The Executive Bodies comprise the elected leadership of the World Blind Union. The three Executive Bodies that provide governance to WBU are the: (1) Table Officers; (2) WBU Officers; and, (3) Executive Committee. This section provides information about the nature and mandate of WBU’s Executive Bodies, along with contact information for all positions.
Table Officers
The WBU is led by six Table Officers: President, 1st Vice President, 2nd Vice President, Secretary General, Treasurer and Immediate Past President. All but the Immediate Past President are elected by the international membership at the General Assembly held every four years. As defined in WBU’s constitution, all Table Officers, except for the Treasurer, must be blind or partially sighted persons. Please click on the link below to find more detailed contact information for each Table Officer:
Table Officers-Contact Information
WBU Officers
The WBU Officers, known as the Officer’s Board, consists of the six Table Officers and the six regional Presidents. The Officers manages the ongoing operations of the WBU and takes decisions regarding its internal administration.
WBU Officers-Contact Information
3. Executive Committee
The WBU Executive Committee is the main administrative organ of the union, supervising the work of the Officers. It is comprised of the elected Table Officers, Regional Presidents, three representatives from each region and two representatives from amongst the international members. The Executive Committee holds meetings at least once every two years. Detailed information about its composition, voting procedure, power and functions can be found in article V in the constitution.
Executive Committee-Contact Information
Read more about your Table Officers here:
Maryanne Diamond, WBU President
Maryanne is blind and has been all of her life. She has four children, one who is vision impaired. She was employed in the information technology industry for many years before moving into the community sector. She is currently employed by Vision Australia as General Manager International and Stakeholder Relations. Maryanne was the inaugural CEO of the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations 2004-2007. Prior to that, she spent four years as the Executive Officer of Blind Citizens Australia.
Maryanne has held a range of positions on: community, local, state, national and international boards and committees for more than 20 years. Currently her major involvements include: a Board member of the Global Partnership on Disability and Development, Member of the Steering committee of the International Disability Alliance, an executive member of the International Council for the Education of People with Vision Impairment, a board member of the Australian Council of Social Service, a board member of the Australian Pacific Islands Disability Support, a member of the Australian Disability Development Consortium policy committee, Australia’s National People with Disability and Carers Council and Australia’s National Compact Advisory Committee.
Arnt Holte, 1st Vice President
Arnt Holte is the current 1st Vice-President of the World Blind Union. He is also the Vice-Executive Director and International Director of the Norwegian Association of Blind and Partially Sighted (NABP). Arnt has 19 years of senior management experience in planning and running fundraising activities and public awareness campaigns. Previous positions include Marketing Director and Director of Public Awareness for NABP, CEO of the Norwegian Rheumatism Association and Norwegian Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Frances Candiru, 2nd Vice President
Ms. Frances Candiru currently holds the 2nd Vice-President position at WBU. She is an exemplary role model for women with disabilities in general and blind women in particular. Having extensive experience in both teaching and development work, Frances fosters capacity-building of people with disabilities and provides them with a framework to succeed in life. She is President of the Uganda National Association of the Blind (UNAB) and has worked for numerous organizations including: The Uganda Blind Sports Association (UBSA); The National Union of Women with Disabilities of Uganda (NUWODU); and, Gulu Secondary School, teaching children English and English Literature and advising blind students within the school system. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Development Studies from Makerere University in Uganda and has undertaken intensive training workshops in business development, organizational capacity assessment, and HIV/AIDS.
A.K. Mittal, WBU Treasurer
A.K. Mittal was elected as Treasurer to the World Blind Union in 2008. Mr. Mittal has Master’s Degrees in English and Education as well as a Diploma in Education for the Blind from the United States. He has over 37 years of experience of holding top administrative and leadership positions in the Government and voluntary organizations and was the Director and Regional Director of the APEX government organization working with the blind in the country for over 22 years. In this capacity, he has overseen implementation of financial policies and developmental activities of the blind with a budget of over USD one million in a year and a team of over 200 professional colleagues and staff. He was also the Head of a reputed private residential school for the blind and a teacher-training institute for about 15 years.
Mr. Mittal has also been an integral part of the self-help movement of the blind for more than 30 years and is currently the President of the All India Confederation of the Blind, one of the principal organizations of the blind in India. Mr. Mittal is passionate about learning and promotion of Braille, about access to quality education for all blind and partially sighted children and about ensuring involvement from developing countries in all that we do.
Enrique Pérez, WBU Secretary General
Mr. Enrique Pérez has held the Secretary General position at WBU since 2005. Born in Spain and visually impaired since the age of 14, Enrique has dedicated his life to advancing the capacities of people who are blind and visually impaired worldwide so they can achieve higher participation and equal opportunities in society. He earned his Masters of Business Administration with Honors at the European School of Commerce in 2000 and also holds a Specialist Course in training of blind students from the Royal National College for the Blind, UK.
He began his professional career working as a teacher for the blind at the Educational Resources Centre run by ONCE in Madrid and later became member of the Board of Directors of the National Organization. He is now employed as the ONCE Manager of the International Resources Unit. Enrique is also a dedicated volunteer, currently active as an ICEVI Executive Committee Member and Board member of F.O.A.L. (ONCE Foundation for Latin America). He has earned several prestigious positions and awards including: Elected President of the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), and more recently the Gold Paralympic Order, as well as an Honorary Life Membership of the Spanish Paralympic Committee.
William Rowland, Ph.D; WBU Immediate Past President
Dr. William Rowland is the Immediate Past President of the WBU. He was the National Executive Director of the South African National Council for the Blind until 2005 and is currently their Honorary President. He served as the CEO of the Thabo Mbeki Development Trust for Disabled People until 2007 and is now responsible for their fundraising and communications portfolios. As Chairperson of DEC Investment Holding Company Ltd, William contributes to an enterprise generating funds for the disability sector through commercial ventures. With extensive working experience, William has held positions with numerous entities, including: Director of Taquanta Financial Group of Companies; First Chairperson and now Honorary President of Disabled People South Africa (DPSA); Co-founder and Past Chairperson of the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD); and Chairperson of the SA Library for the Blind.
Similarly, William is active as a Member of the Council on Higher Education; Member of the Council of the University of Johannesburg; Member of the Council of the National Literary Museum (NELM) and formerly, Member of the Council of the University of South Africa; and Member of the Board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation. In addition, he is Director of the .ZA Domain Name Authority; Trustee of the South African Breweries Foundation; Advisor to the World Health Organization (WHO) on community-based rehabilitation; and, Co-chair of the US-based Disability Rights Fund. A gifted academic, William is a Doctorate of Philosophy graduate from the University of Cape Town and holds a Masters degree from the University of South Africa.
As an accomplished author of several books focusing on disability issues, William’s most recent work, published in 2010, is entitled: Poverty and Disability in Johannesburg. In 2004, he also wrote: Nothing About Us Without Us – Inside the Disability Rights Movement of South Africa. His aptitude for writing extends to academic articles, poetry, and children’s stories alike.
William has been honored on several occasions for his lifelong meritorious service to the blind, receiving the RW Bowen Medal of the SA National Council for the Blind; the first Citizens Award of the Ophthalmological Society of South Africa; and, the Medal of Merit of the All Russia Association of the Blind.
Penny Hartin, L.L.D(Hon), WBU Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Penny Hartin is currently the Chief Executive Officer of the WBU, working on behalf of blind and visually impaired persons in over 180 countries around the world. Penny has over 27 years of senior management experience in planning and implementing rehabilitation and support services for blind persons in Canada through a variety of positions with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) and in five provinces. She represented the WBU for six years on the first UN Panel of Experts to monitor the Standard Rules on the Equalization of Opportunities for persons with Disabilities and continues to serve on a variety of community-based and international boards and committees. An accomplished academic, Penny has degrees in French/English translation, education, and an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree, issued by Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. She has low vision, uses speech and screen magnification software, and deeply cherishes her guide dog named “Oliana”.