Group Chairs
Matthew Houlihan
Matt joined Cisco as Director for Government Affairs for the UK and Ireland in October 2015, a role which sees him developing and delivering Cisco’s government engagement strategy across the two countries. Matt has recently built on this role to also lead Cisco’s Corporate Affairs work in the UK. Matt chairs techUK’s EU and trade group and represents the tech sector in the Trade and Investment All Party Parliamentary Group.
Previously, Matt worked for the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office in postings in Paris and in the UK’s Permanent Representation to the EU in Brussels. Matt has also worked as an advisor to the UK’s EU Commissioner, in the Prime Minister’s EU advisory team and in various policy roles in the Home Office.
Matt holds a BSc in Sociology and an MSc in European Politics and Policy, both from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a diploma in Economics from the Open University.
Frank Faraday
Frank Faraday is Senior Advisor Trade Policy for the British Standards Institution (BSI), the UK’s national standards body, a role he has occupied since 2018. Frank works to ensure that UK trade policy reflects the broad interests of the UK’s diverse technology sector where there is a link to standards. Frank represents BSI on numerous UK government trade policy advisory groups focusing on addressing regulatory barriers to trade. Among Frank’s areas of responsibility are the UK’s ongoing trade relationship with the EU, the UK government’s negotiation of new trade agreements and the UK’s position in the WTO in both goods and services.
Before joining BSI, Frank was based in Brussels for many years, heading the sustainability and innovation division of Europe’s largest construction sector trade association before returning to the UK where he worked in various positions in international development and inward investment before managing the global standard for sustainable hydropower.
