It is with great excitement that I announce the launch of the British American Business Council San Diego chapter (BABCSD). Leveraging our strong local and international connections, we promote trade, investment, and collaboration between the US and the UK and amplify the voices of our members. We are now open for membership applications and would love the opportunity to share more details about our inaugural membership event to jointly celebrate the launch of the second daily British Airways flight between Heathrow and San Diego in April 2024.
San Diego and the UK have a long history of successful collaboration in areas spanning from defense, clean energy, science and innovation, health and life sciences to blue tech and tourism, among many more. In fact, San Diego County accounts for the third largest share of employment in California supported by foreign direct investment from the UK, with 8,939 employees across 231 firms. Local on-the-ground support from the Department of Business and Trade within the British Consulate General in LA also supports US-based companies with their expansion and partnership efforts into the UK. In 2023, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak selected San Diego as the platform to jointly announce the AUKUS phase II launch with POTUS. Shortly after this, His Majesty’s Ambassador to the US, Dame Karen Price made several visits to San Diego to further support bi-Atlantic San Diego-UK partnerships in the region, as well as to attend the famous Miramar Airshow. In addition to this, with a permanent Head of UK Government based in San Diego, the UK government is visibly committed to a long-term strengthening of these ties.
With active board members from the local and international travel and tourism industry, real estate industry, higher education and trade as well as the UK Government, the chapter is well placed to represent a broad range of sectors and a wide-ranging membership base will further strengthen the networking power of the group. We invite you to join the BABCSD with a collective goal of strengthening our UK/US connections and sharing best practices among members while each benefitting from the collective advocacy that such a community brings.
To start your membership application, click here. For general questions, please do reach out to info@babcsd.org.
I look forward to sharing this journey with you.
Sincerely
Francine Basson
President
Francine Fyne Basson has been in the hospitality industry for over 20 years. Originally from London, UK. She works with companies, corporations and associations to book hotels and convention sites. Francine has placed meetings, conventions and incentive programs all over the world. Francine currently lives in Del Mar CA with her husband, twin boys, and Dalmatian Dog.
