The UK has appointed Mark Smithson as the Country Director for the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in Nigeria.
He takes over from Chim Chalemera, who recently concluded a 3-year posting in that role.
Mark is an experienced civil servant, having undertaken a wide variety of roles both in the UK and overseas. In this new role, he will lead the UK-Nigeria’s trade and investment relations to deliver increased high-value inward investment and greater exports into the UK and Nigeria, as well as support market access and trade policy priorities.
To mark his arrival in Nigeria, Mark said: “Nigeria is a country of huge importance to the UK and the world. Our historical, cultural, people-to-people, and business ties are deep and ever-growing.
“I am delighted to take up this new role as the DBT’s country director, and I look forward to forging partnerships with the Nigerian government, the private sector, and the UK supply chain and to seizing the opportunities this great country and our unique partnership offer to deliver a more prosperous future to both our countries.”
Prior to Mark’s arrival in Nigeria, he was based in London (2021-2024), where he led the DBT’s capital investment agenda, first covering European and US large corporations, and since September 2022 as His Majesties Government’s global account manager for large institutional investors from Southeast Asia, with a focus on Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.
Mark headed up the Consular Section at the British Consulate General in Barcelona, Spain, between 2007 and 2013. During his time in Spain, Mark dealt with many high-profile consular cases and sporting events.
In 2013, he transferred to the US to head up Consular Services covering Florida, the US Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico from the British Consulate General in Miami, where Mark oversaw an extensive outreach programme with US government agencies and dealt with several crises, including deployments as Rapid Deployment Team leader.
He transferred to Atlanta, USA, in 2017 to lead the UK’s tech & creative trade and investment agenda, covering the southeast of the USA, before transferring to Bangkok in 2018, where he served until 2021 to lead the team in Thailand to drive forward an increase in exports and investment and lay the groundwork for the UK-Thailand Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO).
Mark is married to Patima, who is Thai, and they have a 3-year-old toddler.
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