WITA Webinar Featuring:
Craig Beaumont, Director, External Affairs and Advocacy, Federation of Small Businesses
Laura Lane, President Global Public Affairs, UPS
Tim Keeler, Partner at Mayer Brown, former Chief of Staff at USTR
Antony Phillipson, British Consul General in New York and HM Trade Commissioner for North America
Craig Beaumont is FSB’s senior staffer who leads our policy, public affairs, international/EU and media teams. He is therefore FSB’s main lobbyist and media spokesperson, directing FSB’s policy and campaigns, including over the COVDID19 crisis and the business support response from the UK Government. Outside of direct economic and business policy, he has also developed FSB’s work on diversity and inclusion, LGBT+ issue, wellbeing and mental health. He was originally appointed to FSB in 2013 as Head of Public Affairs.
Craig is the lead senior staffer for FSB on the ‘B5’, the five main UK business groups – FSB, CBI, British Chambers of Commerce, Institute of Directors and Make UK (formerly EEF). Last year Craig was awarded the Francesca Kemp award for contribution to the UK small business community. He was appointed to the independent Small Business Saturday Board with Lord Young and Vince Cable for a five year term.
Craig’s previous roles include working for (Lord) Seb Coe and (now Lord) Paul Deighton from 2007 to 2013 at LOCOG, the London 2012 Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, working with the International Olympic Committee. Before then, he worked in international and domestic tourism for Visit London and VisitBritain; in the UK engineering and rail sectors; and was on placement to 10 Downing Street drawing together the Prime Minister’s PMQs folder for Tony Blair.
Laura Lane serves as President of Global Public Affairs for UPS. Prior to joining UPS, Laura was Managing Director and Head of International Government Affairs at Citigroup and VP for Global Public Policy with Time Warner.
In her government career, Ms. Lane served in the US Trade Representative’s office and was involved in the negotiations on China’s entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), the WTO Financial Services agreement and the WTO Basic telecommunications agreement. Ms. Lane was a diplomat in the U.S. Foreign Service from 1990-1997, serving at the American Embassy in Kigali, Rwanda from 1993-1994. She led the evacuation effort of American citizens in April 1994 with the outbreak of civil war and returned as political advisor to U.S. forces providing humanitarian relief to Rwandan refugees in the aftermath of the genocide. She shared her perspectives on the Rwandan genocide in her TED Talk “When to Follow your Heart and Write your own Rules” and in the PBS/Frontline documentary “Ghosts of Rwanda.” Ms. Lane also served as consular officer in Bogota, Colombia from 1990-1992.
Ms. Lane holds a BA from Loyola University and a Master’s Degree in Foreign Service with a Certificate in International Business Diplomacy from Georgetown University. She and her husband have two daughters.
Tim Keeler is a Partner in the Government Relations & Public Law and International Trade practices, joined Mayer Brown in 2009, and brings an in-depth knowledge of international trade law and economic policy matters, and a history of working in the Executive Branch and Congress on major economic, legislative and regulatory issues.
Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Tim served in a variety of senior positions in the US Government for almost 12 years. Most recently he was the Chief of Staff in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) from 2006 – 2009, where he oversaw implementation of US policy, strategy and negotiations involving all aspects of international trade and investment matters. He worked on a number of key issues including: climate change and trade; US and China relations; WTO negotiations and litigation; free trade agreement negotiations and implementation; and CFIUS decisions.
Before working for USTR, Tim spent more than five years at the Treasury Department from 2001 – 2006. He joined the Office of Legislative Affairs in 2001 as a Deputy to the Assistant Secretary for International Issues, where he was responsible for Treasury’s legislative strategy on issues including capital market sanctions, foreign exchange rate policy testimony, appropriations for US agreements to replenish the World Bank and other Multilateral Development Banks, multilateral debt relief, and US participation in the International Monetary Fund. He later managed the Office of Legislative Affairs from 2002 – 2006 and assisted on all policy and personnel issues in the Office. This included leading Treasury nominees through the US Senate confirmation process, legislative strategy on Treasury Intelligence and Terrorist Financing matters, and advising on major economic legislative initiatives such as the 2003 tax cuts and social security reform proposals.
Tim also served on the Presidential Transition Team in 2000–2001 as a policy coordinator on export control and trade remedy policy, handling the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Export Administration (now called the Bureau of Industry and Security) and the International Trade Commission (ITC).
Earlier in his career, Tim served as a professional staff member for international trade on the US Senate Finance Committee under Chairman William V. Roth (R-DE). There he worked on legislation establishing permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) between the US and China, preferential trade programs for Sub-Saharan Africa (the African Growth and Opportunity Act) and the Caribbean basin, the Generalized System of Preferences, legislation to bring the US into compliance with the WTO decision on the Foreign Sales Corporation provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, and the miscellaneous tariff bill.
In recognition of his government service, Tim was awarded the USTR Distinguished Service Award, the Treasury Distinguished Service Award, and the Treasury Secretary’s Honor Award twice.
Tim is also an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University School of Law, co-teaching a course on US and WTO law, policy, and politics, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Washington International Trade Association.
Antony Phillipson was announced as Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner (HMTC) for North America in February 2018. He became Her Majesty’s Consul General in New York in November 2017.
Antony joined the Civil Service in 1993.
He has held a number of posts in Her Majesty’s Government.
Previous roles include:
- Principal Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
- Counsellor at the Embassy in Washington
- Prime Minister’s Private Secretary for Foreign Affairs
- Head of the FCO Iran Coordination Group
- High Commissioner to Singapore
- Director (EU External), European and Global Issues Secretariat, Cabinet Office
- Director of Trade and Partnerships in the Department for Exiting the European Union (DexEU)
Antony has a degree in modern history from the University of Oxford.