Posted
by babc on April 28, 2026
The BABC Texas is pleased to formally welcome Richard Shackleton MBE to Houston as the new HM British Consul General. Richard’s arrival marks a new chapter in our long-standing partnership with the British Consulate, and we are proud to confirm that he will continue our tradition of close collaboration by serving as an Honorary Member of the BABC Texas Executive Board of Directors.
A strong working relationship with the Consulate is at the heart of our mission to drive trade and investment between the UK and Texas. Under Richard’s leadership, we look forward to deepening these ties and providing our members with unique insights and opportunities across our shared priority sectors.
“We are thrilled to have Richard join our Board as an Honorary Member. His wealth of experience and immediate engagement with our key initiatives reinforce the vital link between the Consulate and the BABC. We look forward to a highly productive partnership as we continue to support our members’ transatlantic ambitions.”
— Mary McIntyre, President BABC Texas
Please find a full introductory note from Richard below, detailing his initial impressions of the region and his priorities for the months ahead.
Dear Members of the BABC
I’d like to introduce myself to you all as the new British Consul General. I arrived in Houston at the end of March and have been settling into our new Residence and getting to grips with the wide range of work across the vast Trade, Investment and Consular patch for which I have responsibility. I’ll be travelling a lot in the coming weeks to get a real understanding of what’s going on in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
I’ve already enjoyed engaging with BABC events here and our current focus on nuclear issues is the hot topic across the range of contacts I’ve had.
This month, the Consulate-General supported the opening of the Texas Trade Office in London and we look forward to working with colleagues there to grow our trade and investment relationship even further particularly around Tech and Financial Services.
This month has also been a busy one for our offices across the country as we welcomed Their Majesties King Charles III and Queen Camilla to the USA to celebrate USA 250 and further cement our close and abiding bilateral relationship. Most of the visit took place over on the East coast but senior contacts from our patch were present at some of the formal events and we will be looking to use that as a springboard to further our work here as well.
Finally, we’re getting close to the World Cup now, England will be playing their first match, against Croatia, in Dallas on 17 June. Other matches for both England and Scotland will be played again on the East Coast but there’s a chance that we’ll get another match in Dallas at the Semi-Final stage in July – I’m always the optimist!
I look forward to working closely with BABC over the coming months and years supporting their work and through them your own efforts to build ties between the USA and the UK.
Warm regards
Richard Shackleton MBE
