A YORK woman who is director general of the Institute of Export has received an OBE for services to business.

Lesley Batchelor, who lives in Acomb, received her honour at an Investiture at Buckingham Palace held by The Princess Royal on behalf of the Queen.

A champion of UK exporters, Ms Batchelor is a graduate of both the Institute of Export and the Chartered Institute of Marketing. She has studied as an intellectual property auditor and has additional expertise in global licensing and marketing.

The OBE reflects Ms Batchelor's achievements after being elected chairwoman of the Institute of Export (IoE) in 2007 and appointed Director General in 2010, going on to shape policy and decision making at the highest levels.

A member of the Advisory Panel and active member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Trade & Investment and the All Party Manufacturing Group, Ms Batchelor gives evidence to The House of Lords Select Committees on various issues affecting international trade and Government support for SMEs.

Ms Batchelor said: “It was a great honour and a privilege to meet Princess Anne who made the investiture personal and memorable for 93 people, including myself, who received their special awards.

"I was also impressed with The Princess Royal’s knowledge of international trade developments.

"It would have been impossible for me to achieve these milestones on my own and I would like to say a big thank you to our members, our board, our team and everyone who has supported our journey to the present day.”

Ms Batchelor's track record in international trade and export marketing spans more than 17 years working with blue-chip giants including Fujitsu Europe and Coca-Cola Europe, before setting up CMC Marketing in 1992 where she helped more than 1,000 SMEs to understand how world trade worked and how to enter new markets.