Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the United Kingdom

Tag: networking event

NEW YEAR’S DRINKS RECEPTION

Last 21^st January the Spanish Chamber of Commerce celebrated the NEW YEAR’S DRINKS RECEPTION, our first corporate event of 2015 and the opening of a new exciting year full of activities. We had the pleasure to host this event at the main ballroom of the Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane, member of the Chamber, a perfect setting which contributed to create a delightful atmosphere on this special occasion.

It was a very successful event as almost 250 representatives from Spanish and British companies joined us on the evening. They enjoyed the opportunity to greet the New Year and catch up with other fellow colleagues and also meet new people while developing their networking skills.

Our guests mingling during the New Year’s Drinks Reception at the Four Seasons Hotel at Park Lane.

The event began at 6.30pm and all our guests were welcomed with a glass of wine and cava and were escorted to the resplendent ballroom.

Later on, the President of the Spanish Chamber, Mr. Javier Fernández Hidalgo, gave his traditional speech, greeting our guests on behalf of the institution, thanking all members for their continuous support towards the Chamber year after year, and wishing that 2015 will be a very fruitful year for the Anglo-Spanish business community.

Mr. Javier Fernández, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce giving his speech during the NYDR, with Mr. Fidel López, Minister of Cultural and Scientific Affairs at the Spanish Embassy on the right side.

Furthermore, thanks to our member Spanish Ham Master, we had a first-class experience tasting an incredible 9 kg. Iberian ham cut by the renown Spanish Ham Master, Mr. José Sol. He beat his personal record of cutting such a big ham in only 2 hours, which also showed the warm welcome our guests gave to this gastronomic delight.

Mr. José Sol from Spanish Ham Master, member of the Spanish Chamber, cutting Iberian ham for all our guests.

Likewise, we would like to express our gratitude to Codorníu, for their support and contribution to make this evening a great gathering by kindly sponsoring our reception with their finest wine and cava. These refreshing and carefully elaborated beverages perfectly matched with the innovative catering prepared by the kitchen of the Four Seasons Hotel that reflected a soft taste of Asian influences.

Wines and cava provided by Codorníu together with the canapés from the Four Seasons Hotel.

If you enjoyed this event, you can now have access to the complete gallery of pictures of the NEW YEAR’S DRINKS RECEPTION by clicking here.

Last but not least, we encourage you to browse our Upcoming Events section in order to keep up to date with the Spanish Chamber corporate events, seminars and many other activities we are organising to make the most out of this year. We will be waiting for you!

04/02/2015
Embracing Diversity as a Form of Competitive Advantage : A New Model of HR

On Tuesday 20^th January we held the seminar “Embracing Diversity as a Form of Competitive Advantage: A New Model of Human Resources” in collaboration with Sparkle People and Development, member of the Chamber.

Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber, welcomed attendees on behalf of our institution and introduced Rebecca Armstrong, the speaker for this session.

Rebecca Armstrong, an international speaker and Human Resources/ Leadership expert, provided attendees with practical examples and ideas of how to enhance employee engagement through embracing individualism and diversity as a source of competitive advantage.

Mr. Igor Urra, our Secretary General, with Ms. Rebecca Armstrong, speaker of the event.

Rebecca first focused on promoting transformational HR, with the final aim to bring it into the culture of the organisation. In other words, Sparkle People and Development’s approach is about looking at the people you have in the company and seeing their brilliance. As Rebecca explained, it is necessary not only to promote the value of every single person who works at the company but also to enable each employee to have a voice at the organisation.

During the second part of the seminar, she highlighted the importance of diversity and equality within human resources. Firstly because diversity is a way to welcome difference into an organisation as everybody brings something new and valuable into the company. On the other hand, equality is vital to make sure that everybody is treated fairly.

All the attendees engaged with Rebecca’s explanations.

In order to illustrate this last point, she referred to the 2010 Equality Act. This legal document protects a series of characteristics (such as age, sex, disability, sexual orientation, maternity/paternity, gender reassignment, civil status, pregnancy, race or religious belief) for which employees cannot be discriminated.

At the end of the session, attendees took the opportunity to ask Rebecca -who has spoken worldwide including on the stage at TEDx- about how Sparkle People and Development’s model works in companies and exchanged their views on the topic. After the Q&A, participants continued networking while enjoying some breakfast.

After the seminar the attendees could talk to Rebecca Armstrong and ask her some questions.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this activity and especially Rebecca Armstrong for delivering such an engaging, interesting and dynamic seminar.

If you want to find out about other activities that the Spanish Chamber is organising, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section within our website. Furthermore, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive updates on our events!

27/01/2015
CIAC NETWORKING DRINKS

On Monday 17^th November the Spanish Chamber of Commerce took part in the Council of Ibero American Chambers in the UK (CIAC) Networking Drinks that was held at the Melia White House hotel, member of our Chamber.

This event was the second organised by the CIAC after the successful launch in March 2014. On this informal gathering attendees had the opportunity to network with representatives from member companies of the different Chambers that belong to the CIAC.

The members of the different companies that belong to the CIAC organisations had an excellent opportunity to meet fellow colleagues from other countries.

During the evening, one of the members of our Executive Committe gave a short speech to thank guests for their support and to highlight the importance of creating a solid professional network to support business with commercial interests and links in the UK, Spain and Latin America. Afterwards, he gave the floor to Cristina Zaragoza, from Meliá White House, who announced the prize draw: an afternoon tea for two people. The lucky winner was Ben Stern from Surrey Satellite Technology.

From left to right: Mr. Igancio Morillas, Member of the Board at the Spanish Chamber, Ms. Cristina Zaragoza, our host from Meliá White House, and Mr. Ben Stern, the lucky winner of the afternoon tea for two at the hotel.

For those who are not familiar with the Council of Ibero American Chambers in the UK, it was formed on the 10^th February with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding by the founding Chambers and organisations. The CIAC is an independent business to business network of UK based chambers with unrivalled expertise and contacts across Latin America, Spain and the Caribbean with a core membership of over 600 businesses. Further information on this can be accessed by clicking here.

We would like to thank our guests for joining us on the evening and we are grateful to Melia White House for kindly providing the prize for the draw and for their support with this activity.

Keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website to learn more about future activities. Remember that you can also subscribe to our weekly electronic newsletter in order to receive updates on the Chamber and our upcoming events!

08/12/2014
ELEVATOR PITCH | XIX EDITION

On Tuesday 10th June, we held the XIX edition of our Elevator Pitch. This edition took place at the Four Seasons Park Lane Hotel, member of the Spanish Chamber. The hotel is located within the prestigious area of Hyde Park with excellent views and great communications

On this occasion Igor Urra, Secretary of the Spanish Chamber, and Cristina Carmona, Head of Corporate Relations and Communication, led the session for all the participating companies whiles Mr. Biagio Gaeta welcomed everyone on behalf of Four Seasons.

The event took place at the Four Seasons Park Lane Hotel, member of the Chamber.

For those of you that have never attended one or do not know how The Elevator Pitch works; there are just a couple of things you need to know before signing up for it the next time. In first place, there is a maximum of 16 places available and only one participant per company can attend. Besides, only up to two companies from the same sector are able to attend each edition.

The main purpose of the Elevator Pitch is to provide participants with the possibility to expand their network and provide them with an opportunity to explore synergies as well as further avenues of collaboration with the rest of participants.

Attendees had the chance to get to know each other before the event started.

Therefore, everyone who participates is able to meet companies from different sectors, as well as to leave for their office with the business cards of the others.

In this edition there was a wide variety of sectors represented such as Finance and Investments, Legal, Marketing, Hospitality, Construction, IT, and Fintech.

During the event, each attendee had 2 minutes to give a concise presentation about their company’s activity and line of business.

After this first round to introduce their respective businesses, there was a second round in which each participant had the opportunity to ask questions to the rest of attendees.
Afterwards, everyone continued to network while enjoying a delicious breakfast offered by the hotel.

After the event the participants had the opportunity to enjoy a delicious breakfast offered by Four Seasons Park Lane Hotel.

We would very much like to thank all the professionals who attended as well as the Four Seasons Park Lane Hotel for kindly hosting the XIX edition of the Elevator Pitch. We are looking forward to seeing you at another event very soon!

If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, have a look at the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates.

09/07/2014
Evening Talk with Control Risks

On Wednesday 2^th April an evening talk “International Expansion: Understanding and Mitigating Risks” took place, organised in collaboration with Control Risks, a global risk consultancy member of the Chamber.

The event, hosted at the impressive Control Risks premises overlooking the Thames, was chaired by Mr. Simon Adamsdale, Director of Control Risk. Simon welcomed attendees and introduced the experts that would be speaking on relevant areas and different case studies during the session.

The impressive views across the Thames from Control Risks offices.

To start with, Mr. Adamsdale informed that the Control Risk mission is to enable its clients to succeed in complex or hostile environments by supporting them with information on three key risk areas: political, integrity and security.

David Lea, Senior Business Analyst and expert on managing business risks in Spain took the floor after Simon to cover the current situation in Spain. He analysed different aspects related to the economic and political situation, highlighting flaws but also strengths.

Attendees listening to Mr. Simon Adamsdale during the event.

After that, it was the turn of Ms. Marcela Londoño, Senior Consultant Analyst, who went over the situation in Mexico and Colombia and the solutions available to companies and individuals interested in further exploring these markets and/or investing in them.

Finally, Emily Richardson Senior Consultant specialist in the Middle East, talked about managing business risks in Iraq. She pointed out the importance of an accurate analysis in order to avoid taking risks related to bribery and corruption, amongst others.

Ms. Marcela Londoño during her presentation.

After that, Simon chaired the Q&A session that followed the talk. This was highly anticipated as the areas and topics covered generated a great deal of interest among attendees, who took the opportunity to ask the experts.

Once the Q &A session was over, participants and speakers alike could network and share their opinions over a glass of wine and some nibbles while enjoying the breathtaking views over the Thames.

The event provided an opportunity for attendees to network.

If you are interested in finding out about the events that the Spanish Chamber organises, we recommend that you visit our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. Additionally, you can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter in order to receive information about upcoming events and updates on the Chamber.

07/05/2014
DOING BUSINESS WITH THE BRITISH

On Tuesday 26th November we hosted the fifth session of the “Leadership in Focus Forum” at the Spanish Chamber and this time organised in collaboration with International House London, member of the Chamber. David Solomons, from IH London, was in charge of delivering the topic for the day: Doing business with the British.

Born in England, David’s background is in behavioral psychology as well as training and business. Having lived, worked and run organizations in the U.S., The Middle East, Spain, France and the U.K., he has had multiple occasions to experience first-hand how overlooking cultural differences can mean the make or break of a business deal.

Mr. Solomons imparted a captivating session.

As the topic was a broad one, the session focused on understanding significant aspects of British culture in order to improve the attendees’ negotiation skills when doing business or establishing professional links with British companies and their representatives.

To start off, Mr. Solomons brought attention to one of the key points non-British must bear in mind, and that was that British are usually non-confrontational. They do not like dealing with critism, for instance, and for this reason, they prefer moaning because it is a way to express their disagreement while avoiding violent situations.

Mr. Solomon divided the session in two parts. During the first; he pointed out the attitudes and values from British people that are quite different from the Spaniards such as family organization, education, religious beliefs, etc. A good example of these differences between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin cultures is reflected in job choices. While in Spain a significant amount of local people work in the service industry, in the United Kingdom this sector is usually avoided because it is not perceived as a high-level work option so many people feel ashamed of working in jobs related to the service industry.

The attendees were very focused throughout the event.

The second part of the session focused on the way British people express themselves, and their behaviour. Among the different examples Mr. Solomons provided in order to understand cultural nuances and how they can impact professional relations, we would like to mention the following:

-British people are not particularly exuberant, friendly or outgoing in terms of body language.

-They like punctuality.

-They are not accustomed to doing business over a lunch or a dinner and as a general rule prefer doing business in the office.

-They have a particular and eccentric sense of humour that is frequently used, even in business-related conversations or environments.

To end the session, he recommended attendees paying attention to advertising because it is a wonderful reflection of what is going on in a society in terms of cultural perception and value.

After this gripping session, all guests could enjoy an interactive networking breakfast while sharing thoughts and discussing further all the ideas covered in the talk.

Networking after the talk is already a must of the Leadership in Focus Forum.

We would like to thank everyone who took part in this activity and especially International House for delivering such an engaging talk.

Do not miss the next session of the Leadership in Focus Forum which will be delivered by Hill Networks in 2014. Keep an eye on our events section if you don’t want to miss it!

29/11/2013
SOCIAL MEDIA: MANAGING THE RISKS

Social Media is certainly becoming a trending topic amongst professionals since its business usage has significantly increased in recent years. However, it could also represent a risk if companies do not properly manage their own social media networks or their use among employees.

In order to find out more about how to tackle potential risks arising from this situation, we hosted a breakfast seminar in collaboration with Colman Coyle LLP, a member of the Spanish Chamber, on Tuesday 19th November. The seminar focused on approching key management issues resulting from the inappropriate use of social media by employees and managers.

From left to right: Mr. Ignacio Morillas-Paredes and Ms. Sandra Martins from Colman Coyle, and Mr. Igor Urra, Secretary General of the Spanish Chamber.

The seminar was delivered by Sandra Martins, Senior Associate in Colman Coyle’s Employment Department. She is also part of Colman Coyle’s International Legal Service and Anglo-Spanish Legal Service teams.

Her presentation focused on how manages can combat some of the troubles caused by social media as well as how they are able to reduce the risk through the use of the inner policies. She highlighted the importance for organizations to have a social media policy, which must be very clear for employees to ensure an efficient protection of the company’s reputation.

Ms. Martins delivering the session.

In order to emphasize the consequences of a misuse of social networks, Sandra shared some recent case studies on employees who have acted inappropriately on social media platforms and what impact and consequences that behaviour had for both the employee and the company.

One of the examples Sandra brought attention to was the case of an employee who had published a derogatory statement about his company in his private Facebook profile. Someone else from the company printed the comment and passed it on to the store manager where the employee worked, who sacked him on the spot. Despite the comment being made in a private page, the tribunal stated they did not find that the dismissal decision fell outside the range of reasonable responses as the company’s social media policy was very clear in that regard.

Attendees exchanged their opinions over coffee.

As this is still a somewhat unknonw and tricky area, attendees were listening attentively and interacting with the speaker for advice on how to make sure that they will avoid any problems involving social media issues at their companies. After the session, the participants could exchange their impressions on the talk and enjoy some breakfast.

If you would like to find out more about other activities organised by our Chamber, we encourage you to keep an eye on our UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website. We look forward to seeing you at our next event!

21/11/2013
Patron’s Club: An Evening at Wembley

On Tuesday 15^th October representatives of the Patron companies from the Spanish Chamber attended the England vs. Poland FIFA World Cup European Qualifying match at Wembley Stadium. The event turned out to be an exciting game as the outcome decided the certain qualification of one of the teams.

Club Wembley kindly provided our Patrons with a champagne reception at the Bobby Moore bar and offered them the chance to mingle and make their bets on the game before the match started.

Wembley stadium hosted the decisive match between England and Poland.

The match was decisive, since it led directly to classification to the World Cup in Brazil next June, and England did not disappoint the crowd that came to Wembley to support them. The match was really thrilling with England scoring two goals against the Polish team.

Supporters from both teams vibrated with emotion in every play and phase. Our Patrons proved to be passionate by showing their excitement and jumping off their seats every time some player got close to the opponent side.

We would like to thank Club Wembley for providing us with the chance to experience an evening at Wembley Stadium premises and for the care and attention given to our Patrons.

We would also like to thank Patrons for their participation and we look forward to seeing them at the the next Patrons’ Club Event: a blind tasting which will be held at The Haciendas Club, member of the Chamber, on 21st November.

22/10/2013
A Great Evening with an International Flavour

On Tuesday 17th of September we took part in the International Wine Tasting, which is a networking event organised every year by several foreign Chambers of Commerce in London to bring their members together and foster international links among them.

Over 200 guests gathered at DSTRKT, a club steps away from Piccadilly Circus, to taste a selection of wine varieties from around the world as they walked their way around the different country stations scattered throughout the club.

Attendees enjoyed the wide variety of wines during the event.

On this occasion, Argentina, Austria, Canada, France, Italy, Macedonia, Mexico, Japan, Spain and Switzerland were the countries whose wines and spirits were represented at the event. This made this event the largest International Wine Tasting to date in terms of number of countries represented.

With such international mixture the event didn’t fail to impress. Guests had a unique opportunity to broaden their international business networks with their peers from other Chambers, with which everyone was delighted. In fact, attendees were sharing and exchanging opinions about the wines and making recommendations to each other in a really good mood, which translated into a very positive and lively atmosphere.

The Canadian station received a constant flow of guests thanks to their ice wine.

According to many attendees, the revelation of the evening was Canada and their ice wine. Others showed their preference for sweet sake, one of the varieties presented by Japan. What everyone agreed on was the excellent selection each country offered, which allowed many guests to discover new and unexpected flavours.

A guest from the Japanese Chamber tasting one of the tequilas at the Mexican station.

Marqués de Cáceres, member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, provided the Spanish wines and Ms. Anne Vallejo, Head of Public Relations at Marqués de Cáceres, was in charge of the Spanish wine station. She was looking after the attendees who came around during the evening to expertly lead them in their tasting. We would like to warmly thank her and Marqués de Cáceres for their invaluable support and contribution as wine providers.

Ms Anne Vallejo, Head of PR at Marqués de Cáceres, proudly showing one of their wines.

Thanks as well to all the attendees who joined us and, especially, to our fellow colleagues at the Foreign Chambers of Commerce and trade institutions for their work and collaboration to bring this event to life and make it a success yet once again.

We are looking forward to seeing you next year at the International Wine Tasting. If you missed this event or simply want to know what we are up to next, sneak a peek at the UPCOMING EVENTS section on our website or subscribe to our electronic newsletter for weekly updates.

18/09/2013

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