Skip to main content

The IRF Family mourns the loss of former executives, Manfred Swarovski and Tony Pearce

The Chairman, the Board and Executive Committee of the International Road Federation in Geneva have been deeply saddened by the loss over the past weeks of two IRF leading figures: Manfred Swarovski and Tony Pearce. "The IRF Family loses an exceptional professional and a very dear friend," said Kiran K Kapila, chairman of IRF (Geneva). Manfred Swarovski has been a leading figure of the International Road Federation (IRF) for decades. He has served in many positions not least as chairman of IRF in Geneva an
July 11, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Tony Pearce
The Chairman, the Board and Executive Committee of the International Road Federation in Geneva have been deeply saddened by the loss over the past weeks of two IRF leading figures: Manfred Swarovski and Tony Pearce.


"The IRF Family loses an exceptional professional and a very dear friend," said Kiran K Kapila, chairman of IRF (Geneva). Manfred Swarovski has been a leading figure of the International Road Federation (IRF) for decades. He has served in many positions not least as chairman of IRF in Geneva and chairman of the Global Executive Committee of IRF. "Manfred's vision has always been to shape a single powerful and integrated organisation. It is the spirit with which we still continue to work in Geneva," added Kapila.

With Tony Pearce, former director general of 1201 IRF Geneva, the IRF loses one of its masterminds and an outstanding personality who has largely defined IRF and its work over the past decades. “Tony has been a primary spokesman and ambassador for the IRF worldwide. Most of it, he has been a friend to many of us in the profession. Tony has taught us tenacity in all its forms. It is that same tenacity that still drives IRF (Geneva) today," said Susanna Zammataro, IRF executive director.

The IRF wishes to express its most sincere condolences to the family of Manfred and of Tony and wishes to thank all those in the profession who have been kindly writing over the past weeks to manifest their appreciation for these two makers of the IRF family and to share with us their most cherished souvenirs.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • IRF Washington Names its 2016 Industry Professional of the Year:
    October 18, 2016
    Malaysia’s Minister of Works receives IRF’s top award. YB Dato’ Sri Haji Fadillah bin Haji Yusof, Minister of Works and one of the chief architects behind Malaysia’s spectacular highway investment programme has been nominated to receive IRF’s most distinguished individual honor. Established in 1951, IRF’s Professional of the Year award recognises eminent public, private and education sector professionals with an outstanding track record of leadership and commitment to the road transport industry. Over the y
  • One direction, a shared journey
    May 23, 2018
    The world in which we work is changing at a rapid pace; we have seen developments in road safety that we could only dream about 5-10 years ago. Despite these changes, global casualty figures remain high; the only way that we can affect change is by working together through international collaboration. Together we hold the power to reduce the threat to life from road collisions. We should be proud of our road safety heritage and of our achievements to date. This is at the very core of what this conference
  • Safety first at IRF Caribbean Regional Congress in Jamaica
    July 7, 2015
    The wealth of experiences and ideas shared during the recent 4th IRF Caribbean Regional Congress underscored the International Road Federation’s value in shaping policy contributions to global transportation challenges ranging from resilient infrastructure to road safety. The regional congress coincided with the start of the 3rd United Nations Global Road Safety Week, an initiative aimed at fostering discussion and awareness-raising in more than 100 countries. The event was run by the IRF Washington office
  • IRF partners with China Summit, focussing on New Silk Road
    June 8, 2015
    The IRF has partnered with a key Chinese summit, focussing on capacity building for the new Silk Road project. During the three day International Highway Technology Summit, billed as China’s largest and most influential highway knowledge platform, the International Road Federation chaired a flagship multi-country panel discussion on China's new Silk Road Economic Belt programme. In addition, the IRF organised training workshops on forgiving roads and asset management applications. The event drew together