction, renewable energy, oil & gas and transportation), M&A deals, and projects in real estate and for mining research and exploration.  Admitted to the Bars of Brazil and Portugal, she has been a member of the ICC Commission on International Arbitration and ADR since 2018, and a co-coordinator of Track 5 of the ICC Commission Task Force entitled “Corruption in International Arbitration.”  Ana is also one of the founders of the Rising Arbitrators Initiative (https://risingarbitratorsinitiative.com/) Ana says: “I echo Noreen’s words, enchanted with the regionally diverse Committee I am honoured to lead together with her. It is always a pleasure to work with professionals I admire and to pursue CIArb’s educational mission, which is of the essence to me. I am also grateful to Laura West, Sebastiano Nessi and to the whole Committee for their dedication and joint efforts in 2021.”

The Committee has also been joined by new members including Cam Tu Vo Nguyen - Tribunal Secretary at Arbitration Chambers (Singapore); Mohamed Gomaa - Judge of Appeal (Egypt); Mulopa Ndalameta - Partner, Musa Dudhia & Co. (Zambia); Praveen Sandhu - Founder, Ekaas Dispute Resolution (Canada); Rita Anwiri Chindah - Partner, Regal Jurist (Nigeria); Tatsuhiko Makimo - Associate, Anderson, Mori & Tomotsune (Japan); Tony Ngoa Chefor - Deputy State Counsel (Cameroon) and Yan Kalish - Associate, Rybalkin Gortsunyan & Partners (Russia).

The new members join Alexander Levanthal - Partner, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP (France); Arun Visweswaran - Senior Associate, Clifford Chance LLP (UAE); Baptiste Rigaudeau – Associate, LALIVE (Switzerland), Georgios Fasfalis -  Associate, Linklaters LLP (Netherlands), Imad Khan – Associate, Winston & Strawn (USA);  Juan Carlos Pinto Escobedo – Arbitrator (Peru), Trisha Mitra – LALIVE (UK) and Vivek Kapoor – Barrister, 39 Essex Chambers (UK).

Find out more about CIArb’s Young Members Group.