The BICC Board
The Rt. Hon. Lord Lamont of Lerwick - Chairman
Previously the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance) from 1990 to 1993 in the John Major Government, Norman Lamont was Chancellor at a particularly difficult time with a recession and Britain's exit from the ERM. However many of his policies have been praised as providing Gordon Brown with a "golden legacy" in recent times. David Smith of the Sunday Times voted him the 3rd best Chancellor of the Exchequer since the War. Sir Alan Walters, advisor to Mrs Thatcher called him "not only the most effective but also the bravest Chancellor since the War". Sir Malcolm Rifkind called him "a very good Chancellor......with a passion for radical reform".
He entered Parliament in 1972; first saw office as a Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in 1979 under Margaret Thatcher, progressing to a cabinet position in 1989. Lord Lamont is now a prominent exponent of the "Euro sceptical" wing in British politics, Co-Chairman of The Bruges Group and a frequent speaker on the radio and television.
He is a former Chairman of the Cambridge University Conservative Association and President of the Cambridge Union.
Lord Lamont started in business as an investment banker (with NM Rothschild & Sons) in 1968 and holds directorships with various companies; he is currently a Director of Balli Group plc with extensive interests in Iran. Other interests include membership of the Boards of RAB Capital, Scottish Re and the East European Food Fund.
Publications include, in addition to numerous newspaper articles, Sovereign Britain published in 1995 and In Office published in 1999.
The Lord Phillips of Sudbury - President
Andrew Phillips was born in 1939 and educated at Uppingham and Trinity Hall Cambridge where, in 1962, he gained a BA Hons in Economics and Law. He qualified as a solicitor in 1964, and in 1970, he founded Bates, Wells & Braithwaite in London. Until 1998, when he became a Life Peer, he was a senior partner of that firm, and he remains a partner to the present time. He specialises in charity law, business law and libel.
Between 1970 and 1983, Andrew stood as a Parliamentary candidate five times. In 1971, he co-founded, with a Danish and a German lawyer, the PARLEX Group of European Lawyers, and during the same year, he became co-founder and first chairman of the Legal Aid Group charity.
Mr Alun Evans CMG - Deputy Chairman
Alun Evans worked for seven years as International Risk Adviser to British Airways. Alun spent over thirty years in the Diplomatic Service. He served in Burma (Myanmar), Singapore, Switzerland, Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and South Africa. He also covered much of the rest of the world from London. His responsibilities included, at different times, Human Resources, Training, Political Analysis, and Information Management. Alun is also a Director of the J P Morgan Fleming Asian Investment Trust.
Alun has a degree in Modern History from Oxford University. He was made a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1994.
Mr Yousef Daneshvar OBE - Deputy Chairman
Chairman of the Danlesco Group and Lemax Engineering Ltd.
Danlesco Group have operations in 14 middle eastern countries in the fields of Electronic Weighing & Measuring Systems, Power and Water Plants contracts since 1969.
In December 2006 Yousef (Joe) Daneshvar was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year Honours "for services to British business interests in Iran".
Dr T. Amir-Soleymani - Director
Dr T. Amirsoleymani has more than 40 years of experience in the field of soil mechanics and foundation engineering and structural analysis. He founded Mandro Consulting Engineers in 1970. He has a 27 year background in off-shore geotechnical investigation, and design of off-shore drilling platforms.
He has many publications and is considered a leading international authority in the behavior of unsaturated soils.
His many research and technical papers have been published and/or presented in the international technical journals and the proceeding of international conference.
Dr. Amirsoleymani is a professor of soil mechanics and foundation engineering at Tehran universities.
Mr Albert E. Lawrence
Since joining Ford Motor Company, as a graduate trainee, and working with Ford, and later Leyland, Bert Lawrence has spent practically all his life in the Motor Industry. Having spent many years, both living and working overseas he has considerable experiance in international business, which he can put to use in the development of business between Iran and the UK.
Dr Siroos Mehdi-Zadeh - Director
Having obtained his PhD from Charing Cross Medical School, worked as a research fellow for 5 years. He started MZ Trading Company in 1992 which was set up to trade in agricultural commodities and textiles, sectors that his family have been involved and have their own processing companies. His activities now include general trading, financing and has his own Dried Fruits and nuts processing plant in the UK. He is also an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Imperial College School of Medicine.
Mr Alan L Rides MIEx (Grad) - Director
Alan's career progressed from Metal Box to Diageo, since 1989 for SME's, currently with Alperton, Britain's premier company in Libya.
As the Commercial Director, Alperton Iran, with dealerships for Hyster Forklifttrucks and Morris cranes amongst others Alan sees his role in helping to bridge the gap between Iranian customers and UK manufacturers especially SME's.
Mr Martin Johnston - Director General
Martin Johnston, is the Director General of the BICC and is responsible for the provision of networking services for Members and assisting in the promotion of trade generally between the UK and Iran.
An MBA with varied career in banking, insurance, brewing/leisure and steel industries, Martin has worked in the UK and other countries , including Iran and other Middle Eastern countries. He also has a background in Africa and parts of the Far East and Eastern Europe.
