Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Tag: EBRD

  • ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE FORUM LAUNCH EVENT

    On Wednesday 19th October the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain launched its Energy and Infrastructure Forum with an evening event that gathered over 30 senior representatives of Spanish and British companies within the above sectors.

    The Energy and Infrastructure Forum of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain is chaired by Mr. Alfonso Puga, Chief Commercial Officer at NextDecade, and the board is formed by senior executives with a proven track-record in the energy and infrastructure fields.

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    Some of the members of the Energy and Infrastructure Forum.

    Through this initiative, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain aims to provide a platform to highlight the experience and expertise accrued by Spanish companies in these sectors over the past decades as well as the invaluable human capital and talent they bring in at different levels.

    The remit of the Forum will thus be the organisation of round tables and debates to contribute to the sharing of best practices, exchange of innovation processes within companies, and the analysis of current issues on energy and infrastructure and relevant policies within these fields. Each session of the forum will count on a keynote speaker to introduce the topic and foster discussion among participants.

     

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    Attendees exchanging opinions during the debate.

    Notably; the launch event on October 19th counted on an exceptional speaker: Mr. Riccardo Puliti, Managing Director in charge of the Power and Energy and Natural Resources sectors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

    Mr. Antonio Oporto, Board Director for Spain and Mexico at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and a long-standing friend of the Chamber introduced the speaker to the attendees. Mr. Puliti centred his speech on “Energetic Security in Europe”, providing an overview on the current landscape and analysing different scenarios for energy companies.

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    Mr. Ricardo Puliti (centre), keynote speaker for the first session of the Energy and Infrasctructure Forum.

    His address was followed by an open debate and a round of questions, also chaired by Mr. Oporto, which attendees showed enthusiastic interest as they could exchange opinions on the topic. The event came to a close with a drinks reception which offered participants the opportunity to further network and engage in conversation.

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    Mr. Antonio Oporto (centre), Board Director for Spain and Mexico at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

    We take this opportunity to warmly thank Mr. Riccardo Puliti for accepting our invitation to be our first speaker and all attendees for making this first event a success. We would also like to thank Herbert Smith Freehills for kindly hosting this session at their premises.

    Please keep posted on our Upcoming Events section or subscribe to our weekly newsletter for further information about future activities of our institution.

  • THE XVII EDITION OF THE GRADUATE EUROPEAN PROGRAMME – INDUCTION WEEK

    On Monday 14th September, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce welcomed a new edition of the Graduate European Programme. The programme offers university graduates the opportunity to undertake work experience in London at the same time as they attend different workshops. The programme, which this year has 12 participants, started with an Induction Week which included several talks and visits to institutions.

    The Secretary General Mr. Igor Urra, along with Ms. Cristina Carmona, Head of Corporate Relations and Communication and Co-ordinator of the Programme, welcomed the group on Monday 14th September at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce premises. After the encouragement words from the Secretary General, who urged candidates to make the most of this opportunity, Cristina Carmona delivered a session aimed at helping candidates to succeed at the interviews they would be facing later in the week. The session also provided participants with useful tips to write a CV and to face a personal interview.

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    Ms. Cristina Carmona and Ms. Rosa del Campo during their talk to the participants.

    Following a break, participants had the opportunity to meet Ms. Rosa Del Campo, Commercial Relationships Manager at UK Trade & Investment (UKTI), who explained the role of the UKTI and how they support overseas companies to land in the UK, but also how they help UK-based companies to enter new markets. The session concluded with an overview of those countries with a significant foreign investment presence in the UK, and provided examples on how Spanish companies have increased their internationalisation plans in recent years.

    Later that day, three former participants of the Graduate European Programme visited the premises of the Chamber. Ms. Sandra Del Campo, Ms. Carmen Villanueva and Ms. Sofía Marcoartu shared their experience with the attendees and explained how taking part in this programme eventually led them both to find a job in London. They encouraged this year’s participants to make the most of the work experience. The talk concluded with a round of questions about life in London, hints to do well at the interviews and the differences between work routines in Spain and UK.

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    From left to right Ms. Cristina Carmona, Ms. Sandra del Campo, Ms. Sofía Marcoartu and Ms. Carmen Villanueva, as they explained their experience as former participants.

    Before starting the interviews phase, on Tuesday 15th September the induction week followed with a visit to the Spanish Embassy in London, where participants were welcomed by Mr. Juan López-Herrera, the Minister Counsellor. He provided this year’s candidates with an overview of the main areas of work of the Embassy in the country and why the diplomatic service is important. To conclude the visit, the participants had some time to make a few questions to Mr. Juan López-Herrera.

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    Mr. Juan López-Herrera with the GEP participants after the talk at the Embassy.

    Later on the afternoon, the participants had the chance to meet two top journalists, Roberto Casado from Expansion and Jordi Barcia from RNE. They went on to offer an overview of the life of a foreign press correspondent, the way they work and the main advantages and inconveniences of being a correspondent. At the end of their talks and after the Q&A, Mr. Barcia showed the participants his portable radio-set and explained them how he works when he is not in his studio.

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    From left to right, Jordi Barcia, Cristina Carmona and Roberto Casado.

    Next on the agenda, on Friday 18th was a visit to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development where the participants where kindly welcomed by Mr. Antonio Oporto, Board Director for Spain and Mexico. Mr. Antonio Oporto started by explaining participants the historic context where the Bank was created so they could better understand its scope of action. He went on to share his insights on how current affairs can have an impact on the work of the EBRD, especially in regard to new countries where the bank operates.  A very interactive Q&A followed the session where participants were able to learn more about specific areas of interest for the bank.

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    Mr. Antonio Oporto with the GEP participants during the talk at the EBRD.

    We would like to thank all the speakers for the different sessions of the Induction Week and the institutions that kindly welcomed the participants of the XVII of our Graduate European Programme. We will be following their progress in London and encourage them to make the most of this unique experience.

  • Financial Forum: European Emerging Markets.

    On Thursday 9th July the Financial Forum of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce organised it’s third meeting since it was launched in January 2014. The gathering was held in London at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The Financial Forum belongs to and is managed exclusively by the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain. Its main function is to bring together Spanish professionals from the City and provide them with a platform to promote the dialogue, share best practices and exchange ideas about the current economic and financial context.

    The meeting took place at the EBRD great room
    The meeting took place at the EBRD premises in central London.

    The session, which was presided by Prof. Ahmad Rahnema, Chairman of the Forum, focused on “European Emerging Markets: the Ukrainian and Russian Crisis”. Mr. Philip Bennett, First Vice President, Chief Operating Officer of the EBRD and member of the Bank’s Executive Committee,  addressed attendees and highlighted the importance of long term investments for the economies of these countries to move forward. As he explained, Ukrainian economy is going through a painful adjustment in order to attract foreign capital while Russia presents a much more delicate scenario where the confidence of the investor is weakening.

    L to R. Mr. Barrachina, Mr. Oporto, Mr. Bennett and Mr. Rahnema
    From left to right: Mr. Eduardo Barrachina, Mr. Antonio Oporto, Mr. Philip Bennett, Prof. Ahmad Rahnema and Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo.

    The Forum counted with the privilege attendance of Mr. Antonio Oporto, Board Director for Spain and Mexico of the EBRD; Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain and Mr. Eduardo Barrachina from White & Case and Treasurer of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce. This time, representatives from BBVA, Deloitte, Deutsche Bank, Dragados, EBRD, Ferrovial, HSBC, IESE, JP Morgan, Lloyds Bank, Mapfre, Morgan Stanley, Société Générale, and Uría Menéndez were in attendance.

    Some of our guests at the arrival of the conference
    Attendees greeted each other moments before the event started.

    After the session and subsequent Q&A, attendees were kindly invited to move on to the reception area where they could enjoy a selection of products from the markets where the EBRD is currently present. Some of the great products they enjoyed were Efes Pilsen, a refreshing Turkish beer as well as Marani red & white wines from Georgia.

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    Our guests tasted some original products during the cocktail.

    We would like to thank all guests and the kind host EBRD for their support and participation in the Financial Forum of the Spanish Chamber. Lastly, if you are interested in the events of the Chamber and want to be informed on our current activities, please click on this link to complete the form that you will find at the bottom of the page and subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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