Judith Unwin joined BNP Paribas London as Head of UK and Nordic Export Finance in September 2000. BNP Paribas is one of the world's leading international banks with a comprehensive global presence including in India, where it undertakes trade, export and project finance business.

She has specialised in export finance for most of her banking career, joining Lazard Brothers & Co Limited in 1976, having graduated from Somerville College, Oxford, where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics.

Whilst at Lazards (until 1986) she travelled extensively to a number of markets, but principally to India, negotiating a range of transactions supporting major UK companies, in the financing of contracts in various sectors, principally in infrastructure.

In 1986 she joined ANZ Grindlays Bank focusing on South Asian markets and continued to be involved in significant export credit transactions.

She has been a Committee member of various Trade Advisory Groups including the South Asia Advisory Group (SAAG), and the BOTB Markets Group. She has participated in the January UK Ministerial Missions to India for the last several years, and is currently working on export finance prospects there. She is Chair of the UKIBC Nominations Committee.

In June 2000 she was awarded the OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List for Export Promotion services to South Asia.