Press release: UK Export Finance appoints Kimberly Wiehl to Board

UK Export Finance (UKEF) has appointed Kimberly Wiehl, a leading finance professional with specialist experience in international export credit, as a non-executive member of its Board.

Ms Wiehl brings over 15 years’ experience in board-level roles promoting international trade, cross-cultural education and business skills. This experience will be key to the UKEF board which provides operational oversight, advice, challenge and assurance to the Accounting Officer. Ms Wiehl will be a member of the Board’s risk sub-committee, guiding UKEF’s credit risk management policies, and its remuneration sub-committee, with oversight of the pay and reward strategy.

Her experience includes ten years as Secretary-General of the Berne Union, the global association of credit and investment insurers, of which UKEF was a founding member. In this role, Ms Wiehl oversaw significant growth in membership among newly established export credit and private insurers, the adoption of a new value statement and strengthening of relationships with global financial institutions including the World Bank, International Financial Corporation, World Trade Organisation and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Kim previously spent 20 years at JPMorgan.

She is on the board of the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC), which supports female entrepreneurs, and the Executive Committee of the SHARE Fellowship, which offers scholarships and mentorship to exceptional students from developing countries.

Welcoming her appointment, Louis Taylor, Chief Executive Officer of UK Export Finance, said:

I am very pleased to welcome Kim to UKEF’s board. Her unparalleled knowledge and breadth of experience in the field of export credits will prove invaluable as we look to shape UKEF’s strategy now and in the future.

Kim Wiehl said:

UKEF has for nearly 100 years led the way in providing exceptional support for international trade. I am delighted to be joining the board ahead of the organisation’s centenary in 2019 and look forward to being part of UKEF’s next chapter as it enters its second century as a world class export credit agency.

Background

UK Export Finance is the UK’s export credit agency and a government department, working alongside the Department for International Trade as an integral part of its strategy and operations.

Our mission is to ensure that no viable UK export should fail for want of finance or insurance from the private market. We provide finance and insurance to help exporters win, fulfil and ensure they get paid for export contracts.

Sectors in which UKEF has supported exports include: aerospace, healthcare, infrastructure, telecommunications and transport.

UKEF has a national regional network of 24 export finance managers supporting export businesses.

Our range of products includes: