IN D U ST RY N EW S Robinson voted on to OMNI Board Philippa Robinson of Robinsons Relocation has joined the board at Overseas Moving Network International (OMNI). She was voted to the position by the OMNI membership at the networks annual conference in Seville in April. Robinson, and her brother Anthony, run their family company, which was started in 1895 by their great-grandfather in Manchester. During her gap year, she decided to pay for herself to attend the FIDI Conference in Athens and OMNI in Corfu. I thought, its crazy, how can you all be competitors and yet such good friends, she said. The Robinsons family has always played a very active role in the industry; Philippas father was FIDI President from 1994 to 1996 and the company was one of the founding members of OMNI.We always had very close relationships with the OMNI companies, and when the request for me to join the Board came through, I felt it was right for me, she said. Its not for my selfesteem or my company, its just my time to step up a gear and take on some responsibility in the industry. OMNI provides something unique. It gives business owners time to share ideas with people who understand, treat each other with respect and are discreet. For me, thats the real benet of OMNI. Philippa Robinson Santa Fe Relocation has announced that ITS Chief Financial Officer, Christian Mller Laursen, is stepping down from his role with effect from 31 August 2019. Meanwhile, Santa Fe Groups annual general meeting agreed a proposal to reduce the companys share capital by DKK 821,145,956.75 (approximately US$124.7 million). PAXTON APPOINTED Bill Paxton, of Paxton International, has been appointed as Chairman of the American Moving & Storage Association (AMSA), representing 3,000 US moving companies, van lines and suppliers. Pickfords Move Management Ltd has won the contract to relocate the European Banking Authority from Canary Wharf in London to La Dfense in Paris, following the UKs vote to leave the EU. GRAEBEL EXPANSION Ibrahim Naouri, Chairman of Naouri Group - of which FIDI Affiliate Salam Logistics is a part was recently honoured by His Majesty, King Abdullah II of Jordan, with the King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein Order for Distinction of the First Degree. The award came in recognition of the groups role in establishing economic projects in logistics, shipping, tourism and travel, providing job opportunities for Jordanians and supporting local communities. FF292 AugSep19 pp08-15 News.indd 14 LAURSEN TO STEP DOWN FROM SANTA FE ROLE CONTRACT WIN ROYAL HONOUR FOR NAOURI CHAIRMAN 14 NEWS IN BRIEF Graebel Companies, a leading provider of talent and workplace mobility solutions, has expanded its consulting service and introduced a tailored mobility strategy. SIRVA An article in FIDI Focus 291 incorrectly reported staff changes at global moving and relocation services provider SIRVA. To clarify, Thomas Oberdorf is Chairman and CEO of the organisation. Linda Smith is Chief Commercial Officer, with responsibility for global sales, marketing and account management. Andrew Coolidge is President, Americas, heading up relocation and moving operations for the Americas. Jacob George, is President, Europe/Asia Pacific/Middle East, heading up relocation and moving operations for Europe, Asia Pacific and Middle East We apologise for the error. For more information about SIRVA, please visit: www.sirva.com/en-us WWW. F I D I . OR G 15/07/2019 14:39