New Chair and Vice-Chair of the IHO Council

Dr Geneviève Béchard, Hydrographer General of Canada and Director General for the Canadian Hydrographic Service will formally take up their Chair duties at the start of the 4^th meeting of the Council on 19 November 2020 and will serve until 2023. She will be assisted by Mr Thai Low Ying-Huang, Chief Hydrographer at the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore who has been endorsed as Vice-chair. The IHO Council coordinates the activities of the organization during the period in between Assemblies and is the executive organ for directions given by the Assembly.

Dr. Geneviève Béchard is Hydrographer General of Canada and Director General for the Canadian Hydrographic Service (CHS) since February 2018. She has been working for the Canadian government for 31 years, with the last 15 years as an executive with the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, the Geological Survey of Canada and the Meteorological Service of Canada, all science and technology geospatial organizations.  Dr Béchard has a Ph.D in Biology and an MSc in Applied Microbiology.

Mr Thai Low Ying-Huang is the Chief Hydrographer of the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore. He joined the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) as a hydrographer in 2000 and since April 2019 is the Chief Hydrographer and Director of the Hydrographic Division. Previously, he headed the Hydrographic Survey, Cartographic and Aids to Navigation Departments.  He also spent some time in MPA’s International Department and was responsible for enhancing navigational safety, efficiency and protection of the marine environment in the Straits of Malacca and Singapore through regional and international cooperation.  Ying-Huang holds an MSc in Hydrographic Surveying and a BSc in Oceanography.