SENIOR DIPLOMAT AND TOP CAMERON ADVISER AMONG APPOINTMENTS TO INTERNATIONAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE (ICC) BOARD
London, 18 March 2021: ICC United Kingdom has today appointed four industry figureheads to strengthen its board. The appointments illustrate ICC’s intent to help the government shape effective trade policy post-Brexit.
The United Kingdom branch of the world’s largest business organisation, with 45 million companies as members, has appointed Sir Simon Fraser, Baroness Gabrielle Bertin, Vindi Banga and Harry Matovu QC to its board.
Sir Simon is a distinguished senior diplomat and former civil servant. He was Permanent Under-Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Head of the UK Diplomatic Service, between 2010 and 2015. He also held the roles of Permanent Secretary in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Chief of Staff to the EU Trade Commissioner. Simon is now a founder and Managing Partner of the business consultancy Flint Global.
Baroness Bertin is a Conservative member of the House of Lords, and a senior adviser at BT. She was previously press secretary and then director of external relations for former Prime Minister David Cameron.
Vindi Banga is a leading figure across international business. He has held senior roles at Unilever, including President Global Foods, Home & Personal Care and Chairman and CEO of the company’s Indian subsidiary, Hindustan Lever Ltd. Banga currently serves as a Senior Independent Director for GSK plc, as a Director of the Economist and is a Partner at the private equity investment firm, Clayton Dubilier & Rice. He also is Chair of Marie Curie.
Harry Matovu QC is a highly respected barrister with a high-profile commercial practice, who was appointed as Queen’s Counsel in 2010. He acts as leading counsel and as a top-ranked arbitrator in major international disputes, specialising in areas such as public and private international law, cross-border disputes, energy, asset recovery, finance and insurance.
These senior appointments demonstrate ICC’s appetite to shape the trade agenda as a lead organisation on international trade.
Internationally, ICC represents 45 million companies of all sizes and sectors, employing 1 billion people in over 100 countries. In the UK, ICC represents some of the largest and most successful international companies such as BT, Diageo, Google, HSBC and Unilever - companies with large value chains operating in more than 170 overseas markets.
This year, ICC and the APPG on Trade and Export Promotion, for which ICC provides the secretariat, will play a vital role in promoting inclusive, sustainable, and green trade. The APPG will be gathering expert evidence from all voices on trade across business, trade unions, consumers, civil society NGOs, and academia.
This work will be vital in helping the Department for International Trade promote world class trade governance and develop a comprehensive UK trade strategy covering all aspects of trade. These will be essential to build back better and drive the economic recovery.
At international level, ICC is the only business organisation with UN Observer Status at the UN General Assembly, a Network Partner to G20, strategic business partner to the World Health Organization on Covid 19 and World Trade Organization and as the Business Focal Point to the UN on climate negotiations.
ICC is building national and global alliances around key cross cutting priorities such as tackling the pandemic, trade reform, climate change, sustainability, digitalisation and access to finance.
Commenting on the appointments, ICC chairman Paul Drechsler CBE said:
“As the UK government works to construct our trade strategy and the country prepares to host the COP26 climate change summit, there has never been a more important time to strengthen international relations.
“ICC plays a vital role in supporting businesses to achieve responsible and inclusive trade and supporting the UK government in providing international leadership.
“I am therefore delighted to be appointing four highly credible figures from across trade and diplomacy, who will be invaluable in delivering on this ambition.”
ENDS
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Editor’s Notes
ICC is the largest world business organisation representing 45 million companies in over 100 countries.
ICC United Kingdom is the representative office of ICC in the UK and voice for UK business at international level.
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