The Team

Chief Executive Officer

Ian was appointed CEO of the UK-ASEAN Business Council in September 2020. Before taking up this position, he had held a variety of roles across government including British Consul General in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Deputy Consul General and Director of UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) in Dubai, Deputy Director of UKTI India, Senior Private Secretary to the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) Secretaries of State (Alistair Darling, Alan Johnson and Patricia Hewitt) and Director of Business Development with the MWW Group in New York working in public relations. Before this, he spent 4.5 years in New York as head of Invest UK’s Regional Inward Investment Team (the British Government’s agency responsible for attracting inward investment from the United States to the UK).

Chief Operating Officer

Ben was appointed COO of the UK-ASEAN Business Council in October 2023. He joined UKABC following a 23-year career with the Department for Business and Trade. This period included roles as Regional Director for Exports and Investment in the South East of England, overseas postings as Deputy Director for Trade & Investment in Thailand and Deputy Head of China Financial Services based in Shanghai, as well as export promotion and export policy roles in the UK.

Director - ASEAN & Corporate Affairs

Based in Brunei, Allen drives the UKABC’s engagement with the region. He also curates the council’s corporate programmes, both in the UK and in Southeast Asia.

Allen has almost 20 years of experience working on geopolitical trade-related platforms in Asia. Before joining UKABC, he was involved in the planning, development, and execution of the APEC CEO Summit, Asia Pacific’s largest business event.

Director - Partnerships

Ken’s role at UKABC is to develop both Corporate and Small-Medium Enterprise Partnerships. He has previously worked successfully with companies of all sizes during his 30-year international business career. Ken has joined UKABC from BT Global Services where he held senior market and development roles – including corporate change programmes that operated in the ASEAN region. His other Asia-related work involved leading the acquisition of European computer and managed network partners for Telehouse Europe, setting up BT Worldwide India, and conducting research into potential options for economic change in the central Pacific. Ken also has early career experience in education and international publishing.

Events Manager

Nikol is overseeing sponsored events delivery and leading the logistics of UKABC events. She has a BSc (Hons) in Social Sciences from Birkbeck, University of London.

Her background is in events and programme management across the healthcare sector – from piloting public health practitioners’ accredited programmes to delivering high-profile symposiums. She is focused on creating memorable events which can be small, intimate workshops or international meetings and conferences.

In her spare time, Nikol enjoys being in the mountains and the great outdoors, travelling and savouring some home-cooked food.

Marketing Manager

Daniel has an extensive background in International Marketing and Economics, with a particular focus on the growing economies of Southeast Asia. His interests lie in the rapid digitisation of various industries across ASEAN markets. Daniel brings practical experience in executing digital marketing campaigns for both marketing agencies and in-house teams across a range of sectors.