Key Members of Staff
The LBBC’s day-to-day operations are handled by an experienced and highly-regarded team, each of whom has extensive working knowledge of the MENA region in general and the Libyan business arena in particular and of the specific challenges and complexities associated with doing business in Libya.
For further information about individual LBBC staff members, including career résumés, please click on the relevant link below. If you would like to speak to a member of the team, in the first instance, please contact the LBBC Secretariat.
The Team
Honorary Patrons
- The British Ambassador
- The Libyan Ambassador
Chairman
Deputy Chairmen
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Robert Gibbons
 Robert Gibbons qualified as a solicitor in 1962 and for 30 years was Senior Partner at Fox & Gibbons, helping to establish offices throughout the Middle East, until its acquisition in 1998 by Denton Hall, now Denton Wilde Sapte. Throughout his career, Mr Gibbons has enjoyed great success advising governments in Africa and the Middle East.
He has served as Chairman of the Sheraton Park Tower Hotel in London and of Highland Spring Mineral Water, having been one of the company’s founders. As Deputy Chairman of the LBBC, he works with the Libyan authorities to encourage trade and investment opportunities for our members.
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Oliver Miles CMG
 Oliver Miles CMG joined the Foreign Office in 1960 and served in a number of diplomatic posts, including Abu Dhabi, Jordan, South Yemen and Saudi Arabia. In 1984 he became Ambassador to Libya and, following the shooting of WPC Yvonne Fletcher in London, he was responsible for withdrawing the British Embassy from Tripoli.
Between 1999 and 2003, he advised trade missions to Libya and has taken part in the British-Libyan Non-Governmental Dialogue.
Mr Miles is Chairman of MEC International, a business consultancy based in London which specialises in helping corporate clients develop strategic interests in emerging markets.
Director General
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Robin Lamb
 Robin Lamb studied Arabic and history at Brasenose College, Oxford, and at the Middle East Centre for Arabic Studies (MECAS) in Lebanon. His career has been almost entirely devoted to Britain’s relationship with the Middle East - encompassing appointments to British Embassies in Bahrain, Basra, Kuwait, Cairo, Riyadh, Jedda, Tripoli and Khartoum, as well as an assignment in Muscat. Appointments at the Foreign Office have included spells as a Director of Trade Partners UK (now UKTI); as Deputy Head of the Middle East Department; and as Deputy Head of the Information Department.
He left government service in April 2007 and, after two years with the Arab British Chamber of Commerce, joined the Middle East Association as Director of Trade & Government Relations, in May 2009 - simultaneously taking up a separate appointment as Director General of the LBBC. As DG, Robin is responsible for delivering a wide range of services to our members, including devising and executing our programme of trade missions and business workshops.
Deputy Director General
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John Parr
 Since the mid-1990s, John Parr has been running high-level trade and investment delegations and business-to-business events, specialising in emerging markets. He has worked across Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, North Africa, Eastern Europe and South America. He was closely involved with his colleague Dermot Graham in the formation of the LBBC in 2004, and was appointed as its Deputy Director General in 2006. As DDG, John works with the Chairman and Director General to devise, plan and deliver our programme of events and other Member services. As Company Secretary, John is also responsible for the LBBC Secretariat.
Board Members
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Sir Richard Dalton KCMG
 A diplomat from 1970 to 2006, Sir Richard began his career studying Arabic, followed by postings to the UK mission to the UN in New York, Jordan and Oman. In 1999, as the first UK Ambassador to Tripoli for 17 years, he re-established diplomatic relations with Libya. He was appointed Ambassador to Iran in 2003, where he played a key role in negotiations to prevent its development of a military nuclear capability.
Sir Richard stepped down as Director General of the LBBC in April 2009 following an incredibly successful tenure; now, as a Member of the Board of Directors, he continues to assist and advise the LBBC as it enters a new phase of its development.
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Mohamed Fezzani
 Born in Benghazi, Libya, and holding dual British/Libyan citizenship, in 2008 Mr. Fezzani retired as Deputy Chief Executive and General Manager of British Arab Commercial Bank (BACB), following over 30 years service. During his time at BACB he acted as the main interface between the Bank and its principal Arab customers, bankers and shareholders; he headed up the Institutional & Corporate Banking (ICB) department; and he was directly responsible for BACB’s Representative Office in Libya – its largest market.
Mr Fezzani was appointed as a Member of the LBBC Board of Directors in May 2009, having previously held the position of Honorary Council Member. In this role, he provides the LBBC and its members with invaluable advice and expertise regarding the Libyan business scene and unique access to its corporate and political hierarchy.
Honorary Counsel
Honorary Council Member
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Anthony Layden: Foreign & Commonwealth Office
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Mohamed Fezzani: (See above for details)
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Stuart Smalley: Department of Health, International Advisor
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Lord (David) Trefgarne joined the Opposition Front Bench in 1977, and from 1979 he held ministerial office at the Department of Trade, the Foreign Office and the Department of Health and Social Security. In 1983 he moved to the Ministry of Defence and in 1989 he was appointed to Her Majesty’s Privy Council. Having left Government in 1990, Lord Trefgarne pursued a career in business and now has a small consultancy offering advice to companies seeking business opportunities in North Africa. He remains an active member of the House of Lords and is Deputy Chairman of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce.
