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Headlines
BritishAmerican Business’ Annual General Meeting 2018 Welcomes New Chair, Dame Vivian Hunt, DBE
On Thursday 1 November, BritishAmerican Business held its 2018 Annual General Meeting, at the offices of McKinsey & Company in London.

At the meeting, Dame Vivian Hunt DBE, Managing Partner, UK & Ireland, McKinsey & Company was formally appointed to the role of Chair, succeeding Christopher J. Perry, President, Global Sales, Marketing & Client Solutions, Broadridge Financial Solutions.

Attendees were also joined by Baroness Fairhead CBE, Minister of State for Trade and Export Promotion, who delivered remarks on the special relationship and the importance of the transatlantic trade and investment relationship for the UK.

You can read more about the AGM, including Dame Vivian's election online here.
BritishAmerican Business Publishes Statement on UK-EU Draft Withdrawal Agreement
On 14 November, the United Kingdom and European Union negotiators published a draft agreement on the withdrawal of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the EU. In response, BAB CEO Duncan Edwards published the following statement:

"The draft withdrawal agreement published last week and the cause of so much drama in the UK, is a direct descendant of the ‘Chequers’ White Paper published back in July. At the time we gave our qualified support to ‘Chequers’ but caveated that we thought there was a high probability of the proposal being rejected by either the EU, the UK Parliament or both.

Having now read the Draft Agreement over the weekend, my opinion remains the same. On the positive side, the Draft provides the basis for stability for businesses, especially manufacturing businesses, for the 21-month transition period and, if passed, avoids the ‘cliff edge’ that business fears. Our sense, by the way, is that if there is ‘no deal’ it is more likely to be a ‘managed no deal’ than a ‘cliff edge’ but nonetheless, an agreed transition is much preferred..."

To read the statement in full, please click here.
BritishAmerican Business Statement on the  Agreement of New Open Skies Arrangements Between the UK and US
On 28 November, the United Kingdom and United States of America announced the agreement of a new ‘open skies’ air services arrangement , BritishAmerican Business’ (BAB) Director of Policy and Trade, Emanuel Adam said:

“This announcement is certainly good news to the transatlantic business community. With the March 2019 Brexit deadline nearing, it came just in time.

Since the referendum in June 2016, as part of BAB’s Brexit priorities, we have actively advocated for and worked with both Governments and relevant stakeholders to ensure that we reach an agreement that offers thousands of businesses a guarantee of the continuation of the air travel between the UK and the US, including on the world’s-busiest route between London and New York..."


To read the statement in full, please click here.
BAB London Launches Future Transatlantic Leaders Initiative - in Partnership with the U.S. Embassy London
This month, BritishAmerican Business London was delighted to announce the launch of the Future Transatlantic Leaders Programme in the UK, in partnership with the  U.S. Embassy in London .

The programme is designed to take the conversation about UK-US relations out of Westminster and directly to the future leaders of the transatlantic relationship in the UK - undergraduate students from leading UK Universities.

The purpose of this initiative is to make the relationship ‘real’ to the next generation of leaders and find out from them how they think the UK and the US can collaborate and work together on issues that matter most to young people.
To learn more about the Future Transatlantic Leaders Initiative and to get involved, please  click here .
Events, Media & Initiatives
London Event - Midterm Matters: What You Need to Know After Tuesday's Election
On 14 November, BAB London held its Midterm Matters: What You Need to Know After Tuesday's Election event at the offices of EY in London.

We were delighted to welcome  Sir Peter Westmacott , former UK Ambassador to the United States, as keynote speaker, followed by an expert panel to cover both the business and politics of the US midterm results including:

  • Kate Barton, Global Vice-Chair of Tax, EY
  • Brian Coulton, Chief Economist, Fitch Ratings
  • Glenn Hamer, former Chief of Staff to Arizona Congressman Matt Salmon and Arizona Senator Jon Kyl, Executive Director of the Arizona Republican Party who is now President and Chief Executive of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce.
  • Moderated by: Hadas Gold, Reporter on European Politics, Media and Business and focusing also on Europe’s changing relationship with the United States, CNN

Discussion centred on the implications for migration, trade and the current administration in light the recent Midterm Elections which took place in the United States on 6 November 2018.
New York Event - Brexit Forum: An Insider's Look
In Partnership with The City of London & the Department for International Trade
On 27 November, BAB New York held its Brexit Forum: An Insider's Look event at the offices of Lloyd's Bank , in partnership with the Department for International Trade and Lloyd's Bank .

Attendees listened to insights from Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation, Ed Price from the Department for International Trade, and Chris Spedding, Managing Director, Head of North America and Asia, Global Transaction Banking at Lloyds Bank. Discussion was moderated by BAB CEO, Duncan Edwards.
BAB London Welcomes Tim Arkansas Lieutenant Governor
On 27 November, BAB welcomed Tim Griffin, Lie utenant Governor of Arkansas to its London office for an informal briefing on the lessons learned from the US Midterm Elections.

We were joined by colleagues in our London membership for the business perspective on the election result, and key takeaways from the changes in the House and the Senate.
London Event - The UK Migration System Post-Brexit: Securing the People You Need
On 28 November, BAB London held a breakfast briefing event at the offices of Refinitiv , looking at Brexit, and how the UK's Migration System may change after March 2019, alongside takeaways from the Migration Advisory Committee's final report on the UK's future immigration policy.

We were delighted to be joined by Ben Johnso n, Senior Advisor for Business and Digital Policy at the Mayor of London's Office, who delivered opening remarks.

Attendees also enjoyed remarks and analysis from Jonathan Portes, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at King’s College London and Senior Fellow of UK in a Changing Europe . Following this, Jonathan was joined by Ben Sheldrick, Managing Partner, Magrath Sheldrick LLP ; Claire Mason, Founder and CEO, Man Bites Dog - The Strategic Ideas Company for a panel discussion, moderated by Costas Pitas, Brexit Correspondent, Reuters.

BAB would like to extend sincere thanks to our hosts Refinitiv , as well as our sponsors, Magrath Sheldrick LLP .
BAB London Continues University Tour Success
The BAB London team has continued its string of success with five more university visits as part of the Future Transatlantic Leaders Programme , in proud partnership with the US Embassy London.

Across November, members of the BAB team, led by Theo Bachrach, Policy and Public Affairs Manager, and Lauren Cataldo, Policy Assistant, visited the University of Leicester , University of Glasgow , University of St Andrews , University of Hull and Cardiff University .
The programme is designed to take the conversation about UK-US relations out of Westminster and directly to the future leaders of the transatlantic relationship in the UK - undergraduate students from leading UK Universities.

The purpose of this initiative is to make the relationship ‘real’ to the next generation of leaders and find out from them how they think the UK and the US can collaborate and work together on issues that matter most to young people.

If you would like to find out more about the programme, including how to get involved, please contact Theo Bachrach, Policy and Public Affairs Manager tbachrach@babinc.org
BAB CEO Duncan Edwards Speaks at Brexit and Beyond Summit
On 5 November, BAB CEO Duncan Edwards was invited to speak on the 'Prospects for Cooperation in Financial Services with Other Countries Post-Brexit' panel at the 3rd Annual Brexit and Beyond Summit, organised by City & Financial in London.

Duncan presented the US-UK perspective on the challenges and possible opportunities presented by Brexit, in particular on areas such as financial services regulation.
BAB Executive Director Emanuel Adam Delivers Presentation at American University Kogod School of Business
On 12 November, BAB Executive Director Emanuel Adam was invited to the American University Kogod School of Business , where he joined Prof Tomasz Mroczkowski (pictured) and his class to discuss the opportunities for, and complexity of supply chains in a (de-?) globalising world.
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