Wilson Del Socorro, Global Director of Government Affairs, Diageo
Based in London, Wilson is the Global Director of Government Affairs at Diageo and leads a team of policy experts and economists to drive the company’s global strategy on public affairs, international trade and regulatory policy around the world. He represents Diageo on a number of industry groups and committees and is a sought after speaker on global policy trends, international trade developments and private sector engagement.
Wilson has extensive international experience operating in emerging markets. He was previously the Corporate Relations Director for Southeast Asia where he was responsible for delivering Diageo’s strategy covering public affairs, communications and sustainable development initiatives across ASEAN and other South Asia frontier markets. Before joining Diageo, Wilson was with KPMG Australia providing public policy and government relations advisory services to multinational clients across a range of industries. He has degrees in law and economics from the Australian National University and is an alumni of the University of Oxford’s Reputation Academy programme.
Diageo is a manufacturer of alcoholic beverages, with a focus on spirits and beer. The British-based Diageo recently relocated its primary North America office to New York City from Norwalk, CT investing $31 million.
Margaret (Peggy) Smyth, Chief Financial Officer, National Grid, US
Peggy Smyth is the Chief Financial Officer of National Grid US, one of the one of the largest investor-owned utilities globally. Customer value and energy affordability are cornerstones of her work. Peggy is highly experienced in organizational effectiveness and change. She is known for leading team transformations resulting in increased productivity, engagement and performance.
Under Peggy’s leadership, National Grid is driving the transition to the clean energy future, developing financing models for new energy solutions like battery storage, solar energy and the expansion of electric vehicles (EV). Peggy has a personal interest in advancing sustainability accounting practices and is a Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) FSA Credential Holder. She led a CFO roundtable at the United Nations in 2018, spearheading dialogue about the business case for sustainable decision-making and the role of CFOs in making change. Peggy was recently included in GreenBiz News’ list of 20 C-Suite Sustainability Champions for 2020.
Peggy was formerly Vice President of Finance at Consolidated Edison, Inc. and prior was Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance at Hamilton Sundstrand, a United Technologies (UTC) company. She has held financial leadership roles at 3M, Deloitte and Arthur Andersen.
Peggy is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow and a member of the Board of Directors of British-American Business and Organization for International Investment. Additionally, she is a director and member of the audit committee of Etsy, Inc. (NASDAQ: ETSY) and an audit committee member of two subsidiaries of Mutual of America. She is a member of the Executive Committee of the President’s Council for Fordham University, her alma mater. Peggy previously served as a member of the IFRS Interpretations Committee for five years.
Peggy resides with her family in New York, has a second home in County Roscommon, Ireland and maintains dual citizenship.
National Grid is a multinational electricity and gas utility company. National Grid has ploughed a record of almost £2bn into its booming US-based business.