O PI N I O N A final word... After two years in the post, Freddy Paxton, President of FIDI Global Alliance, prepares to hand over the reins I t seems crazy that I am already writing my last article as President of FIDI for FIDI Focus. The time has flown by. It has been an honour and a privilege to assist the FIDI Board and the FIDI Office alongside the hugely knowledgeable Associations to help lead this truly valuable organisation. Our industry would not be what it is today without FIDI and its incredible membership although I accept I may be a little biased! I am also honoured to be handing the FIDI President reins over to Ebru Demirel. With her intelligence and ability to advise and deliver real solutions for our industry, she is absolutely the best individual to be our next president. Over the past couple of editions, we have explored the individual words of the FIDI Conference 2019 theme: Strength, Balance and Unity. This issue it is time to explore the final word, Unity. Unity is the coming together of many or oneness. While unity can also mean a lack of diversity, this is only in the purest sense of the It has been an honour and a privilege to assist the FIDI Board and the FIDI Office alongside the hugely knowledgeable Associations to help lead this truly valuable organisation WW W. F I D I. O R G FF290 pp06-07 Freddy.indd 7 word. When you are building a better community and world you are relying on the experiences of various diverse people and businesses from many countries to form a group that offers the highest possible quality for our end customers. Our unity makes us deliver superior services, because we are able to understand our global customers desires; the diversity in our community makes us stronger. During my tenure on the Board we have reached many essential milestones of which we are very proud: the implementation of the FIDI Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Charter; the development of a DSP certification programme; ISO-certified inventory and PCGs for the industry, in collaboration with IAM; the strong, continuous growth of our membership, along with more commitment from RMCs, corporations and government for our FAIM standard and its new financial assessment requirements. These new developments have strengthened FIDIs leadership position in the international relocation industry, and represent a definite benefit for all of us. I hope you have felt positive during my tenure and I cannot thank enough the Affiliates, the FIDI Office and the FIDI Board for all of your support. Please make sure to email me (Freddy@paxton. com) or connect on Facebook (Freddypaxton) or Instagram (freddypiii). I want to hear from you to see what else we can do together to make FIDIstronger. I look forward to celebrating with you in Amsterdam! FREDDY PAXTON, PRESIDENT OF FIDI GLOBAL ALLIANCE 7 14/03/2019 15:13