Ian Gibbons MBE

Ian was appointed CEO of the UK-ASEAN Business Council in September 2020. Prior to 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. Prior to this, he spent – 4.5 years – also 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).

Allen Lai

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. Prior to joining UKABC, he was involved in the planning, development, and execution of the APEC CEO Summit, Asia Pacific’s largest business event.

Ken Wells

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 took 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.

Nikol Krehanova

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.

Daniel Walder

Born in London, England, Daniel has always had a keen interest in International Marketing, Economics and specifically the growth of the economies in Southeast Asia after witnessing rapid property and infrastructure development in places such as Thailand and Vietnam. He was previously involved in organising marketing campaigns for both digital marketing agencies and a range of companies in various industry sectors.