Appointed December 2016, Lord Mandelson took up his post in March 2017. Lord Mandelson has a distinguished track record. He is a former European Trade Commissioner and British First Secretary of State. Prior to this, he was Minister without Portfolio, Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Northern Ireland Secretary and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the British government. He is now a member of the House of Lords, chairman of Global Counsel, a public policy advisory business he co-founded in 2010 and a senior adviser to Lazard. He is President of the Policy Network think tank and he became Chancellor of Manchester Metropolitan University in 2016.