Alan Charlton CMG CVO

Alan Charlton was British Ambassador to Brazil from 2008-2013. He then founded the UK-Brazil Conversa, a bilateral discussion group, which has met in Cambridge, Rio de Janeiro, London and most recently in Sao Paulo in February 2019. He is the Robin Humphreys Fellow at the Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS). He is a member of the ILAS and the King’s College London Brazil Institute Advisory Boards.

Carla McRoberts

Carla McRoberts is a Managing Director at Nardello and Co, a global investigations firm.  Carla previously worked at Citibank where she helped companies and governments across Latin America access US equity markets, and later at JP Morgan, where she focused on US equity products across Western Europe and Emerging markets.

Ed Poulton

Ed Poulton is a partner of Baker McKenzie, the world’s most international law firm.  He is a member of the firm’s Dispute Resolution team, based in London. A key name in the arbitration community, Ed acts as counsel and sits as an arbitrator in arbitrations under the rules of all the major institutions.  He has represented both investors and states in public international law cases, and is the consulting editor of a seminal text on the arbitration of M&A disputes.  Ed sits on the steering committee of Baker McKenzie’s Global International Arbitration Practice Group.

Ed has had a long-standing interest in the Hispanic and Lusophone worlds and has travelled to, and worked on matters involving, Spain and many countries in Latin America. 

Gui Silva

Gui is an investor and banker with 20-year experience in corporate finance, capital markets, and technology acquired in leading investment banks and fintechs, working in Europe, Asia and Latin America. He was Global Head of Capital Markets at Diginex and Head of Blockchain Research Group at the University of Oxford’s CTGA. Previously, Gui was Head of Global Markets and Treasurer for HSBC in Spain and Thailand.

Irene Mia

Irene is Senior Fellow for Latin America and Conflict, Security and Development, leading the IISS research programme on Latin America security, governance and geo-economics, as well as directing the Conflict, Security and Development research programme. She is also the editor of the IISS “Armed Conflict Survey” publication. Previously, she held a number of different managerial roles focused on research and Latin America at the Economist Group and at the World Economic Forum.

Jonathan Knott

Jonathan Knott became Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean in February 2021. He became Her Majesty’s Consul General in São Paulo in August 2021 when he arrived in Brazil.

Jonathan joined the UK Diplomatic Service in 1989.

Marcelo Scenna

Marcial Echenique

Marcial Echenique has spent over 30 years in industry as a consultant engineer. He has worked on many major infrastructure projects here in the United Kingdom, Latin America and South East Asia. Brought up in Cambridge, Marcial completed his first degree at the University of Bath in Engineering. At University he established the Latin American Society to promote and exchange cultural values. Marcial is a Chartered Engineer and has Masters in Business Administration.

Marcial has lived in Chile, Peru and Venezuela working on metro and other infrastructure projects. He has participated on numerous UK Government missions to many countries in Latin America. Marcial speaks fluent Spanish, and some Portuguese.

Rodolfo Milesi

Rodolfo is the founder of Branding Latin America, an independent global PR agency positioning Latin America's destinations, products, investment opportunities and arts. Since 2008, the agency has worked with Presidents, Ministers of Tourism, Trade and Investment, and at forums such as Davos, G20, the IMF Spring Summit, Pacific Alliance Summit, United Nations Week, and more.

Prior to the establishment of Branding Latin America, Rodolfo served as Press Attaché at the Embassy of Argentina in London, and undertook an illustrious radio and television career in Argentina, including as an Executive Producer of A dos Voces, the “Newsnight of Argentina,” during which time he won numerous awards.

Born in Argentina, he has lived in London since 2002.

Vitoria Nabas

Vitoria is the head of the Immigration team at Vitoria Nabas and the International team, part of the Gunnercooke group. Her work covers immigration for both businesses and international corporations in several jurisdictions who seek advice on how to move abroad, and once moved, work lawfully and effectively in the UK, EU and Americas. She is qualified in Brazil, Portugal and England & Wales. She has more than 25 years of experience working in law firms and financial institutions in Brazil, New York and London. Vitoria has an impressive network which keeps her at the forefront of international commerce. She is a director of Law in Britain, a co-founder and treasurer of Lex Anglo-Brasil, the Coordinator of the UK Brazilian Citizen Council, Counsellor of the Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in London and the President of the Legal Committee of the British Colombian Chamber of Commerce.

Vitoria is also involved in voluntary work including being Student Supervisor at Queen Mary University - Legal Advice Centre (having been honoured with a fellowship for this work) and helping vulnerable people in diverse communities in the UK in Casa do Brasil. Her aim in life is very simple: to help people daily.

Dr Alejandro Arenas-Pinto

Principal Clinical Research Fellow at UCL's Institute for Global Health

Alejandro Arenas-Pinto is a Venezuelan physician with training in infectious and tropical diseases. Currently working at UCL as Senior Clinical Research Associate at the Institute for Global Health where he is involved with postgraduate teaching in Clinical Trials.

Ramiro Blazquez

Head of Research & Strategy, BancTrust & Co.

Ramiro Blazquez is currently Head of Research & Strategy at BancTrust & Co. He holds an MSc in Financial Engineering from Birkbeck College, The University of London, and an MA in Economics from Universidad Torcuato Di Tella (Argentina). In addition, he pursued graduate studies in Finance at Universidad de San Andrés, where he also obtained his Economics degree. Ramiro is a former Chevening Scholar, a fellowship granted by the United Kingdom's Foreign Commonwealth Office. Prior to joining BancTrust, Ramiro worked as Senior Latam Economist for HSBC Global Research, covering the major South American countries. He was also an economist at the IMF's Argentina office, Managing Director and researcher at Universidad Di Tella's Center for Financial Research (CIF) and adviser for the Presidential office during President Fernando De la Rúa's term. Ramiro has taught several courses at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, both at graduate and undergraduate levels.

Professor Tim Connell

Professor Emeritus at City, University of London

Tim Connell is Professor Emeritus at City, University of London, having been head of languages there for nearly twenty years. He is deputy chair of the international course board of ESCP Europe, the French grande école which has centres in Paris, London, Berlin, Madrid, Turin and Warsaw. He is a visiting professor at Richmond International University.

His particular languages are Spanish and French plus some Portuguese and he has extensive experience of both Spain and Latin America.

Amongst a wide range of associations with linguistic and academic organisations and livery companies, he is also the author of the History of Canning House. His relationship with Canning House spans over forty years.

Jon Farmer

Editor of the Latin American Weekly Report, LatinNews

Jon Farmer is editor of the Latin American Weekly Report, LatinNews' flagship publication.

Dr Jill Hedges

Deputy Director of Analysis, Oxford Analytica

Jill Hedges is Deputy Director of Analysis and Senior Latin America Analyst at Oxford Analytica, which she joined in 2001. She leads Latin America analysis and is responsible for Daily Brief coverage of Southern Cone countries and Venezuela.

Professor Gareth Jones

Director of the LSE Latin America and Caribbean Centre

Gareth Jones is Director of the London School of Economics Latin America and Caribbean Centre, and Professor of Urban Geography in the LSE Department of Geography and Environment.

Professor Antoni Kapcia

Professor of Latin American History, University of Nottingham

Antoni Kapcia is Professor of Latin American History in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Nottingham.

Dr Thomas Mills

Lecturer in Diplomatic and International History, Lancaster University

Thomas C. Mills is Lecturer in Diplomatic and International History and Deputy Director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy at Lancaster University. He is currently Vice-Chair of the Transatlantic Studies Association and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Transatlantic Studies.

Professor Maxine Molyneux CMG

Professor of Sociology, UCL Institute of the Americas

Maxine Molyneux is Professor of Sociology at the UCL Institute of the Americas. Maxine was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2023 New Year Honours.

Dina Medland

Independent writer, editor and commentator

Dina Medland is an ex-Financial Times staff journalist who has covered corporate governance and business issues for a wide range of media outlets in print and online. She was early as an established journalist to call out the importance of sustainability and ESG - and the changing values of millennials - most notably in Forbes and on her own digital platform. She has written about responsible investment at length, and worked with think-tanks and organisations across public and private sectors looking to build a better relationship between business and society.

Visit Dina's website

Diego Moya Ocampos

Principal analyst, Americas Country Risk team, IHS Markit

Diego Moya Ocampos works for the Security & Intelligence, General Secretariat Division, at Banco Santander. He was previously a principal analyst with the Americas Country Risk team at IHS Markit.

Professor Anthony Pereira

Director of King's Brazil Institute and Professor of Brazilian Studies at KCL

Anthony Pereira is Director of King's Brazil Institute and Professor of Brazilian Studies at KCL. His current work concerns citizenship, human rights, public security, and state coercion in Brazil.

Andrew Thompson

Freelance Journalist

Andrew Thompson is a freelance journalist also associated with organisations including the Oxford Business Group and LatinNews.

Vera Thorstensen

Professor, School of Economics, Getulio Vargas Foundation; Head of the Center on Global Trade and Investments

Vera is a professor at the FGV School of Economics in São Paulo and is Head of the Centre on Global Trade and Investments, created in 2010. From 2014 on she was appointed as a WTO Chair Holder in Brazil. From 2014 to 2018 she was appointed President of the Brazilian Committee on TBT and Regulatory Barriers. She has coordinated extensive projects on Trade Regulation, Preferential Agreements, economic impact analysis on Brazil Trade Policy and published many articles and books on the WTO.

Professor Rory Miller

Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool Management School

Rory Miller was Reader in International Business at the University of Liverpool Management School until 2017, and is now Honorary Research fellow there. He was editor of the Journal of Latin American Studies for nine years, and Director of the Institute of Latin American Studies at Liverpool.

Andrés Velasco

Dean of the LSE School of Public Policy

Andrés Velasco is a former Chilean Finance Minister and presidential candidate, whose work has been recognised by international organisations and publications including the G20, Financial Times and Inter-American Development Bank. He has held professorships in economics and public policy at leading institutions including Harvard and Columbia University, and since 2018 has served as Dean of the LSE School of Public Policy.