Bio

Ailish Campbell is the Ambassador of Canada to the European Union (EU). In this role she leads Canada’s diplomatic representation to the EU including the Council of the European Union representing the 27 member states, European Commission, European Parliament, ECB and ECJ. The Canadian team based in Brussels, Belgium, includes executives across federal departments covering trade, foreign policy, environment and climate change policy, innovation and industrial policy, finance, immigration, security and defence and Justice. Previously, Ailish was Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Trade Commissioner of Canada from 2017 - 2020. In that role she led a global team of more than 1,000 Trade Commissioners in 160 offices worldwide to help Canadian companies and education institutions go global, grow and create jobs. Ailish helped lead a major global expansion of the Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) and the creation of new digital services, announced in 2018. She was also responsible for supporting the Minister of International Trade in the governance of financial crown corporations, including Export Development Canada. Ailish has served as Chair of the Corporate Management Committee of Global Affairs Canada, a member of the Executive Board, the Performance Measurement & Evaluation Committee and the inaugural Chair of the Policy & Programs Committee. In 2020 she completed her Institute of Corporate Directors designation (ICD.D) at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. Before joining Global Affairs Canada, Ailish was General Director, Economic Development and Corporate Finance at Finance Canada where she led three federal budget planning cycles on innovation, defence, climate change and clean tech policies. She was VP at the Business Council of Canada and led engagement in India, Japan, China and the EU. Ailish began her career in the federal public service as a trade negotiator in the Doha round of WTO negotiations. Ailish is passionate about digital delivery and data analytics to improve services to citizens. She is a frequent public speaker on trade, economic issues and global risk management. Ailish holds a Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Oxford, where she was a Lecturer. She holds an MSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics, and a BA (Honours) from Queen’s University. She has been designated a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. In 2021 Ailish was named a Fellow of the Aspen Institute’s Finance Leaders Fellowship and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network.