Olav Toornend new president of the IVO

At the General Assembly on October 5, 2021, delegates of the International Pedorthic Association (IVO) elected Olav Toornend as the new president. He succeeds Serge Mathis, who has held the post since 2015.

Olav Toornend has been a master orthopedic shoemaker since 1990 and has worked for the Dutch company Nimco since 2006. He has been responsible for the company's custom shoe production in Portugal since 2013 and is a member of IVO as an individual member from Portugal.

At the IVO's delegates meeting, held online, Olav Toornend was unanimously elected as the new president. Toornend warmly thanked Serge Mathis, who had been elected president at the IVO Congress in Paris in 2015, for his work for the IVO and international cooperation in pedorthics in recent years. He promised to be just as committed to the interests of orthopaedic footwear technology at the international stage.

The IVO has set itself the task of promoting international cooperation in the field of pedorthics, among other things by holding international trade conferences, promoting cross-border professional contacts, harmonizing training and examination systems, and supporting other countries in the supply of orthopaedic appliances and in the training and continuing education of young professionals.

The next IVO congress will be held in 2022 together with the ORTHOPÄDIE SCHUH TECHNIK trade fair and congress on October 14 and 15 in Cologne (www.OST-Messe.de).