The UK India Business Council is pleased to announce that Richard McCallum is to become its new Group Chief Executive Officer
By UK India Business Council (UKIBC)
22 September 2022: The UK India Business Council (“UKIBC”) is pleased to announce that Richard McCallum is to become its new Group Chief Executive Officer as from 1st October 2022.
Richard McCallum, known as Dickie, has been part of UKIBC since 2013, first as Managing Director and latterly as Vice Chair of UKIBC India Pvt Ltd, UKIBC’s Indian subsidiary. In addition to his longstanding knowledge of the UKIBC, Dickie brings to the role a clear understanding of the UK-India economic corridor, and bilateral corporate agendas within it. At UKIBC, Dickie was responsible for the development of UKIBC India Pvt Ltd’s India services, key business relationships and sector-focused advocacy groups. Dickie is based out of the UKIBC’s Gurgaon office.
Dickie started his career with John Swire & Sons, seconded to roles with Cathay Pacific Airways Limited in Hong Kong, Karachi and New Delhi. Prior to joining UKIBC, Dickie founded and ran an adventure tourism start-up in India.
Over the past decade, the UKIBC has grown in size and scope, expanding its presence and impact in both the UK and India, and driving bilateral trade and investment flows. Its strong corporate network, particularly within its membership, its relationships with governments across the UK and India, and its range of advocacy and advisory services make it the leading non-governmental organisation supporting both Indian and UK companies. At the same time, the UKIBC’s role in bringing a business voice to the government-to-government dialogues – evident recently in the ongoing FTA negotiations – remains critical.
Upon Dickie’s appointment, Richard Heald OBE will step down from his current role as Executive Chair while remaining Chair of the UKIBC.
Chair, Richard Heald OBE, said:
“I’m really pleased that Dickie has agreed to accept the role of Group Chief Executive of the UKIBC. The Board and I very much look forward to supporting and working with him into the future. The combination of his insights of India, his extensive networks within India as well as his knowledge of UK and Indian corporates is unique.
These are exciting times in the UK-India bilateral economic relations. The appointment of Dickie as our Group CEO underscores our ambition to make the UKIBC more business-focused, more bilateral and more relevant to all our stakeholders. The UKIBC’s ambition remains to strive to enhance and develop existing – and new – advocacy, consultancy and support services in both the UK and India. Dickie’s appointment is a major step in the achievement of this goal.”
New Group CEO, Richard McCallum, said:
“I believe passionately in the importance and potential of the India-UK economic relationship, a partnership which creates prosperity, catalyses innovation, fosters joint security and is an essential component in the global response to challenges such as climate change. We have so much to learn from each other, so much to co-create and develop together; technological cooperation, especially, is going to be the defining feature of the future bilateral relationship.
UKIBC has extraordinary people and an unrivalled bilateral network, a strong foundation on which to build in the years ahead as we create even more value and insight for our clients, to help them succeed in each other’s markets. We have an exciting future in front of us. I thank the Chair and Board of UKIBC for the trust they have placed in me.”
Note for Editors
The UKIBC is the leading trade organisation focusing exclusively on supporting business in the UK-India economic corridor. Founded in 2007, the UKIBC is a business-led and Government supported not-for-profit organisation solely focused on supporting India and UK businesses success in India and in the UK through the provision of consultancy and advocacy. UKIBC’s membership consists of many of the foremost businesses in both the UK and India.
