The Government's trade promotion body has hired a senior executive from Ernst & Young to spearhead an effort to forge relations with sovereign wealth funds and other high-value inward investors, I have learned.
Michael Boyd, who held several roles at the accounting firm, has been appointed as the head of a new strategic relations unit within UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). Boyd's appointment is expected to be announced within days and could come as soon as tomorrow.
The division has been created as part of a drive to (in Whitehall-speak) "secure more high-value opportunities for the UK economy" and "build stakeholder engagement" with major overseas investors, including sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
The focus on SWFs is important because it is one of the most important and prominent pieces of the global financial jigsaw. Ignored just a few years ago, these funds from countries such as Abu Dhabi, China and Norway control trillions of dollars of wealth, and yet to date, Britain has not had a team of officials responsible for engaging with them.
Boyd's appointment, on which UKTI declined to comment tonight, is also significant because it comes during a period of change for the trade promotion body.
As I revealed earlier this month, Nick Baird, a Foreign Office mandarin, has been appointed as UKTI's new chief executive with a mandate to oversee its new five-year strategy, 'Britain Open for Business'.
That strategy is focused on building better relations between British exporters and Government as well as more aggressively seeking out opportunities for them in key overseas markets.
Source: http://blogs.news.sky.com
Michael Boyd, who held several roles at the accounting firm, has been appointed as the head of a new strategic relations unit within UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). Boyd's appointment is expected to be announced within days and could come as soon as tomorrow.
The division has been created as part of a drive to (in Whitehall-speak) "secure more high-value opportunities for the UK economy" and "build stakeholder engagement" with major overseas investors, including sovereign wealth funds (SWFs).
The focus on SWFs is important because it is one of the most important and prominent pieces of the global financial jigsaw. Ignored just a few years ago, these funds from countries such as Abu Dhabi, China and Norway control trillions of dollars of wealth, and yet to date, Britain has not had a team of officials responsible for engaging with them.
Boyd's appointment, on which UKTI declined to comment tonight, is also significant because it comes during a period of change for the trade promotion body.
As I revealed earlier this month, Nick Baird, a Foreign Office mandarin, has been appointed as UKTI's new chief executive with a mandate to oversee its new five-year strategy, 'Britain Open for Business'.
That strategy is focused on building better relations between British exporters and Government as well as more aggressively seeking out opportunities for them in key overseas markets.
Source: http://blogs.news.sky.com
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