Permanent Secretary of the Department for Business and Trade

Policy Leaders Fellow Alumnus, Centre for Science and Policy

Gareth Davies became Permanent Secretary of the Department for International Trade on 9 January 2023, then took the helm at its replacement, the Department for Business and Trade in February 2023.

Previously, Gareth was the Second Permanent Secretary of the Department for Transport from January 2022. His responsibilities included decarbonising transport, technology, international and security.

Prior to this, Gareth was a Director General in the department. He has also been Director General in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. There he was responsible for securing business investment, managing distressed corporate situations and £9 billion in public funding for science and research.

Earlier in his career he led the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit and was a Private Secretary in Downing Street. He started his career in PricewaterhouseCoopers and has worked for AIA, the life insurance company based in Hong Kong.