Join us for a Council of Foreign Chambers of Commerce in the UK webinar with Lord Grimstone of Boscobel KT, Minister of State for Investment at the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The online event will provide an opportunity for Lord Grimstone to share insights on the importance of international trade and investment post Covid-19, as well as the trends that will shape the world coming out of the crisis. He will also give an update on the UK Government’s progress of current and planned bilateral trade talks.

The conversation with Lord Grimstone will be followed by a curated Q&A session.

Chaired by: Deborah Bonetti - Director, Foreign Press Association.

The event will be held under the Chatham House rule.

Booking information

ICCIUK member price: Free 
CFCC member price: Free

To RSVP, please contact Carolina Ghittino, Members Relations & Events Officer. Upon registration, you will be sent information on how to connect to the webinar.

Biography

Lord Grimstone of Boscobel Kt was appointed unpaid Minister for Investment jointly at the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy on 18 March 2020. Before joining government, his career spanned the private and public sectors. His roles have included:

• chairman of Barclays Bank plc and Standard Life Aberdeen
• lead non-executive on the board of the Ministry of Defence
• chairman of financial services body, TheCityUK, from 2012 to 2015
• member of HM Treasury’s Financial Services Trade and Investment Board

Lord Grimstone has held board appointments across many sectors and served as one of the UK’s Business Ambassadors. He also:

• conducted the Cabinet Office’s triennial review of the Civil Service Commission
• conducted the Cabinet Office’s Review of Public Appointments in the UK, which led to the Public Appointments Code
• led a taskforce to establish the new Centre for Public Services Leadership

He has a particular interest in UK-China and UK-India relations. He has joined several Prime Ministerial visits, including the annual Economic and Financial Dialogues between the countries. He also chaired TheCityUK China Market Advisory Group. Lord Grimstone was knighted in 2014 for public service to defence and business.

The Minister for Investment's responsibilities include:

• developing a new investment strategy
• promoting investment across all sectors
• business investor relations
• leading on the strategic relationship management programme cross-Whitehall, including account management of large UK investors
• covering departmental business in the House of Lords
• global marketing to attract investment
• increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) and portfolio investment into the UK
• promoting and supporting outward direct investment (ODI)

The minister does not have a formal area of policy responsibility in the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS). He works to ensure BEIS policy and sectoral engagement is aligned with DIT’s investment objectives.