30th September 2020 Skopje, North Macedonia
Two years into my posting as British Ambassador to North Macedonia, September was my first month working for the recently merged Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the whole team coming back fully into the Embassy and adapting to the “new normal”. With my Embassy team, we have been working remotely and in groups from the […]
18th October 2019 Los Angeles, USA
In March, the Science and Innovation Network, DIT, and Innovate UK led a Global Expert Mission to US robotics centers of excellence. The UK-USA Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (RAI) in Extreme Environments delegation spent a week in Los Angeles, San Diego and Houston, meeting with a variety of potential partners in space, oceans and nuclear […]
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22nd November 2018 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mongolia is everything you expect. Mongolia is also everything you don’t expect. At least that’s what I found as the UK’s Ambassador. The world’s least densely populated country, which was once one of the largest empires in world history, it is a land of immense beauty and rich history. Mongolia is also a vibrant 21st […]
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28th March 2018 Vienna, Austria
As a British diplomat in Austria (I am Second Secretary for Economic and EU issues), I have found one of the most surprising things about Austrian politics is how people feel about trade. Austria’s export ratio (i.e. goods exports as a ratio of GDP) is high – 52%, compared to the High Income Country average […]
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9th May 2017 Chennai, India
In March, I had the absolute delight of visiting India for the first time in my life and the whole week was an adventure, both personally and commercially. Experiencing the Indian way of life, the hospitality and incredible proactivity to doing business were all eye-opening, as was the traffic! I help run Innovation Birmingham, the […]
16th March 2017 Vienna, Austria
Which is the most important economic powerhouse in Austria? Amongst the nine Austrian provinces, Vienna has the largest population, followed by Lower Austria and Upper Austria. But more international exports come from Upper Austria than from any other Austrian province. So when I visited Upper Austria recently, my first stop was at Europe’s biggest motor […]
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16th January 2017 Toronto, Canada
Imagine being able to hop into a vehicle, tell it where you want to go, then be able to pull out your laptop and watch some TV, or get some work done on the way to your destination!
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25th November 2016 London, UK
Oil & Gas has been one of the pillars for Brazilian economic growth over the last decade. The continued discovery and development of reservoirs has been providing opportunities for specialist suppliers around the world – including British companies. Petrobras, one of the world´s biggest energy companies, still plans to invest $98.4bn between and 2019 – […]
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6th July 2016 Calgary, Canada
Elton John composed his first five albums on a trusty old piano. And where is that piano now (must be worth a bit)? It is actually to be found in Canada’s new National Music Centre .
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11th May 2016 Vancouver, Canada
It defies logic. Every sensible instinct tells me it should be impossible. At almost 73 metres it’s longer than an ice hockey rink, it’s four times the height of my house (and I don’t live in a bungalow) and it carries over 500 passengers (plus luggage). Staring at it through the window of Vancouver International […]