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The Rt Hon Baroness Symons Of Vernham Dean (Chairman at ABCC)

The Rt Hon Baroness Symons Of Vernham Dean

Chairman at ABCC

The Rt Hon Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean is a senior Labour member of the House of Lords and a business leader. Formerly Deputy Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Symons was a Minister in the UK Government from 1997 until stepping down in 2005. Among her government posts she was Minister for the Middle East, Minister for International Trade and Minister for Defence Procurement, and the Prime Minister’s envoy to the Gulf.

Previously a trade union general secretary, she was an Equal Opportunities Commissioner and a governor of the London Business School. As well as working closely with DLA Piper, Baroness Symons is now involved with a number of other commercial organisations, including roles as a non-executive director of British Airways, and as an advisor to other companies, including those with strong Middle East links, and with a number of not-for-profit organisations, including the International Red Cross.

Mr. Bandar Reda (Secretary General & CEO of ABCC)

Mr. Bandar Reda

Secretary General & CEO of ABCC

Mr Bandar Ali Reda joined the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, on 1st March 2019, as Secretary General and CEO, becoming the fourth person to lead the Chamber since its foundation almost five decades ago.

As CEO, Mr Reda contributes his expertise by drawing on his wealth of experience as a diplomat and extensive time spent in the private sector to ensure the Chamber moves to the next level.

Mr Reda has a distinguished professional career of more than a decade in banking and corporate industry at SABB HSBC Saudi Arabia, prior to senior positions in the diplomatic service of his country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he served as Commercial Attaché in the UK & Europe, based in London, and in Italy and as part of the Saudi delegation to the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris.

Mr Reda holds a BA in Economics and Business Administration from Orlando, USA. He has been an Executive Member of the Saudi-Italian Business Council, the Council of Saudi Chambers; a Member of the Business Youth Committee, Jeddah Chamber of Commerce; a Member of the Saudi Economy Association; and a Member of the Saudi Arabian legal accountants. Mr Reda has demonstrated his experience and abilities in his roles in both public and private sectors.

Since taking up his post, Mr Reda has successfully steered the Chamber throughout the difficult months of the pandemic and lockdown, a period which presented unprecedented challenges for international trade and the business community. Under Mr Bandar Reda’s guidance and leadership, the Chamber not only continued all its activities uninterrupted but extended its services during this period and has reinforced its reputation as the leading strategic business services organisation in the UK dedicated to strengthening Arab-British trade and building closer business co-operation.

Abdeslam El-Idrissi (Deputy CEO & Secretary General of ABCC)

Abdeslam El-Idrissi

Deputy CEO & Secretary General of ABCC

Mr Abdeslam El-Idrissi is proud to have served the best part of over 36 years with the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, serving both as Director of Trade Services, Acting General Manager and now his present position as Deputy CEO and Secretary General. During this time, he has cultivated strong relationships with British Chambers, Government bodies, educational institutions, NGOs across both the Arab world and the UK regions, as well as the UK-Arab business communities as a whole.
To this end, Mr El-Idrissi is in much demand across the regions as a keynote speaker and as one of the UK’s leading experts on UK-Arab trade relations.
He is also a key member of the Institute of Export where in the past he has held the position of Vice Chair of the Institute of Export, London Branch for a period of 7 years.

Lolade Onabolu (Senior Programme Director of Home Office)

Lolade Onabolu

Senior Programme Director of Home Office

Lolade is the Home Office Future Borders and Immigration Systems Programme Director and head of the ETA project, with a focus on leading the transformation of the UK border processes into one that is digital, data driven and person centric.

Lolade has spent several years leading transformation programmes across a number of government departments including the Ministry of Justice, Department of Health and Social Care, Cabinet Office and NHS ENgland.

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Cara Aikman

Lead Technology Product Manager, ETA at Home Office

Cara leads on the design and delivery of the technology that will underpin the ETA process. This includes the application process (web form and app), the caseworking process and elements of the customer contact solution.

Cara led a research trip to UAE and Qatar earlier in the year and using insights from the trip plus wider research to direct the development teams who are building the end to end journey.

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Mark Salmon

Product Manager, Identity at Home Office

Mark leads on many of the existing technology and services that will be used in the end to end ETA application and caseworking process, including previous implementations of the same underlying technology.

In a previous role, Mark led on the delivery of the Electronic Visa Waiver process.