Our governance
Details of UK Export Finance's organisation and management structure.
Management structure
The Chief Executive is responsible for all our activities as the department’s Accounting Officer, and is supported by the Executive Committee, the UK Export Finance Board and the Export Guarantees Advisory Council.
Executive Committee
The Executive Committee is our senior policy-making body and it is responsible for advising the Chief Executive in his role as the Accounting Officer in the ongoing management of our business. It is chaired by the Chief Executive, meets fortnightly and typically has between 6 and 10 items on each agenda.
Areas it advises on include:
- corporate governance
- the allocation of financial and human resources
- operational decision making
- organisational performance
The Executive Committee is responsible for advising the Chief Executive.
UK Export Finance Board
The UK Export Finance Board supports the Accounting Officer in the management of UK Export Finance through operational oversight, by providing advice, challenge and assurance. It meets at least 8 times per year, typically with a similar number of items on the agenda as the Executive Committee.
The Board advises the Accounting Officer on all matters of material importance to the department as defined in its Terms of Reference.
The Chairman and non-executive Directors of the Board make regular declarations as to any Directorships or substantial shareholdings they may hold.
A substantial shareholding is defined as shares in any one company worth more than £50,000, or more than 1% of the share capital of any company
Chairman and non-executive director – directorships
| Member | Position held |
|---|---|
| Noel Harwerth, Chairman, UK Export Finance | One Savings Bank |
| Scotia Bank Europe | |
| Department for Business and Trade | |
| Export Guarantees Advisory Council | |
| Andrew Mitchell | None |
| Candida Morley | UK Government Investments |
| Scottish National Investment Bank | |
| Lawrence Weiss | None |
| Kim Wiehl | Women’s Business Development Council |
| Advisory Board member of Thunderbird School of Global Management | |
| American Arbitration Association |
Chairman and non-executive directors – shareholdings
| Member | Amount or %ge of holding | Shareholding |
|---|---|---|
| Noel Harwerth, Chairman, UK Export Finance | None | None |
| Andrew Mitchell | None | None |
| Candida Morley | None | None |
| Lawrence Weiss | £200,000 | Kido One (Children’s nursery company) |
| $158,000 | Xhale Inc (Medical device company) | |
| Kim Wiehl | 50% | Wiehl Family Property companies |
Committee Publications
Publications relating to the Executive Committee and the UK Export Finance Board, including terms of reference and meeting minutes, are available here.
The Export Guarantees Advisory Council
The Export Guarantees Advisory Council is appointed by UK Export Finance’s ministers to provide advice to them on UK Export Finance matters. In practice, the Council focuses on the principles that should guide our operations, in particular around the following areas:
- environmental impacts
- anti-bribery & corruption
- sustainability
- disclosure
How we make decisions
We have a committee structure for advising on operational decision-making. Committees, rather than individuals, advise the decision-taker, who may be the Accounting Officer or someone delegated by the Accounting Officer.