Gemma Sykes Biography Gemma is an accomplished diplomat with experience in a wide variety of areas of diplomatic work and a strong background in public service. She joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2013 on a graduate scheme for the FCO Finance profession and worked in a number of finance and corporate roles, in London and Manila, before transferring to the Diplomatic Service in 2018. She was posted to the British High Commission, Islamabad, where she spent 18 months as Second Secretary Political, working on Counter-Extremism and on the 2019 visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to Pakistan. In August 2020 she joined the British Embassy Quito as Deputy Head of Mission.