The British Exporters Association (BExA) has announced the election of its chair and deputy chair following a vote by the industry association’s members.  

Geoffrey de Mowbray (pictured), chief executive of industrial equipment supplier Dints International, has been elected as chair. He succeeds Carl Hunter, chairman of Coltraco Ultrasonics, who stepped down in May last year after two years in the role.  

De Mowbray previously served as co-chair alongside Marcus Dolman of Rolls-Royce from 2016 to 2022, and since then has held the position of vice-president.  

Alan Rides, an international trade consultant and chief executive of the West London Chambers of Commerce, has been elected as deputy chair.  

The election took place on July 23. Both roles are reviewed on a yearly basis.  

“We must work together to make exporting and financing quicker, simpler and more accessible, while strengthening the UK’s global trading relationships,” de Mowbray says. 

“BExA has work to do, but our purpose is clear: in a turbulent world, growing exports and building reciprocal trading partnerships are the path to prosperity. The more voices we bring together, the more successful we will be.” 

Rides says the organisation will focus on helping SMEs boost their exports.  

“Our focus will be on demonstrating how [free trade agreements] can assist, in conjunction with the government’s new initiative for UK Export Finance to deliver a SME Export Lite service support in 2025, aimed at increasing the number of exporting SMES by 50% in the coming years,” he says.