Mr Heald joined the UK India Business Council as its Chief Executive Officer in September 2010 and has recently stepped up to Executive Chair as of September 2020 and Chair as of October 2022.

Since Richard’s arrival, the UK India Business Council, working in partnership with the Department for International Trade (DIT), has expanded rapidly extending its scope and reach both in India and in the UK. The UKIBC acts as secretariat for the UK Prime Minister for the UK India CEO Forum and for the UK Government in the Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO). Latterly, the organisation has evolved into a full provider of export services to small and medium sized companies. The UK India Business Council also provides sector focused policy advocacy and consultancy to members and major corporates in areas such as infrastructure, the digital economy, healthcare, learning, advanced manufacturing & defence, retailing.

Richard was appointed by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II as an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to economic and trade relations between UK and India on 11^th June 2016.

Richard sits on the Panel of Experts at the India-UK Financial Partnership and is a member of the CBI’s International Trade & Investment Committee and is a DIT Midlands Investment Champion. Before joining the UKIBC, he worked as Vice Chairman, Rothschild, South and South East Asia where he played a key role in advising numerous UK, Asian and Indian companies on spin-offs and capital raisings, secondary capital raisings, outbound and inbound M&A as well as the provision of debt and restructuring. He worked for Rothschild for over 17 years and has over 30 years experience of the international financial markets, 20 years of which has been focused on advisory and capital raisings for governments and major corporates across the globe.

Mr Heald is a graduate from Oxford University with a degree in law and is married with two daughters.

View Richard’s Marque profile here