The European Language Industry Association (ELIA), a European not-for-profit trade association for the language industry, announced the selection of its new president and vice-president on Sunday, October 17, ahead of its two-day Focus on Executives conference held in Rhodes, Greece.

Diego Cresceri, CEO and founder of Italian language service provider (LSP) Creative Words, and Alina Birsan, founding manager of Romanian LSP AB Language Solutions, were elected as president and vice-president respectively after serving on the organization’s board of directors.

In a post on LinkedIn, Cresceri shared that he was “ready to work hard with [the] ELIA team and directors, listen to our members and help the association provide them with even more value in the months to come.”

Birsan shared that she was “humbled and excited” to be named vice-president, and thanked all the members of the organization who helped guide both the organization and its members through the challenges of 2020. 

The two-day conference was the organization’s first in-person event after an extended hiatus due to COVID-19 restrictions. Organized with a smaller scope than other ELIA conferences, the Focus on Executives is designed for industry professionals who work in a leadership capacity, with this year’s event meant to serve as a forum to discuss navigating the impact of large-scale changes in the industry and the world around us, with sessions on such topics as real life business challenges, engaging the emotions of co-workers, and building high performing teams.