BritishAmerican Business (BAB) is proud to present the TAG Masterclass Series 2020. This campaign celebrates the special relationship and recognises companies from SMEs to MNCs that continue to invest in the transatlantic economy, create growth, prosperity and jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.

The TAG Masterclass series of roundtables brings together senior executives from a selection of companies recognised for their contributions to ‘TransAtlantic Growth’. The simple objective for each virtual roundtable is to convene a discussion on how companies are responding to the current challenges including digital transformation, the blended workplace and leadership strategies for future transatlantic growth and investment.

At this roundtable we welcome Wilson Del Socorro, Global Director of Government Affairs for Diageo and Margaret (Peggy) Smyth, Chief Financial Officer of National Grid to discuss their significant investment in the US Market in 2019, the investment process and strategic challenges, the effects and resiliency of these challenges and the global pandemic and future strategies.

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.

Emanuel Adam, Executive Director London, BritishAmerican Business

Emanuel Adam is Executive Director of BritishAmerican Business in London. He is also Director of Policy & Trade at BritishAmerican Business (BAB) with its presence in the UK and the US, and oversees the policy & trade support for the chapters of the British-American Business Council (BABC) across the UK and the US.

In his role as Executive Director, Emanuel oversees the day to day operations of the London office including Membership and Events. In his role as Director of Policy & Trade, Emanuel is responsible for the development and execution of the organisation’s policy advocacy and trade & investment portfolio. He represents leading transatlantic businesses with Governments in the US and the UK.

Emanuel’s work is regularly featured and quoted on matters relating to trade and investment. He has been widely recognized for his trade outreach campaign work on transatlantic trade and investment.

Before assuming his current position, Emanuel worked at BritishAmerican Business as Analyst, Policy and Public Affairs Manager and Head of Policy & Trade. Prior to joining BAB, Emanuel was a Policy Advisor at the Trans-Atlantic Business Council (TABC) and EU Administrator at the former TransAtlantic Business Dialogue (TABD), in Brussels.

Emanuel holds a MA in Public Policy and Administration from University of Potsdam, Germany; further academic institutions he studied at include the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt/Oder, Germany; Sciences at Sciences Po Paris, France, and Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, US. Emanuel is an Alumni of the Foundation of German Business (SDW) and the Fulbright Commission.

Emanuel is a German-born national, fluent in German, English and French.