Steven Lynch bowing before Princess Anne as he collects his MBE

Honoured: Steven Lynch is awarded his MBE by Princess Anne

When Steven Lynch went to China on a placement after his Master’s, he thought he would be there for six months.  

He ended up staying for 12 years, during which he met his wife, started a family and became Managing Director of the British Chambers of Commerce in China.

And his leadership of the Chambers saw Steven receive an MBE in the New Year Honours List for his services to the British business community in China. He received his award from the Princess Royal in March and enjoyed the pageantry and royalty of the day.  

“It was great to be where history happens,” says Steven, of Cambridge. 

He decided to move to China after completing an MSc Marketing & Strategy at Warwick Business School in 2011. 

“At the time a lot of business theory was based on the US and Japan, with very little coming out of China,” says the 35-year-old. “The nature of the course was very international, with broad perspectives, and I wanted to do something completely different.” 

After several years working for Time Out Magazine and learning Mandarin in Beijing, he joined the British Chambers of Commerce to work in UK-China relations.  

In 2017 he was promoted to managing director at a time when the Chambers were facing many ups and downs, including Brexit and then the pandemic.  

“The EU referendum had an enormous impact on how we were positioned in China as previously a lot of our representation was through the EU,” says Steven. “It meant the Chambers became more important in terms of advocacy for the business community.

“During the pandemic, businesses battled against strict quarantine rules and long periods of shutdowns, and again the supportive role of the Chambers came to the fore.”

Steven now uses his advocacy and leadership skills in a new role as Executive Director of the Eastern Powerhouse, which represents the interests of businesses in the East of England. He is still a Director of, and contributor to, Beijing to Britain, which offers weekly briefings, podcasts and events on the bilateral relationship between the UK and China.  

“The emergence of Chinese business globally has taken the world of business and academia by storm, and we fundamentally need more engagement with China,” he says.

How the MSc Marketing & Strategy can open up new opportunities

He will continue to advocate for positive relations between UK and Chinese businesses. He has hosted a podcast and events with WBS on Chinese relations and hopes to build on this in the future.  

“People-to-people connections are what I am most passionate about, and it’s important to remember that the Chinese people are not the Chinese Government, and vice versa,” adds Steven. 

“Thousands of Chinese students come to the UK but only hundreds visit China from here. The best way to create these relationships is through education and student exchanges, and I hope we can do more.”

As an alum of WBS Steven believes he can be a role model for people who have not followed linear careers.  

“Growing up I did not imagine I would take the path I did,” he adds. “I went to China not knowing what jobs I would like or not like and realised that leadership skills were important to me throughout my career and life. It has become a personal and professional passion.”

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