ABOUT

Craig Burchell joined Samsung Electronics in January 2014 as Vice President External Relations Europe, responsible for leading Samsung’s Public Affairs Group across the region. Craig is a lawyer and an experienced advocate for the ICT sector to governments, institutions and key stakeholders around the world; he was formerly Vice President European & International Affairs, Global Head of Trade Policy and Philips’ Senior Representative in Brussels. 

Craig was chairman, twice re-elected, of the Trade Policy Committee of Digital Europe, leading the interests of hi-tech ICT companies in EU; he was Philips’ CEO’s personal representative at the European Round Table of Industrialists, a Board Member of the Transatlantic Business Council and Business Europe’s Advisory and Support Group; he was active member of the Commissie Multilaterale Handelspolitiek of the VNO, and VNO representative on international matters to Business Europe;  he is past WTO Forum chairman at the European Policy Centre & of Working Groups in Business Europe. He is an elected Councillor, past Hon. Secretary, & Board member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Belgium. He has extensive knowledge and experience of bridging US, EU and Asian cultures. 

Craig twice led the European Hi-Tech industry delegations to WTO Ministerial conferences in Hong Kong, Cancun and Seattle to promote free trade issues collaborating closely with various US and Asia based companies. He was EU chairman of the EU-US Steering Committee of the Transatlantic Business Dialogue (TABD - a coalition of 100+ EU & US CEOs to improve global business conditions) which laid major foundations in EU-US economic relations that enabled the launch of the EU-US FTA T-TIP. 

Craig’s legal career began in the City of London, followed by several years in Brussels with Clifford Chance, the world’s largest European-based law firm. He joined Philips legal dept. in 1995, as a senior competition lawyer, and in 2003 was appointed by the Board of Management to lead Philips’ global approach to international trade issues.

He qualified as a Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales; is a graduate of Guildford Law school, England, Universities of Leicester, England, and Strasbourg, France; LLB Honours in Law & French and Diplôme d’Etudes Juridiques Françaises having studyied English & French law and European law at Masters level. He speaks English, French and Dutch. He is married, has three children and lives in Brussels, is a keen cyclist and former manager of a popular Brussels-based youth football club. He is engaged in Charity Fund Raising for Belgian and British Charities, and is an active member of the Brussels International Community.