Rhian Chilcott is director of global strategy and head of the Washington office for CBI.

Rhian moved to the United States to open the Washington office in 2002, at which time it was the CBI's first truly international office. She now leads the co-ordination of all the CBI's international work, including managing teams in Beijing and New Delhi, and a core unit in London.

She also runs the CBI's Global Government Relations Group - a best practice network for CBI members who deal with politics, policy or politicians in more than one nation state.

Before to moving to the US, Rhian was Head of Corporate Affairs for the CBI in London, with responsibility for the organisation's work programme and strategic planning. Her team also co-ordinated CBI lobbying in Whitehall, Westminster and Brussels.

Previously, she was Special Adviser to the CBI's Director General, and has also worked as a policy adviser on education and training issues.

Rhian was educated at the King's School, Canterbury, and Christ Church, Oxford, where she read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.

She is a director of the British American Business Association in Washington DC, and chairs its Programme and Government Affairs Committees.