We’ve made two senior appointments as we expand the trade and investment services we’re delivering to government clients around the world.
Gavin Cleary recently joined us as our EMEA Director of Trade & Investment, while Micah Hostetter has become our American Director of Trade & Investment.
Gavin Cleary’s remit is to lead our team supporting government organisations in Europe and the Middle East which want to expand their international trade and attract foreign direct investment (FDI).
As part of this role, he’s heading the UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme which we’re delivering for the UK Government to help companies expand in 11 markets across Asia Pacific.
Based in London, Gavin is also leading our work to deliver trade and investment programmes within Europe and the Middle East.
He brings a wealth of experience in trade and investment as well as the fintech sector.
He was most recently CEO of Locate in Kent, the inward investment and business support agency in the southeast of England, where he was responsible for delivering more than 9,000 jobs. This included attracting Brompton Bicycle to establish an advanced manufacturing facility in the region which will support around 4,000 jobs and bring a £100 million investment.
Prior to that, Gavin worked with many economic development organisations and investment promotion agencies at national, regional and city levels across Europe, North America and Asia. He was also Chief Commercial Officer for Financial Services at the UK Government’s Department for Trade & Investment, and Director for UK & Ireland for Enterprise Florida.
A trained engineer, Gavin worked in the City of London for 11 years before entering the world of economic development.
Micah Hostetter has taken up the reins of an equivalent role in the Americas, helping US, Canadian, South and Central American government agencies to drive international trade programmes and attract FDI.
Based in Virgina, he’s also leading the delivery of trade and investment programmes within the Americas for clients from other parts of the world.
Micah formerly spent 10 years as a senior member of our Shanghai team and brings extensive, hands-on experience of working with Asian corporations and helping international companies to increase their exports to Asia. During his time in our China office, he specialised in the government sector, enabling numerous EDOs from US states and European countries to achieve their trade and investment goals in the region.
He's also skilled in market entry strategies, business development and policy analysis across a range of industries including renewable energy, automotive and life sciences.
With a background in management consulting, Micah holds a Master's degree in International Studies and is fluent in Mandarin.
These two appointments are of great significance to us because the demand for international support from economic development organisations and investment promotion agencies is growing fast.
The assignments we’re handling in this field include FDI programmes for several US states, Canadian provinces and cities, European nations and countries in the Middle East.
We're also managing overseas trade programmes for government clients. In addition to the UK-APAC Tech Growth Programme, this includes an extensive trade mission to Korea which we’re delivering for the Canadian government this month – for which our team in Seoul has set up more than 200 targeted meetings with Korean corporations for Canadian cleantech and life sciences firms.
To discuss how we could help your organisation attract overseas investment or expand your exports, please contact:
See also this recent article by our Global Head of Trade & Investment, Richard Lyle, about the considerable opportunities to attract FDI from Asia this year.