It is with our deepest regret we have to inform you that our founder, Mrs Sonia Vanular, passed away last night (26 February 2020) at the age of 98.

Sonia was not in a very good condition since a year and a half and even more recently, her health state was slowly decreasing this last two weeks.

It goes without saying that her passing is a big loss for our association. It is thanks to her that IMA now exists.

She was the one who had a vision back in 1974 when she founded EAPS. She passionately encouraged our members to develop their role and to recognize the value and worth of the profession.

EAPS changed name in 1998 to EUMA and again to IMA in 2017, but Sonia was always there fully and actively supporting every change to meet the requirements and changes of our profession. She followed her baby very closely and saw it growing into an association of more than 1600 members in more than 30 countries worldwide. Today, IMA is the only international network for management support professionals and we would not have been here without Sonia.

Sonia loved life and we are sure we will all remember her with our personal memories and stories.

Let’s all join forces and work together in order to keep her heritage alive for many more years to come. Let's continue to honor her tremendous and beautiful legacy.

We will keep her in our prayers.

Rest in peace Sonia, we will miss you.