The new Administration Board of IROA, SA, which will be chaired by Ricardo Silva, has already been chosen and will enter into office by the end of March.
A native of Ribeira Grande, Ricardo Silva, 52, holds a degree in History. He has held positions in several public bodies and entities. He served as Regional Director for Housing in the VII and VIII Regional Governments (1996-2004), President of the Administration Board of the Association of Municipalities of São Miguel (2009-2013) and as Mayor of Ribeira Grande City Hall (2005-2013).
Ricardo Silva also held the position of President of the then IROA - Regional Institute of Agricultural Planning (2005), the entity which preceded the current public company under the same name. Hence, his return to IROA will leverage his experience in carrying out the duties assigned to this public company.
These powers of IROA are the following: planning, promotion and implementation of agrarian development works; development and promotion of reparcelling; management of the Regional Agricultural Reserve; management of restructuring support programmes in the areas of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Forestry, among others.
In addition to Ricardo Silva, Maria Vitalina Encarnação Lima Antas de Barros was also appointed to the new Administration Board of IROA. She was also a member of the previous Administration Board. She holds a degree in Agricultural Engineering and has held various positions in this company over the last years, particularly in the definition of agrarian planning perimeters and the management water and power supply to farms.
Paulo Fernando Lopes Mendes, 43, was also appointed to the Administration Board of IROA, SA. He holds a degree in Law and currently holds the position of Director of the Support, Planning and Audit Office of the Regional Secretariat for Tourism and Transport.
Paulo Mendes was also a Member of the Board of Directors of the Regional Cohesion and Economic Development Support Fund (2006-2009) and Deputy Director of Municipal Water and Sanitation Services of the Municipality of Vila Franca de Xira (2011).