The Government has created a new body of top business leaders to advise it on foreign investment.

The Investment Council will be made up of private sector senior leaders from around the globe in a variety of industries – from technology and energy to infrastructure and financial services.

The council, led by Minister for Investment Gerry Grimstone, will meet twice a year and on an ad hoc basis to provide high-level strategic advice to the Department for International Trade and wider government, operating alongside the recently formed Office for Investment.

Members will share their experiences in the UK market and views on UK competitiveness, and advise on policy and regulatory changes that could improve the attractiveness of the UK for foreign investors.

The aim of the council will be to drive investment into priority areas and sectors, levelling up the whole of the UK through an investment-led recovery.

The 40 unpaid council members are:

  • Katherine Bennett, CBE, Senior Vice President UK, Airbus
  • Anne Glover, CBE, CEO, Amadeus Capital Partners
  • Andrew Sillitoe, Co-CEO, Apax
  • Gert Dijkstra, Senior Managing Director, All Pensions Group
  • Christian Salbaing, Deputy Chairman, Hutchison Whampoa (Europe) Limited
  • James Bardrick, Head of Citi UK, Citi
  • Tara McGeehan, UK President, Conseillers en gestion et informatique (CGI) UK and Australia
  • Alain Carrier, Senior Managing Director & Head of International & Europe, CPP Investment Board
  • Frank Appel, CEO, Deutsche Post DHL
  • Sam Hockman, CEO Futures & The Public Sector, Engie
  • Alison Kay, Managing Partner for Client Service UK&I, Ernst and Young
  • Chow Kiat Lim, CEO, GIC
  • Marc Waters, Managing Director, UK, Ireland, Middle East & Africa, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
  • Alistair Dormer, Executive Vice President, Hitachi
  • Mark Tucker, Group Chairman, HSBC
  • Ignacio S. Galan, Chairman & CEO, Iberdrola Energy
  • Georgiana (JoJo) de Noronha, President Northern Europe, The Kraft Heinz Company
  • Nigel Wilson, CEO, Legal and General
  • Paul Livingston, CEO, Lockheed Martin UK
  • Shemara Wikramanayake, CEO, Macquarie Group
  • Dr Anish Shah, Managing Director and CEO, Mahindra Group
  • Mohamed Mansour, Founder and Chairman, Man Capital
  • Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, President and Vice Chancellor, The University of Manchester / Chair of the Russell Group of Universities
  • Julia Prescot, Co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Meridiam
  • Hirohiko Miyata, Chief Representative of Europe Bloc; Managing Director of Mitsui & Co. Europe PLC, Mitsui & Co. Europe PLC
  • Clare Woodman, CBE, Head of EMEA and CEO, Morgan Stanley
  • Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Deputy Group CEO (Alternative Investments and Infrastructure), Mubadala Investment Company
  • Stefano Agostini, CEO, UK & Ireland, Nestle
  • Jason Goodall, Board member and former Global CEO, NTT Ltd
  • Alexis Dormandy, CEO, Oxford Sciences Innovation
  • Annette King, CEO UK and Chair: Creative Industries Trade and Investment Board (CITIB), Publicis Groupe UK
  • Anja-Isabel Dotzenrath, CEO, RWE Renewables
  • William Vereker, Chair, Santander UK
  • Liv Garfield, CBE, CEO, Severn Trent Water
  • Carl Ennis, CEO, Siemens GB&I
  • Jon Parr, President Global Crop Protection, Syngenta
  • Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman of the Board of Tata Sons, Tata Sons
  • Allison Kirkby, President and CEO, Telia Company AB
  • Eva Lindholm, Group Managing Director, Head of Wealth Management UK and Jersey, UBS
  • Robin Watson, CBE, CEO, Wood

Jojo de Noronha, President Kraft Heinz Northern Europe, said: "I am hugely supportive of the purpose behind the UK Investment Council.

"With three manufacturing sites in the UK, including Europe’s largest food factory based in Wigan, we continue to make multimillion-pound investments in state-of-the-art manufacturing to support our growth as well as our ESG commitments.

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"I believe we can make a valued contribution to ensuring that investment in the UK drives growth and economic opportunity."

Marc Waters, managing director, UK, Ireland, Middle East and Africa of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, added: "At this pivotal moment for the UK’s future in the global economy, the need for sustainable inward investment is more important than ever.

"It is positive to see Government increasing focus on ensuring the UK maintains its competitive advantages in the investment landscape.

"I look forward to working with this diverse group of business leaders to support Government efforts to bolster UK PLC."