La Camara
About Us
Our History
The association was launched in 2011 by a number of individuals and businesses with a diverse range of experience, professional expertise and a genuine passion for promoting Spanish trade, business, communication and culture in Australia.
La Camara aims to be the preeminent point of reference for Spanish companies interested in investing in Australia, as well as for Australian companies willing to develop and expand their business in Spain.
From the very beginning, these initial members had the support and advice of the Spanish Trade Commission, given that the purpose of the association was to become the Spanish Official Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Australia.
After only one year La Camara became a reality, The Official Spanish-Australian Chamber of Commerce is an incorporated association formed under and governed by the Associations Incorporation Act 2009 (“the Act”) in the State of New South Wales and operates at a national level. Currently over 70 companies are formal members, including individuals, small and medium organisations and large corporate members.
Our Mission, Vision and Values
Mission
Our mission is to promote and facilitate the creation of business links between our members.
Vision
Our vision is to become the preeminent point of reference for the Spanish Australian Business community.
Values
Our values are integrity, transparency and accountability, ensuring leadership and diversity within our board and management team, striving for excellence and innovation in our work and the services to our members and the broader community.
Honorary Roles
H. E. Alicia Moral Revilla
Honorary President
Ambassador of Spain to Australia
Ms. Ana Raquel García Rubio
Honorary Vice-President
Head of Economic and Trade Office,
Spanish Embassy
Patron
Christopher Brown AM
Patron of La Camara
Board Members
Sylvia Fernandez
Sylvia Fernandez is a senior partner at Thomson Geer and an experienced litigation lawyer with international and multiindustry experience. Sylvia is Australian born of Spanish parents and is fluent in spoken and written Spanish. She is also an experienced team leader.
Sylvia has been a member of the Board of La Camara since 2011 and served as President from July 2014 to July 2018 after served as Vice-President and Secretary and is currently serving as President again.
She brings to the Board exceptional corporate legal expertise, a solid understanding of corporate governance as well as experience with government, major corporates and multinationals. This, together with her Spanish heritage makes Sylvia a solid contributor to La Camara’s Board.
Sylvia Fernandez
president
Senior Partner
Thomson Geer
Pablo Santos
Pablo is a Director at S&L – an Australian company founded by two Spanish entrepreneur’s. S&L is a medium to heavy steel fabricator that specializes in complex projects within Mining, Road and Rail Infrastructure, Defence and the Commercial sector throughout Australia.
Pablo is a CPA and also holds a Masters in Business Operations Management degree from UTS. He is also a qualified lawyer from the Sydney University.
Prior to joining S&L, Pablo worked for CSR within its Building Products division and within the Ethanol business. A milestone in Pablo’s career was the involvement in the sale transaction of Dairy Farmers to Kirin for $910M in 2008.
Pablo’s main focus with La Camara is to foster greater relationships between Spanish and Australian stakeholders within Supply Chain and Infrastructure sectors.
Pablo is currently serving as Vice-President.
Pablo Santos
National Vice-president
Director
S&L Steel
Pedro Pellón Lescot
Pedro is the Director of CAF Rail Australia, Australian subsidiary of CAF, since 2015. Pedro has more than 15 years of international experience in the Transport and Telecommunications sectors.
Since his arrival to Australia, CAF has grown considerably in the region winning projects valued at more than 1.6billion AUD in the region and becoming a key player in the rolling stock and rail systems sectors. CAF has now a local presence of around 100 staff in Australia. Pedro has a deep understanding of complex projects including PPP’s and DBOM’s.
Pedro brings to La Camara his international and constructive thinking, together with his experience managing stakeholders and partners in demanding environments. Pedro is currently serving as Secretary.
Pedro Pellón Lescot
Secretary
Director
CAF Rail Australia
Andres Checa Salazar
Andres is the Finance Director for Ferrovial Construction Australia where he manages the accounting and financial control functions of the business. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and brings to La Camara over 20 years of international experience.
His construction career commenced in Spain, followed by the UK where he was primarily involved in the delivery of large scale buildings and airports, most notably Heathrow Airport. He relocated to Australia in 2018 and has been a member and Treasurer of the Board of La Camara since 2020.
Andres aims to utilise his skills to benefit the association in meeting its objectives and fostering links between members and the Spanish-Australian communities more widely.
Andres Checa Salazar
Treasurer
Finance Director
Ferrovial Construction(Australia) Pty Ltd
Pilar Gomez
HR professional who has had the opportunity to work in sectors as diverse as banking, telecommunications and, since September 2004 in the new sector of Sustainable Development (Acciona), first as Director of Development and Top Executives, then in Acciona Agua as HR Director for the water business and since 2014 leading the HR function in Australia, NZ and SEA Region, first for the Infrastructure and Renewable Energy portfolio and since 2019, focused on the Infrastructure portfolio in Australia & New Zealand, due to the rapid growth of the business in this region.
Throughout these years in Acciona she has been responsible for designing and implementing Talent Acquisition policies, Training (Corporate University) and Development as well as consolidating the HR function in the different businesses that she has worked for.
With tertiary qualifications in Psychology and Human Resources, together with her Executive MBA and Masters in Labour Relations, Pilar has a passion for promoting Diversity in the workforce as a key factor to promote productivity and increase the success of any business. She provides a great understanding of the impact people make within a business and the importance of aligning employee’s commitment and motivation with business objectives.
PILAR Gómez
Board Member
Human Resources Director
Acciona Infrastructure Australia
Manuel Gonzalez
With 18+ years of international contract and project management experience, Manuel has been involved since 2000 in key infrastructure projects worldwide, including A13 project in London, EastLink in Melbourne or the more recent ones of Waterview tunnel in NZ and WestConnex in Sydney.
In 2011, Manuel promoted to MD of SICE AUS and SICE NZ and since then he has being involved the following projects: OMCS for the M5W project, ConnectEast back-office replacement, T2E tunnel, Waterview tunnel, TRARM and WestConnex (stages 1B and 2). In these projects, Manuel was responsible for the contractual relation with clients including InterLink Roads, Road and Maritime Services (RMS), ConnectEast, CPB, John Holland, Lend Lease and NZTA.
Manuel is also the Chairman of the O&M Alliance for the Waterview tunnel since 2016.
Manuel González
Board Member
Managing Director
Sice ANZ
Carlos Vidal Jimenez
Carlos is a Director with over twenty years of experience successfully leading different technology and industry solutions in United States, Europe, Latam, Asia, Asia Pacific and Australia.
Carlos is responsible for Management and Development of Asia Pacific, South East Asia and Australia Business units for Transportation and Infrastructure markets. This included the defining and execution of strategic direction and business regional specific objectives. Carlos has extensive experience in leading and managing diverse teams within assigned geographical regions.
From November 2012 to October 2018, Carlos was led the management of the Malaysian business unit for the Transportation Railways market. Partnering with senior management in defining strategic direction and business unit specific objectives. Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Indra Malaysia, and performs oversight functions in the rest of the Southeast Asia infrastructure projects.
Carlos joined Indra in May 2007 as Senior Manager for the Railways Transport Market in Spain and subsequently for LATAM. He was responsible for project management including assignment of resources, supervision of size and scope of project and quality control.
Carlos has extensive experience in managing business strategy, budgets, P&Ls and cost controls to ensure that project objectives are achieved within budget and timelines ensuring project deliverables are aligned with customer expectations. Throughout his career, he has trained and developed his individual team members to ensure their career growth and professional development. He is an inclusive manager and his coaching and mentoring is valued by the team members.
Prior to Indra, Carlos gained his experience as a Project Manager in the private sector within the international automotive market.
Carlos holds a Postgraduate Degree in Strategic Management from the Polytechnic University of Madrid; a Master’s in Business Administration from the IE University; an Executive MBA from the IE business School; and a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelor Degree in Industrial Engineering from the Superior Technical School of Industrial Engineering (ETSII) of the UNED.
Carlos currently lives in Sydney, is married and has one child.
Carlos Vidal Jiménez
Board Member
General Manager for Transport for APAC
Indra Australia
Brian Satterthwaite
Brian Satterthwaite is currently a Director with Assetinsure following 29 years corporate and institutional banking experience in Australia. '
He has worked predominantly with international banks, with the last 10 spent as Country Head/Chief Representative of BBVA in Sydney. During these years he has worked with many Australian and international clients.
His focus being the infrastructure, energy, transport and renewables sectors. He has been a proud and active member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce since 2016. Brian has Bachelor of Economics from Sydney University, a Graduate Diploma in in Applied Finance and Investments from the Securities Institute of Australia and a Master of Applied Finance from Macquarie University.
Brian is CFTO Senior Member, Finance and Treasury Association (FTA), a Member of Asia-Pacific Loan Markets Association (APLMA), and a Board Member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce.
Brian Satterthwaite
Board Member
Director
Assetinsure
Alfonso Vega de Seoane
Alfonso is Director of ASLAT Consulting, a consulting firm which provides commercial representation services to Spanish Companies in Australia.
Alfonso holds a Bachelor in Industrial Engineering and has over 7 years of international business development experience in Spain, UK and Australia. In 2013, after spending 4 years as head of Abengoa Solar in Australia, Alfonso decided to establish a consulting firm to assist Spanish companies entering and operating in the Australian market in the sectors of infrastructure and energy.
Alfonso believes there is an existing opportunity to import Spanish technology and know-how in critical sectors such as energy, infrastructures and water; and is strong advocate of the brand “España”.
He is determined to market and promote the capabilities, experience and competitiveness of Spanish companies operating in the Australian market. Alfonso brings a wealth of experience in international business development, strong networking and social capabilities and is well known within the Spanish community in Australia. He obtained his Permanent Residency visa in 2013 with a view to living in Australia permanently.
Alfonso Vega de Seoane
Board Member
Director
ASLAT Consulting
Carmen Verdu
Carmen Verdu is a civil Civil Engineering with 17 years of experience working in multidisciplinary fields.
Carmen started her career as a structural engineer taking on a broad range of different responsibilities early in the Spanish booming infrastructure market a decade ago. During this period Carmen worked in construction supervision and the design of a wide variety of structures and road projects.
In 2010 Carmen moved into leadership roles internationally, coordinating the work on-site and dealing with local clients and partners. Carmen participated in big tenders and concept designs for railway projects in UAE, Kazakhstan and Croatia, working as Technical Coordinator, Design Manager/Project Manager.
In 2016 Carmen moved to Australia and she is currently the General Manager and Executive Director of TYPSA in Australia. Carmen has contributed to successfully establishing the business locally, being responsible and accountable for its operation.
The variety of roles across different countries has allowed Carmen to grow and learn to work in a collaborative multicultural and diverse work environment, being able to multitask whilst keeping focused on the results, and always bringing integrity and professionalism to the forefront.
Carmen Verdú
Board Member
General Manager and Executive Director
TYPSA
Management Team
