Patricia R. Francis, an award-winning leader and business facilitator, joined the International Trade Centre as Executive Director in June 2006.During her tenure at ITC, the annual project implementation has moved from US$ 25.3 million to an expected US$44 million in 2011 with larger, multi-year programmes now representing more than 50% of the portfolio.She has also led a change management process which has established a strategic planning and reporting cycle, mainstreamed MDG programmes for gender, environment and poverty and introduced results based management and accountability principles. A new brand identity has aligned ITC values to its profile.Access to information for Developing Countries has been enhanced through free on-line Trade Analysis Tools, the publications programme and Trade Forum magazine. All supported by a new website.Clients needs are reviewed annually through ITC client survey, and partnerships have been strengthened through active participation in the WTO’s Aid for Trade and One UN initiatives which seek to achieve greater coherence among international and trade related organizations. ITC has also conducted a major study of programme support functions to streamline processes, and is reviewing financial administration systems to ensure greater efficiencies and transparency in its operations.Ms. Francis came to ITC from Jamaica Trade and Invest, where she served as President for ten years. She was a member of Jamaica’s Cabinet Committee for Development and during her tenure Jamaica attracted more than US$ 5 billion in foreign direct investment. She served twice as President of the World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies and the China-Caribbean Business Council.She is currently on the advisory boards of IESE graduate business school and a member of the Eminent Persons Group for the Commonwealth, a group created to examine options for reform of the Commonwealth’s many institutions.
This week, ITC Executive Director, Ms. Patricia Francis, took part in the World Economic Forum on Africa 2012 held in Addis Ababa between 9-11 May...
Ms. Francis joined a panel of Ministers from Ghana, Libya, Turkey and Pakistan to discuss the trade challenges facing Arab states and the issues of Non Tariff Barriers and Foreign Direct Investment...
Patricia Francis, Executive Director of ITC, today told the attendees of UNCTAD XIII that it is critical to ensure that developing and least developed countries are benefitting from global trade. Ms. Francis said during the General Debate that ITC is...
The League of Arab States (LAS) region could increase trade among its member states by 10% and create two million new jobs by removing obstacles to intra-regional trade, according to new research by ITC...
Women entrepreneurs were recognized for their achievements on Monday night during UNCTAD’s Women in Business Awards. ITC Executive Director, Ms. Patricia Francis, presented the finalists of the awards, saying that the women ‘provide a stunning example of social and economic changes’...
The economic empowerment of women is a critical factor to the achievement of development goals. That was the message from ITC’s Executive Director, Ms. Patricia Francis, during UNCTAD’s High-level Event on Women in Development on Monday 23 April, where panelists agreed that policies that support women in developing countries must be enacted...
The financial crisis has dramatically changed the business environment for firms, entrepreneurs and senior executives. ITC Executive Director, Ms Patricia Francis, today took part in a panel discussion at the IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain, which...
In 2011 ITC delivered more trade-related technical assistance (TRTA) than in any previous year, even after adjusting for exchange rate fluctuations, exceeding its delivery target and demonstrating credible results across all of its performance measures,...
Speaking at a conference focused on the subject of harnessing the potential for the private sector to have a positive impact on development, ITC Executive Director, Patricia Francis, outlined her view that government and civil society engagement with the private sector is a time commitment but is a necessary component of plans to alleviate poverty...
ITC Executive Director, Patricia Francis, today welcomed representatives from the Tajikistan government and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) to ITC headquarters for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding outlining the three parties desire to work together on Tajikistan's accession to the WTO...