The Secretariat

Florie Barbotte
Communications and Marketing Officer

As Communications and Marketing Officer, Florie Barbotte supports the development and execution of a communications and marketing strategy, elevating the Association’s profile with key stakeholder groups.

Florie has gained experience in the Tech Industry as an Account Manager and a Project Manager, focusing on content creation. She holds a Master’s Degree in Business Management from EDHEC Business School (France), and in Integrated Marketing Communication from Queensland University of Technology (Australia).

Vincent Bernard
Senior Policy Advisor

Vincent Bernard has extensive experience in law and policy advocacy in complex environments. From 2010 to 2019, he was editor in chief of the International Review of the Red Cross, a leading academic journal on humanitarian law, policy and action, published by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Cambridge University Press and head of the Law and Policy Forum, which led ICRC’s engagement with expert audiences interested in humanitarian law, policy and action. As head of the ICRC’s field communication set-up from 2006 to 2010 he travelled and worked in most of todays’ conflict zones. He worked in humanitarian operations for 6 years in Dakar, Nairobi and Jerusalem.

Vincent studied political science, law and international relations at the Political Science Institute and Law Faculty in Strasburg, The King’s College, London and the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva. He taught law and political sciences at the University of Marmara in Istanbul and is now visiting lecturer in several universities and executive in residence at the Geneva Center for Security Policy.

Nada Bessassi
Membership and Certification Officer

As the Membership and Certification Officer, Nada Bessassi reviews applications for new members and affiliate companies seeking to join ICoCA. She ensures that the procedures are aligned with human rights best practices in private security, as described in the international Code of Conduct.

Nada has experience working in NGOs as a legal officer and holds a master’s degree in International and Comparative Law from the University of Lausanne.

Dina Chantre
HR & Office Manager

As HR and Office Manager, Dina Chantre deals with the Association’s administrative and HR management functions.

Prior to joining ICoCA, Dina held various positions in the private sector. Among others, she worked for more than six years at a prestigious Geneva spa where she managed reception activities, and supporting the Director in human resources and administrative functions.

Dina has an educational background in Administration, human resources management and accounting (Federal Certificate of Proficiency (CFC) In Commercial Business).

Ana Farrér
Human Rights Officer

As Human Rights Officer, Ana Farrér is responsible for providing guidance, tools and training to private security companies, as well as monitoring possible human rights abuses in the sector.

Ana holds a MA in International and Comparative Law from the University of Lausanne, and is enrolled at the LLM in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights programme at the Geneva Academy.

Christopher Galvin
Head of Communications & Outreach

As Head of Communications & Outreach, Chris Galvin leads the Association’s outreach and communications strategy and develops the Association’s funding base among states and private foundations.

Chris has over twenty years of experience working in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Chris previously oversaw grant-making to a range of non-profit organisations around the world as a Programme Officer at the Oak Foundation in Geneva. Prior to this he was Head of Outreach for Executive Education at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, where he was responsible for all communications, marketing and business development for the division. From 2005 to 2015 Chris held various positions at Yale University managing public affairs, communications, community engagement, and fundraising. In his last role as Managing Director of Alumni Relations at the Yale School of Management, he managed the school’s Alumni Association.

Prior to transitioning to the non-profit sector, Chris Galvin worked in offshore finance and as a headhunter in London. He was educated in the UK and has Masters degrees from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), University of Sussex and the University of Edinburgh.

Alexandra Garzotto
Finance Manager and Administrative Officer

As Finance Manager and Administrative Officer, Alexandra Garzotto deals with budget proposals, budget follow-up, reporting to donors, accounting accuracy and other finance functions.

Prior to joining ICoCA, Alexandra worked 5 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers as auditor and audit manager in Luxembourg, and then for two years as Finance Officer in a private Geneva bank. In 2014, she joined the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), where she worked 4 years as Finance Officer. She was responsible for budget proposals, budget follow-up, reporting to donors, analytical costs allocation, financial statements and audits coordination.

Alexandra studied in Business School in Nancy and holds a Master in management with a finance specialisation.

Tom Mather
Compliance Manager

As Compliance Manager, Tom Mather oversees monitoring, certification and training at the Association.

Tom has over 15 years of experience in the security field, working primarily in the humanitarian sector as an operational security manager. Tom has on-the-ground security management experience in more than 20 countries, including conflict, post-conflict and fragile environments.

Tom holds an MA in Security Studies from Georgetown University (US).

Antoine Perret
Civil Society Organization (CSO) Development Manager 

Dr. Antoine Perret joined ICoCA in a newly created role as Civil Society Organization (CSO) Development Manager. His remit is to grow the Civil Society Pillar and support CSO Members, developing capacity for effective accountability mechanisms and advocating for responsible private security. Prior to joining ICoCa, Antoine worked at the Business and Security Division at the Geneva Center for Security Governance (DCAF) managing projects and leading research on private security governance. Before that, he was based in Panama working on anti-money laundering and terrorism financing and leading a regional project on mapping organized crime activities in Latin America. Antoine started his career in academic circles as associate researcher at Universidad de Los Andes (Bogota, Colombia); research fellow at Columbia University (New York, USA), and American University (Washington DC, USA). He taught at Universidad Externado de Colombia and collaborated with UN agencies on security and human rights issues.

Antoine holds a PhD in law and LLM from the European University Institute (Florence, Italy); a Master in International Affairs from Universidad Externado de Colombia (Bogota, Colombia) – in collaboration with Columbia University and Science Po, Paris; and a License in International Relations from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. He has published several books and articles on private security regulation.

Valentina Potapova
Membership & Development Officer

As Membership and Development Officer, Valentina Potapova focuses on supporting and growing ICoCA’s membership, from engaging with potential ICoCA members to managing their onboarding, and supporting members once they have joined the Association.

Valentina has solid experience in private sector (business development) and multilateral cooperation (humanitarian projects). She holds a bachelor in Modern History and Masters in International Relations and Cooperation for Development.

Jamie Williamson
Executive Director

As Executive Director, Jamie Williamson heads the Secretariat of the International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA). Jamie brings to the ICoCA a wealth of international, legal and security experience and joined the ICoCA in October 2017 after several years as the Head of the Relations with Arms Carriers Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In that capacity, Jamie led a team of over 50 delegates worldwide, and was responsible for the strategic orientation and implementation of core programs, advising and training State and non-State weapons bearers, including multinational forces and private military and security contractors.

Previously, from 2008 until 2011, Jamie served as the ICRC Legal Advisor at the ICRC Delegation in Washington D.C., providing legal support to the ICRC activities in the U.S. and Canada, with particular focus on Guantanamo and military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. From 2005 to 2008, he brought his experience and commitment to humanitarian law and justice to the ICRC as regional legal advisor based in Pretoria, South Africa. Here, he assisted State Authorities and international organizations on the implementation of weapons treaties, and continued to advocate for and successfully legislate international humanitarian law.

Before joining the ICRC, Jamie was with the UN ad hoc international criminal tribunals in Tanzania and the Netherlands, and Sierra Leone, for nearly 9 years, where he worked on the first international judgments on genocide and war crimes in non-international armed conflicts. Jamie has published numerous papers on repression of war crimes, international justice, and the challenges to international humanitarian law in modern day conflicts and is on the summer faculty of the Academy of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at American University, in Washington D.C.