GBCC is independently managed and governed by a board of directors with extensive experience in UK-China relations.
The board is led by our chair, who is appointed by the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs. Our work is further supported by our distinguished president and vice presidents.
Chair of the Board
Isabel Hilton OBE was appointed Chair of the Board in May 2025. Isabel has a long history of speaking at GBCC events and alongside this she is a writer, broadcaster and editor with long experience in international journalism. Her work has been published in the New Yorker, LA Times, New York Times, Financial Times, Sunday Times, Telegraph, Time, Granta, Lettres Internationale, the Guardian, and The Independent.
In 2006, Hilton founded www.chinadialogue.net, a not-for-profit, fully bilingual website devoted to fostering cross cultural discussion of urgent global issues, including environment and climate change, energy, environmental law and rights, for which she was appointed OBE in 2009.
She stood down from CDT in 2023. Isabel is a Visiting Professor at the Lau Institute, King’s College London; an advisory board member of the Institute for Human Rights and Business; Chair of the Centre for Investigative Journalism and co-chair of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, a Non-Executive Director of E3G and a senior visiting fellow at RUSI.
Board of Directors
Chair of the Board
Isabel Hilton OBE
Vice Chair of the Board and Honorary Treasurer
Richard Jackson
Vice Chair of the Board
Alan Black, former senior Partner, Linklaters LLP
Directors
Andy Brock, Director, Anglian Learning, Multi Academy Trust
Richard Burn, Former UK Trade Commissioner to China and Europe
Timothy Danaher, Partner, Brunswick Group LLP
Pia MacRae, CEO, Consortium for Street Children
Prof. Katherine Morton, Professor of Global Affairs, Schwarzman College, Tsinghua
Andrew Seaton, Vice President, China-Britain Business Council
David Thompson, Head of Political Affairs, British Council
Marina Wheeler KC, Barrister, 1 Crown Office Row
Roderic Wye, Senior Fellow, China Policy Institute
Tony Vaughan KC, Labour MP for Folkestone and Hythe
Katherine Kyriakides, Diplomat, Foreign & Commonwealth office
Ruth Edwards, Public Affairs, Co-Funder of 10-years ahead
Katie Lee, Senior Adviser, HSBC
Patrick Horgan, Director, Global Network at Rolls-Royce
Honorary President
Rt Hon Sir David Lidington, former Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster.
He served as Minister of State at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) from May 2010 until July 2016.
David Lidington was Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster between 8 January 2018 and 24 July 2019.
He was Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice from June 2017 to January 2018.
He was elected Conservative MP for Aylesbury in 1992.
Sir David has been honorary president of the GBCC since 2022.
Honorary Vice Presidents
Peter Batey CMG OBE, former Chair of the Board, GBCC
Rt Hon Sir Oliver Letwin MP, former Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Rt Hon Sir John Major, former Prime Minister
Lord Powell of Bayswater, Co-Chair, Asia Task Force; former Private Secretary to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher
Lady Pamela Youde, former Trustee, Great Britain–China Educational Trust
Sir Martin Davidson , former Chair of the Board, GBCC