Somerset Capital Management boss Dominic Johnson has been appointed to the board of the Department of International Trade ahead of Brexit.
Johnson is one of four appointments to the board announced by international trade secretary Liz Truss this week and will become chair of the audit and risk assurance committee.
He has close ties with the government having founded Somerset Capital Management with Jacob Rees-Mogg MP in 2007, having previously worked with him at Lloyd George Management. He was also vice-chair of the the Conservative party between 2016 and 2019.
Rees-Mogg was forced to step back from Somerset Capital Management in July 2019 when he was appointed to Boris Johnson’s cabinet.
See also: Jacob Rees-Mogg exit from Somerset set to be inconsequential
Oxford Research & Analysis founding partner Andrew Hood, Douglas Carswell MP and economist Dambisa Moyo, who was recently interviewed by Portfolio Adviser, are also joining the board.
The appointees will provide advice, support and scrutiny on the government’s “ambitious” trade policy agenda, a press release said. They will help the department execute free trade agreements, operate the UK’s trading system after the Brexit transition, boost exports and investments, champion free trade and shape global trading rules.
Truss said in a statement that the appointees bring expertise to the department at a “critical time for the UK as a trading nation”.
“They will help execute our strategic priorities, in particular driving forward our trade deal negotiations programme, our export and investment campaigns, and our work on reforming and reshaping global trade rules,” she said.
“All of them are high quality appointments who believe fiercely in rules-based free trade. They will play a big role in re-establishing the UK as a major force in global trade, and will help take our trade agenda to the next level in 2021 and beyond.”
The appointments last three years . There are now six non-executive board members on the DIT board.
See also: Dambisa Moyo: DFMs should have at least 10% exposed to China
