This week, we shared the exciting news that we have a new vice-president joining the Executive Committee of our Chamber: Cristina Ginés Pallarés, who is the Business Development Director for Europe at SENER. Read on to find out a little more about our new VP and her thoughts about her new role!
Hi Cristina! Please tell us about you, and about your role at SENER
“I have both an LLM in European Law and an MBA but I have worked in the engineering consultancy sector for the past 20+ years. I am currently the Business Development Director for Europe within the Infrastructure Unit at SENER Engineering. We are an engineering consultancy firm which has been working in the UK since 2013 and we’re currently involved in some important projects across the country, such as HS2 and the Edinburgh Tramway. SENER Engineering’s portfolio of high-tech projects covers a wide range of fields and locations, from thermosolar plants in Africa to High Speed Lines in California. I am proud of the team of professionals that we have in the company and the role of SENER in the wider society.”
What are the aspects that you enjoy the most about being a member of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce in the UK?
“Being a member of the Spanish Chamber has a lot advantages and you have to make use of them. Networking is one of the key aspects, and in a way the most enjoyable one, but it is definitely not the only one. The Chamber keeps its members very well informed and updated about matters that are quite important for a business to run in a foreign country. The diversity of sectors represented in the Chamber’s network is also another of its great strengths. Sometimes we can judge the business environment only through the lens of the sector in which we work, but often there might well be much more to it.”
What are the challenges that you are looking forward to in your new role as a vice president of the Spanish Chamber?
“We are living through a particularly momentous and critical time at the moment: Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, climate change…There is a great deal of actions that we can take to try to help companies to better face these challenges. I just hope that I can manage to find the right amount of time to dedicate to the Chamber. Maybe that is also a challenge in itself and I definitely hope not to fall short…!”
And finally, what do you like to do in your spare time?
“For the past six years I have split my time between London and Madrid and going for long walks with my son in either of these wonderful cities is something that I enjoy very much. Apart from that, I could go for the classics: watching a good series, reading a good novel, but honestly… a dinner with my girlfriends, that takes the cake!”
Thank you and welcome once again to the Executive Committee, Cristina!
To find out more about Cristina you can do so here, and to find out more about SENER, please click here.