Leadership team

As director general of the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade since January 2020, Marco Forgione MCIEx has become a leading authority and commentator on global trade, empowering businesses to grow internationally through educational programmes and digital trade solutions.

He is a key intermediator between governments and businesses domestically and overseas, sitting on the Critical Imports Council in the UK and on the multilateral B20 Taskforce for Trade and Investment. He is a visiting professor at Aston University and regularly comments on trade and supply chain matters in the international media, including the BBC, Sky News, CNN, Al Jazeera and Bloomberg, among others.

Under his leadership, the Chartered Institute has grown from a team of 12 to now over 170 trade and customs experts, seeing membership grow from 2,000 to 7,000, culminating in the organisation being awarded a Royal Charter in 2024. The charity has become a trusted partner to the UK government in the delivery of trade facilitation solutions such as the Trader Support Service (TSS). This digital portal has enabled the continuation of goods movements between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under the Windsor Framework.

Forgione is also a passionate advocate for trade as a force for good in the world, regularly commenting in the media that it is a driver of economic prosperity and that it can serve to bring communities closer together. He has led the Chartered Institute into partnerships with the World Trade Organization and International Trade Centre that have built trade capacity among MSMEs and female entrepreneurs. He also entered the organisation into the TLIP Institute – a global collaboration to develop a new digital infrastructure for trade – alongside the World Economic Forum, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the IOTA Foundation, TradeMark Africa and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation.

Before the Chartered Institute, Forgione led trade bodies in the arts, antiques and creative sectors, navigating the British Antiques Dealers’ Association through digital transformation between 2015 and 2020, and leading creative bodies EVCOM and the International Visual Communication Association between 2008 and 2015. He also previously had director level roles at Canterbury College and the Landscape Institute.

Adrian Williams joined the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade in June 2023, to lead as director of sales & marketing.

Williams has had an extensive career in sales and marketing within a B2B environment, driving products, solutions and services to SME, enterprise and public sector organisations, with IT, telecommunications and manufacturing sectors.

Over his 20+ years in senior management roles, he has worked for large brands including, Microsoft, Nokia, T-Mobile & Orange. 

Chris Martin joined the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade as director of external affairs in January 2023, bringing two decades of experience in corporate communications and public affairs. He leads a department responsible for corporate reputation, government relations and public affairs, policy and international engagement, and our offices in Brussels and Kenya.

Prior to joining the Chartered Institute, Martin worked in communications consultancy for global agencies including Ketchum, Hume Brophy and Bell Pottinger, advising clients ranging from multinational corporations and FTSE 100 companies to trade associations and NGOs. 

An advocate for international trade for more than 40 years, Kevin Shakespeare is highly respected within the international trade community. He has facilitated cross-border trade for thousands of UK businesses and been pivotal in designing and delivering new documentation and processes pre- and post-Brexit.

He is currently leading the Chartered Institute for Export & International Trade's digitalisation work, with a focus on the UK Single Trade Window and Ecosystem of Trust.

Formerly the Chartered Institute's director of stakeholder engagement and then academy director, Shakespeare was involved in developing the diploma in world customs planning and compliance, a foundation degree in international trade and the Northern Ireland Customs and Trade Academy (NICTA).

Shakespeare has led many trade initiatives in the UK and internationally, including work with Invest NI, Scottish Enterprise, UK Export Finance and Saudi Export Development Authority.

He is a UN-approved trainer and author of a best-selling book, Trade for Good.

Mark Gordon joined the Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade in January 2024, bringing extensive experience in corporate financial affairs and commercial management. Gordon leads the finance team, which is responsible for all financial reporting, treasury and control across all elements of the charity.

Prior to joining the Chartered Institute, Gordon worked in professional services and information technology companies in finance and commercial directorship roles.