Leadership, Legitimacy, Legacy: A Tribute to Alexis Mourre

‘Try not to become a man of success, but rather try to become a man of value'

—Albert Einstein

Alexis Mourre's first day in office, 1 July 2015, was spent in Sâo Paulo, Brazil, participating in ICC's flagship event, the Brazilian Arbitration Day, where he was warmly welcomed by the Brazilian arbitral community. Alexis was invited to give the inaugural speech and he did so in Portuguese, demonstrating his versatility and interest in Lusophone countries.

Through that speech, his global strategy and sense of purpose for the future of ICC Dispute Resolution Services (ICC DRS) became clear. This short personal note is focused on Alexis' important efforts to expand the ICC Court's footprint in Brazil.

Alexis announced that one of his key strategic priorities would be to address international arbitration's ongoing crisis of legitimacy by enhancing ICC's unique position as a truly global arbitral institution. To achieve that goal, Alexis understood that the ICC Court would have to expand its global reach and vision, namely by opening new overseas case management and representative offices. He announced that his first step towards that objective would be to launch a case management office in São Paulo, Brazil, with the aim of overcoming certain tax and regulatory restrictions for Brazilian parties while also strengthening ICC DRS in the country by being closer to the Brazilian arbitral community. The goal of this key initiative was not only to foster ICC DRS policies globally but also to localise its services for the benefit of its users.

Following the Brazilian Arbitration Day, Alexis immediately started working on bringing this project to fruition. I was privileged to be nominated as that project's manager with the aim of creating a plan for the establishment of a case management office in Sâo Paulo. We had countless meetings to move the project forward. Throughout the process, we received constant support from ICC B