Sir Andrew Thomas Cahn, KCMG (born 1 April 1951) is Chair of the Council of the

Royal Society for the Protection of Birds The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

and a former senior civil servant.

Career

In January 2011, Cahn stepped down after five years in charge of

UK Trade & Investment UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) was a UK Government department working with businesses based in the United Kingdom to assist their success in international markets, and with overseas investors looking to the UK as an investment destination. It wa ...

, the government department that promotes exports and attracts foreign direct investment. Prime Minister,

David Cameron David William Donald Cameron, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, said: "Andrew has been a wonderful chief executive of UK Trade & Investment and a fantastic ambassador for the UK. He has been central to the Government’s efforts to make Britain an attractive place to invest and to sell Britain to the world." After stepping down, Cahn took on a number of non-executive directorships, including

Nomura Group is a financial holding company and a principal member of the Nomura Group, which is Japan's largest investment bank and brokerage group. It, along with its broker-dealer, banking and other financial services subsidiaries, provides investment, fin ...

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

and

Huawei Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology company in Longgang, Shenzhen, Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include teleco ...

and pro-bono roles including WWF and the

Institute for Government The Institute for Government (IfG) is a British independent think tank which aims to improve government effectiveness through research and analysis. Based at 2 Carlton Gardens in central London and founded as a charity in 2008, it was initiall ...

. Career summary: *2015–2020 Non-executive director,

Huawei Technologies Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. ("Huawei" sometimes stylized as "HUAWEI"; ; zh, c=华为, p= ) is a Chinese multinational corporationtechnology companyin Longgang, Shenzhen, Guangdong. Its main product lines include telecommunications equipme ...

(UK) and Chair of the Audit and Risk Committees *2012–2018 Non-executive director, Nomura International plc *2012–2019 Non-executive director
General Dynamics UK
*2011–2014 chairman Huawei Technologies UK advisory board *2011–2012 vice-chairman (Public Policy),

*2011–2019 Franchise Board of

*2006 – 2011 chief executive officer,

*2000 – 2006 Director of Government and Industry Affairs,

British Airways British Airways plc (BA) is the flag carrier of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main Airline hub, hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and pass ...

*1997 – 2000 Chef de Cabinet (Chief of Staff) to

Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 Labour Party le ...

, Vice-President of the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

*1995 – 1997 Deputy Head of European Secretariat,

Cabinet Office The Cabinet Office is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for supporting the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister and Cabinet ...

*1992 – 1995 Principal Private Secretary to the Rt. Hon. William Waldegrave MP,

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. Excluding the prime minister, the chancellor is the highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the prime minister ...

and subsequently

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom cabinet position, responsible for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The post was originally named President of the Board of Agriculture and was created in 1889 ...

*1988 – 1992 Head of Research Policy,

Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

*1984 – 1988 Member of the Cabinet of

Lord Cockfield Francis Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield PC ( ; 28 September 1916 – 8 January 2007), was by turns a civil servant, a company director, a Conservative Party politician, and a European Commissioner. He served as Minister of State at the Treas ...

Vice-President of the European Commission A Vice-President of the European Commission is a member of the European Commission who leads the commission's work in particular focus areas in which multiple European Commissioners participate. Currently, the European Commission has a total of ...

and Commissioner for the

Single Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of pr ...

. *1982 – 1984 First Secretary, United Kingdom Representation to the European Communities *1979 – 1982

*1978 – 1979 Private Secretary to the Permanent Secretary,

*1977 – 1978 UK Representation to the European Economic Community *1973 – 1977

Personal life/family

Cahn is the son of one of the founders of Materials Science, Robert W. Cahn FRS. He was educated at

Bedales School Bedales School is a coeducational boarding and day public school, in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by Amy Garrett Badley and John Haden Badley in reaction to the li ...

and then

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

(BA 1st class Hons). He is married to Virginia Beardshaw, who was Chief Executive of I Can, the children's communications charity; they have one daughter, and two sons.

Affiliations

Cahn is chair of the board of governors of

Birkbeck, University of London Birkbeck, University of London (formally Birkbeck College, University of London), is a Public university, public research university located in London, England, and a constituent college, member institution of the University of London. Establ ...

,. He was a trustee of the

Gatsby Charitable Foundation The Gatsby Charitable Foundation is an endowed grant-making trust based in London, founded by David Sainsbury in 1967. The organisation is one of the Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts set up to provide funding for charitable causes. Although the ...

from 1996 to 2023 and has been a governor of the

since its foundation in 2008. He was previously a trustee of the

Arvon Foundation The Arvon Foundation is a charitable organisation in the United Kingdom that promotes creative writing. Arvon is one of Arts Council England's National Portfolio Organisations. Andrew Kidd is the Chief Executive Officer, and Patricia Cumper is ...

, a member of the Government's Financial Services Trade and Investment Board, Board member of CityUK, Chair of the City of London's International Trade and Investment Group, a member of the Advisory Council of the Rector of the University of the Arts, is an Association Member of BUPA and was a member of the Governing Board of

Business for New Europe Business for New Europe (BNE) is a pressure group that advocates a positive case for the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union. It has offices in London and Brussels. Business for New Europe was set up in 2006 by Roland Rudd, a form ...

. He has also served as trustee of the

Royal Botanic Gardens Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. An internationally important botanical research and education institution, it employs 1,100 ...

, where he was Chairman of their Audit Committee, and of Japan Society. Cahn was chair of WWF (UK), a member of the global Board of WWF and Chair of the Audit Committee from April 2014 -June 2020. He was also formerly a non-executive director at Cadbury Ltd and a Governor of

Honours

Already a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG), Cahn was elevated to

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

(KCMG) in the

2009 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2009 were announced on 31 December 2008 in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Cook Islands, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, and Saint Christopher and Nevis,Saint Christopher. t ...

Controversy

Cahn encountered controversy in January 2011, when an internal email he had sent saying the FCO wished to find ways to spend up to its 2010/11 budget ceiling, was leaked to the ''

Daily Mail The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...

''. In the email, Cahn said: "The FCO is heading for an underspend and wants to get money out of the door."

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cahn, Andrew 1951 births Living people People educated at Bedales School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Civil servants in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Private secretaries in the British Civil Service Civil servants in the Cabinet Office Civil servants in the Foreign Office Civil servants in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George