#FridayFive from the Executive Director: 10 July 2026

It was game-on across a brilliantly goal-orientated week. Here’s my #FridayFive across the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore (BritCham): ⚽ 

1.  Members: arguably the best bit of the Chamber is the member network. So many great meetings with @SBM’s Stephen Bleakley (thank you for popping in on your round-the-world tour!! Safe onward travels); Martin McGregor from the British Association; Lucy Haydon and I met Dilek Gulec Salzburg, Abhishek Chatterjee and Stan Ng, and also caught up with Shayan Hazir from HSBC; and Steven West from Endava. All meaningful conversations on collaboration and opportunity. 

2.  ASEAN: brilliant to meet Donna Smith and Anthony Johnson from Navara Oat Milling Ltd on their journey through #Singapore – safe onward journey to you both, and look forward to further supporting your #export journey. We also held the first online market opportunities virtual briefing for the North East Chamber of Commerce. Thank you to Louise Beazor from team Singapore and Michael Dickinson and the team in the UK as we strengthen ties to support businesses expanding into Singapore and the region. Matt Ryland also expertly hosted a monthly online call with the regional British Chambers as part of Britain in South East Asia | BiSEA as we continue to collaborate across the region. And lastly, thank you to Chris Humphrey from the EU-ASEAN Business Council for your time and hospitality this week. 

3.  Talking Geopolitics: Haslam Preeston and I attended a wonderful dinner with CT Group’s Sir Lynton Crosby AO talking geopolitics and trade. Thank you to Mark Domitrak, Liberty Pegg and Jack Mullan for the invitation. A wonderful event, interesting views, interesting guests and enjoyable dinner conversations.

4.  Coming back to Singapore: Delighted to welcome Holland & Barrett back to Singapore. It was superb to see Michael Caves and Shirley Lee this week as we recapped the launch of Holland and Barrett SEA partnering with Guardian Singapore. A familiar UK high-street brand that we all remember! Penta Group

5.  Home Team: Delighted to announce earlier this week the partnership between the Chamber and Invest Northern Ireland. Thank you to Justinian Habner, Robin Andrews and the team as we look to strengthen the bridge between Northern Ireland and Singapore/Southeast Asia. The Chamber and UK in Singapore also held our monthly meeting supporting British business – much appreciation to British High Commissioner Nikesh Mehta and DBT's Country Director Niall Ahern for hosting Haslam and me this morning. 

Hope that lights you up ahead of the world cup game this weekend. See you next week!