UK Export Finance, the UK’s export credit agency (ECA), has named David Godfrey as its new chief executive.

Godfrey will assume the role on September 9 and will take over from David Havelock, who has been acting CEO since November 2012, when Patrick Crawford left the ECA. Havelock resumes his position as director of credit risk.

Godfrey was most recently chief risk officer at Pension Insurance Corporation and has previously held roles at Lloyds (head of risk) and Swiss Re (head of financial services). He has been a non-executive director at UKEF since 2005.

As the UK’s Minister for Trade and Investment, Lord Green oversees UKEF. He comments on Godfrey’s appointment: “UKEF plays an important role assisting UK exporters and supporting the UK growth agenda. David is ideally placed to take on this job, as he brings with him a wealth of relevant private sector experience, and he is already familiar with UKEF having been a long-standing non-executive director. I would like to thank David Havelock for undertaking the role of acting chief executive over the last 10 months and for the achievements of the department during his tenure.”

Godfrey says: “I am eagerly looking forward to working with the strong team at UKEF to deliver the best possible service to its customers. My experience of working as non-executive director means that I am already aware of the issues faced by the exporting community and I am committed to ensuring that all exporters are aware of the support that UKEF can offer.”