Darren Goff
Darren heads up the Automotive Unit at the Department for Business and Trade, as Deputy Director. His team carries out policy and strategy development, manages the relationships with the main UK automotive manufacturers in the UK and leads the Automotive Council which is co-chaired between industry and government. Japanese automotive companies play a major role in the UK automotive sector, in most years producing over 40% of the cars made in the UK.
Darren was previously based at the UK Embassy in Tokyo for over 8 years carrying out two roles. He started his time at the Embassy in 2016, as Head of Investment, which involved supporting existing Japanese investors with operations in the UK and promoting the UK as a location for foreign direct investment (FDI) from potential Japanese investors. From 2021 to 2024, Darren held the role of Deputy Trade Commissioner for North-East Asia (based in Japan), working to support growth in the commercial relationship between the UK and North East Asia (Japan, S.Korea & Taiwan). His team focused on the development and strengthening of bilateral trade policy, supporting UK exporters to access N.E Asian markets and helping N.E Asian companies to invest and grow in the UK.
Darren studied Japanese and Chinese history at the University of Leeds, sparking his interest in Japan. He then taught English in Okayama in Japan for 2 years after graduating before joining the civil service.