International trade leader receives regal recognition
ALLEN MATTY, who has spearheaded international trade in the West Midlands for a number of years, has been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year honours.
Mr Matty is managing director of West Midlands Chambers of Commerce and among his responsibilities is delivering services for the Department for International Trade (DIT) in the region. The award is for services to international trade in the West Midlands.
Mr Matty said: “I am thrilled and honoured to be recognised for a career which has been so fantastically rewarding. The real reward has been in helping so many businesses grow internationally and for us to be among the best-performing regions in the country.
“And none of this would have been possible without the help of the amazingly talented people I have worked with over the years.”
Mr Matty has 35 years’ international trade experience in various sales and senior management roles involving the supply of industrial products worldwide and the delivery of international trade services in the West Midlands.
His early career was in export roles for West Midlands manufacturing and engineering businesses, and also spent two years working in Saudi Arabia.
He has spent the last 20 years working for chambers of commerce in the region.
Louise Bennett, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce who chairs the WMCC, said: “It is richly deserved for someone who has been outstanding in his support of international trade emanating from the West Midlands.”
