O PI N I O N First female president takes the reins Incoming FIDI President Ebru Demirel the first woman to take on the role talks honour, conference and the exciting times ahead for the moving industry S ix years ago, when Errol Gardiner became FIDI President, he wrote his first presidents article from his hotel room at the FIDI Conference in Greece. Ill never forget that conference, because it was at that event that I joined the board. And here I am, writing my first presidents article from a hotel room at a Conference too, this one in Amsterdam. Writing your first column from a hotel room at a FIDI Conference seems to be a tradition! I must say that its quite humbling to be the first female president in FIDIs history, and especially to have accepted that honour in front of my mother and father. When I accepted the position at the conference, people I didnt even know came to me to say how proud they were, and that they gave me their full support. On top of that, Ive had the pleasure of rekindling old friendships with people Ive known for years. What a great thing, to know I have the support of such a tremendous group of people. Itll be hard to follow in the footsteps of a president like Freddy, but he taught me a lot and has left us all with a strong organisation. Thank you, Freddy, for your rich contributions to FIDI over the years. As many of you know, Ive been involved with the FAIM project for a while now. The FAIM Quality Standard is one of the things that makes me proudest of FIDI. With it, FIDI has taken a leadership role, bringing to the industry not just a cookie-cutter ISO programme, but something designed specifically for the industry, overseen by a world-renowned accounting company, and managed by the excellent team at the FAIM Coordination Centre. These are exciting times for the world of household goods moving WW W. F I D I. O R G FF291JunJul19 pp06-07 Ebru Column.indd 7 So what else, you may ask, does the future hold for the industry? The Amsterdam Conference keynote session and panel discussion on technology and disruptive innovation were particularly enlightening on this subject. Most of us, even in the smallest companies, are already using tablets and other tech solutions to prepare quotes, fill out surveys and take videos on site. Still, it was clear from the panel discussion that there is a long way to go, that many small changes will bring outsized benefits, and that FIDI can play a leadership role in this key area in the coming years. This kind of transformation will be an excellent move for the industry as a whole. It will reduce errors and make all of our companies more efficient. It will allow us to communicate better with our customers not just more accurately, but faster too, and with more streamlined points of contact. Even filling out compliance paperwork will be easier something Im certain we can all get on board with. Sure, we will all have to make a lot of adjustments as it happens, but our lives will be the better for it. So, these are exciting times for the world of household goods moving. I am very thrilled to be here, to see those changes happening, from my new vantage point as FIDI President, not only in my own company, but industry-wide. Again, thank you for this honour, I look forward to serving every one of you every day of my term. EBRU DEMIREL, PRESIDENT OF FIDI GLOBAL ALLIANCE Connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: ebrdemirell LinkedIn or by email: ebru@ asyanakliyat.com I look forward to grabbing a coffee with you if you are ever in Istanbul, or if Im in your area. 7 10/05/2019 15:09