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HE Qais Al Youssef
Minister of Commerce, Industry and International Promotion at The Sultanate of OmanHE Qais bin Mohammed Al Yousef was appointed Minister of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion in August 2020. Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the Authority for Small & Medium Enterprise Development
Prior to assuming the role of Minister, HE Qais was Chairman of Oman Chamber of Commerce and Industry and CEO of the Al Yousef Group. While heading the chamber he served as Deputy Chairman of the Public Authority of Manpower Registration and sat on a number of board and committees, notably the Research Council, Oman Vision2040 Steering Committee and Consultancy Board for the GCC Supreme Council.
HE Qais holds a Master’s in Business Management from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University and a BA in Economics from Williams College. He has also attended executive development programs at Harvard Business School, London Business School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.
HMA Bill Murray
Her Majesty’s Ambassador at The British Embassy in OmanMr Bill Murray joined the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in 2003, following a career as an officer in the Royal Marines. Bill has spent much of his career on Middle East and North African issues including, most recently, as Political Counsellor at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. Other diplomatic postings include Tunisia, Jerusalem, Yemen, Jordan, Nairobi and Baghdad. He has also worked in London on counter-terrorism and Middle East policy
Mr Azzan Al Busaidi
Ministry of Commerce, Industry & Investment Promotion
Julian Lynn
Head of Origination at UK Export FinanceJulian joined UKEF in 2015 and is currently responsible for UKEF’s business origination activities in the Middle East and Asia Pacific, in close support of UKEF’s regional and international network of dedicated representatives.
He was previously extensively involved in all aspects of negotiating and underwriting UKEF’s first offshore wind projects in Taiwan, along with other firsts in solar and Islamic Financing. Julian has over 30 years of international banking experience in project, export, and structured finance, having worked with major international banking groups. He has worked in each of the main sectors of power, infrastructure, and energy, and in the emerging markets of MENA, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Mr Bandar Reda
Secretary General & CEO of Arab British Chamber of CommerceMr 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.
Baroness Symons
Chairman at Arab British Chamber of CommerceThe 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.