The Postal Operations Council (POC) is the technical and operational mind of the UPU and consists of 48 member countries, elected during Congress. The body elects its own chair and meets annually at the UPU’s headquarters in Berne.
The POC’s work programme is geared towards helping Posts modernize and upgrade their postal products and services. It deals with the operational, economic and commercial aspects of the postal business. The body also makes recommendations to member countries on standards for technological, operational or other processes within its competence where uniform practices are necessary.
The Chair of the Postal Operations Council for the current cycle is France, represented by Jean-Paul Forceville, Director of European and International Affairs with La Poste Group (France).
Since joining La Poste Group in 1979, Mr Forceville has risen through the ranks and occupied a range of positions, including Chief of Staff to the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Director of External Relations, Director of European and International Affairs and Director of Regulatory, Institutional and European Affairs.
Mr Forceville has chaired the Management Board of PostEurop since January 2011. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Postal Union for the Mediterranean. Among his engagements within the UPU, Mr Forceville has chaired committees at the Doha and Istanbul Congresses in 2012 and 2016, respectively. In August 2021, he was elected as Chair of the Postal Operations Council. Mr Forceville is a graduate of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris (1979) and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Postes et Télécommunications (1986).