Dame Caroline Wilson
HM Ambassador to China at British Embassy BeijingDame Caroline Wilson has served as British Ambassador to China since 2020.
Caroline joined the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in 1995 after qualifying as a Barrister-at-law.
She completed Mandarin language training at Beijing Normal University before taking up her first role overseas at the British Embassy in Beijing from 1997-2000.
Caroline was posted to the UK Representation to the European Union in Brussels in 2001 and served as Private Secretary to the Foreign Secretary from 2004-2006.
Caroline was then seconded to the Cabinet Office European Secretariat as Deputy Director. From 2008-12 she served at the British Embassy in Moscow as Minister Counsellor.
Caroline then went on to become Her Majesty’s Consul General to Hong Kong and Macao from 2012 to 2016.
Returning to London, Caroline was appointed Europe Director at the FCDO, a role she held from 2016 to 2019.
Richard Burn
Senior Counsellor at APCO WorldwideRichard Burn has spent his career moving between the public and private sectors but always at the intersection of government and business. He has a lifelong interest in China, most recently spending three years as a British diplomat in Beijing. He also has expertise in sustainable technologies, critical minerals and the energy transition. He currently serves as a senior counselor based in APCO’s London office.
Prior to joining APCO, Richard was the UK’s Trade Commissioner for Europe, covering 33 countries in the EU, EFTA, the Western Balkans and Israel. Appointed to the role in May 2020, he led his Europe-based team at the UK Department for International Trade (DIT) through the Brexit transition and first three months outside the EU. Before that, he was appointed as the first British Trade Commissioner to China and Hong Kong, following the creation of DIT by Prime Minister Theresa May after the EU Referendum result in 2016. Based in the British Embassy in Beijing, Richard led the DIT team in China across the Embassy and four Consulates-General, with responsibility for supporting UK exports, encouraging inward investment from China and tackling market access issues on behalf of UK business.
Richard has also worked as group government affairs director for Johnson Matthey plc, the global sustainable technologies company, whose innovative products and processes help the world to achieve net zero. From 2014-2016, he was global public policy director for the leading beverage alcohol company, Diageo plc, after nine years as corporate affairs director for Diageo Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. In that role, he built a regional corporate affairs network, launched a female empowerment program and negotiated the acquisition of a Chinese white spirits business in China. Before that, he was the managing director of APCO’s Asia region, having co-founded the China investment and public affairs consultancy, Batey Burn, which was acquired by APCO in 1999. During his tenure, he tripled the size of the business, leaving in 2005 to join Diageo. He started his career as a civil servant in the then-British Hong Kong Government and became private secretary to former UK Prime Minister Edward Heath, travelling widely with him to China, the United States and Europe.
Richard holds a first-class bachelor’s degree in classics (Literae Humaniores) from Oxford University.
Julian Fisher
Chair at British Chamber of Commerce in ChinaJulian is the co-founder of Venture Education, Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China and Chair of the Chamber's Education Forum.
Julian spent nearly a decade teaching history and history of art in Harrow Beijing (which he joined in its founding year) while also working as an IELTS examiner for the British Council.
In the latter job, speaking to thousands of Chinese students, he understood first hand the challenges that many of them faced in developing confidence, making ideas happen and moving beyond education to lead fulfilling and meaningful careers and lives. Then he met Zhubei and in the first year of Venture they talked. A lot. He leads the consultancy arm of Venture that supports schools, universities and education organisations to thrive in China.
Julian is the Chair of the British Chamber of Commerce in China and Chair of the Chamber’s Education Forum which includes driving initiatives such as Employability Week and the Young Professionals Development Programme. He is also a mentor for Durham University, former president of the China North Entrepreneurs’ Organization and a strategic advisor for the innovative edtech platform Globiliti. He graduated with a joint degree in History of Art from UCL and SOAS and has a masters in Antiques from UCLAN.
Daisy Shen
Head of ESG at KPMG ChinaDaisy Shen has 22 years’ experience with KPMG, including a long term secondment to KPMG’s Global Chairman’s Office and the KPMG Energy Centre of Excellence based in London, where she gained invaluable international experience in executive management and cross border M&A transactions. Daisy is specialized in Strategy, M&A, Energy Transition, ESG and decarbonisation Advisory, providing advice to corporates and governments in climate change, energy transition, low carbon investment, ESG and decarbonisation strategy. Daisy is a member of the Executive Committee of the British Chamber of Commerce in China, dedicated to promoting trade, investment and economic development between China and the UK. She is also a frequent speaker at women leadership forums and mentorship programs.
Chris Torrens
Vice Chair at British Chamber of Commerce in ChinaChris Torrens is a recognized expert on China’s geopolitical and compliance issues. As the Beijing-based managing director of APCO’s Greater China operations, Chris brings unique insights to support both multinational companies operating in China and Chinese companies going global, with a particular focus on political and regulatory risks.
Before joining APCO, Chris worked at Control Risks for 22 years, serving as partner in the Greater China and North Asia region. Before this role, Chris was based in London as the partner responsible for the geopolitical risk practice for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Chris previously worked as a Shanghai-based associate director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ advisory practice and as the Hong Kong-based head of research at Batey Burn, a UK government relations and public affairs consultancy acquired by APCO in 1999.
Chris is a regular media commentator and has been interviewed by the BBC, CNN, CNBC, CGTN and Bloomberg. His articles have appeared in the Economist, Financial Times and specialist publications and his book, Doing Business in China, was published by The Economist Group in 2010.
Chris has lived in Greater China for more than 20 years. He holds an MBA from the China-Europe International Business School, a BA Honours degree in Modern Chinese Studies from Leeds University and speaks Mandarin.
Chris has served as vice-chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in China since 2022.