About Nigel
Based in our San Francisco office, Nigel has responsibility for the San Francisco, New York Boston, Washington DC and Santiago Victorian Government Trade and Investment (VGTI) offices.
These offices support Victoria’s trade and investment engagement in the USA, Canada and Latin America.
Prior to his current role, Nigel was the Executive Director of Growth for CSIRO, Australia’s National Science agency. Nigel has previously held senior diplomatic postings in the Americas region for the Australian government leading trade and investment teams in San Francisco and in Latin America. He has also held senior global leadership roles in the private sector including a Vice President role for a USA-based technology company.
Meet our USA and Canada team
From our San Franciso office
Brian Carnahan
Senior Trade Director
San Francisco
Brian leads the Americas trade team delivering business opportunities for Victorian companies in the US and Canada by developing business engagement programs and assisting companies to establish new export markets or to expand their presence.
Brian joined Global Victoria's San Francisco trade and investment office in 2007 and has been advising Australian companies on export strategy and planning for 15 years.
Prior to his current role, he was District Manager for the Australian Trade Commission and opened up new trade offices in Phoenix, Arizona and Fresno, California. His responsibilities included a regional focus on Australian exports to Arizona and California.
Previously he held the position of National Sales Manager for NTech Industries where he established a worldwide distribution network and opened up markets in the US, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, South America, and Asia. Additional experience includes grain and fruit processing while working for ConAgra Inc. and Apple Time and with electronic data collection.
Sharmaine Ramasamy
Senior Director, Investment and Operations
San Francisco
Sofia O'Hara
Trade Manager, Americas
San Francisco
From our New York office
Mary Ann Jones
Senior Director,
New York
A native of Canada, Mary Ann joined the Victorian Government in 2014. In her current role, Mary Ann acts as the Canada lead for the North American team and also oversees official visits from Victoria to North America.
Mary Ann began her career in government in Ottawa, Canada where she worked at several public firms and government agencies. In this capacity, Mary Ann lead on several cross country public relations initiatives for various federal government departments, including Industry Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.
She moved to the United States in 2003 and took a position at the Canadian Consulate in New York City as a Senior Political, Economic Relations and Public Affairs Officer. During her time at the Consulate, Mary Ann was responsible for managing key relationships at the local, state and federal levels of the US Government and to advocate Canada’s position on various cross-border issues.
Mildred Ruiz Leal
Trade Manager for Consumer Goods, Beauty Wellness and Personal Care
New York
Mildred has been working in economic development for over 15 years. In 2010, she started working for ProMexico (Mexican Trade and Investment Commission) as State Director for Nuevo Leon, Mexico. In 2012, she was selected as Deputy Trade and Investment Commissioner for the New York office based on national competition for posting while Director of Nuevo Leon.
In 2015, Mildred was selected as Trade and Investment Commissioner for the Northeast region, based in New York. With experience both in the private and public sectors, she has worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico City as well as the Mexican Embassies in Japan and the United States.
For over six years, Mildred worked as a senior consultant for a French consultancy firm in Paris, where she conducted economic development projects for the European Commission.
Connect with Mildred if you're a Victorian company requiring assistance establishing new export markets, or expanding your existing presence in the Americas (including North America, Canada and Mexico).
Luke Lucas
Trade Manager, Food and Beverage
New York
Luke is passionate about drawing upon his on-the-ground experience to assist Victorian food and beverage companies expand and thrive in the dynamic North American market.
Based out of the San Francisco office, Luke joined Global Victoria in August 2022. Prior to joining Global Victoria, he co-founded and ran a specialty food brand in Australia called Foddies.
Specialising in the production of Low FODMAP, gluten free and other free-from products, Luke oversaw the growth of the company from a small outlet in Melbourne to a nationally distributed product range covering both frozen and ambient lines.
Luke relocated to the USA in 2021 to spearhead the expansion of the company into the US market starting with an eCommerce and Amazon strategy to establish a beachhead in the USA.
Joya Raha
Investment Director
New York
From our Washington DC office
Karen Loughran
Senior Director Defence and Aerospace
Washington DC
Karen’s duties include developing and managing the Victorian Government’s Defence and Aerospace investment attraction and trade program helping to raise awareness in the market of Victorian Defence and Aerospace capabilities.
In addition, Karen helps promote Victorian Australian industry capabilities within the Americas, including the planning and execution of Australian representation at major industry trade exhibitions and specific trade missions. At the same time providing specialist advice on Government policy initiatives aimed at attracting inward investment and growth within Victoria Australia’s domestic industrial base.
Daniel Halpin
Trade Manager, Technology
Washington DC
A native of Scotland, Daniel has previously worked for the UK's Department of International Trade in New York and Chicago where he supported UK companies from technology and creative industries in the US market.
He leads trade activity in the technology industries through the development of programs in-market, providing advice to and connecting Victorian companies with opportunities throughout their US expansion journey.
Connect with Daniel if you're looking to explore and expand your tech innovation into the US and Canadian markets.
Mitch Larsen
Trade Manager, Mining and METS, Infrastructure, Energy, Advanced Manufacturing and Transportation
Washington DC
Before joining Global Victoria, Mitch held several positions for the United States Department of Commerce, both in the U.S. and overseas.
In Washington, Mitch was the Executive Director of the Office of Europe and Eurasia, and Senior Advisor in the Department’s SelectUSA program – America’s premier investment attraction operation. He has also held a position as Manager of Commerce’s U.S. Export Assistance Center in Northern Illinois and an International Trade Specialist in San Francisco.
Mitch was also a U.S. foreign commercial service officer in Belgium, South Korea, Chile, Iraq, Guatemala, Melbourne and Ukraine.
From our Boston office
Carolin McCaffrey
Trade and Investment Director
Biotechnology Life Sciences, Medical R&D and Technology
Boston
Before joining Global Victoria, Carolin was the Senior Investment Officer at the Consulate General of Canada in Boston where she led all Foreign Direct Investment initiatives to support US companies starting operations in Canada.
As an international executive and business development enthusiast, Carolin has dedicated her career to supporting multinational organisations to enter and grow in new markets. She has helped companies of all sizes in Europe and North America to increase their global presence and has also worked to advance vocational education and training to close the worldwide skills gap. She has served as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the German International School in Boston.
Carolin’s expertise includes cross-cultural consulting, executive coaching and training, with a focus on intercultural skills. She has designed and conducted numerous international business trainings throughout Europe and North America.
Meet our Latin America team
From our Santiago office
Natalia Gorroño
Senior Trade and Investment Director
Latin America
Natalia leads the Victorian Government's trade, investment and education activities across Latin America.
Before joining the Victorian Government, Natalia worked for Austrade in Chile where she successfully developed and led a range of high-profile activities to position Australia’s expertise in the water sector across Latin America.
Natalia supported major Australian companies entering Latin America and developed Austrade’s initiatives in the mining exploration, energy, agriculture and food sectors in Chile.
Natalia has also provided business services and strategic advice to companies operating in the mining and energy industries in Chile. She has worked with some of Chile’s largest energy development companies providing strategic advice on community engagement and conflict resolution.
An Australian trained lawyer, Natalia studied a Bachelor of Laws at Bond University, was admitted as a solicitor in Queensland and also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Bond University and La Sorbonne. Natalia was sits on the board of the Chile Australia Chamber of Commerce (Auscham).
Raised in the heart of Chilean Patagonia, Natalia is passionate about the outdoors. She is a keen kite surfer, mountain biker and horse rider.
Pablo Schatz
Trade and Investment Director
Latin America
Pablo supports Victorian companies in identifying and advancing business opportunities in Latin America. He also leads investment facilitation from the region into Victoria.
Pablo provides political, economic and market entry advice to Victorian companies, facilitates business matching, designs and delivers trade development programs and works collaboratively with business chambers, industry associations and government stakeholders to advance the interests of Victorian companies.
Before joining the Victorian Government Trade and Investment (VGTI) office for Latin America, Pablo served as senior policy officer and program manager at the Australian Embassy in Santiago, with responsibilities over Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela. He has prior experience in law firms, local government, international organisations and NGOs in Latin America and Australia.
Macarena Fuentes
Trade Manager
Latin America
Born in Santiago, Macarena is an Australian-trained lawyer with a Bachelor of Business and Master of Laws in Government and Commercial Law. Her previous roles before joining Global Victoria included working within the government sector at the Australian Fisheries Safety Authority and Civil Aviation Safety Authority.
Upon her return to Chile in 2016, Macarena worked as a Business Development Manager, developing strategic relationships with business and industry leaders in Latin America to support Australian companies in gaining market entry into the region. She has participated in and organised conferences in Chile, Colombia, Perú and Australia (IMARC), within the mining, technology and transportation industry.
Macarena supports Victorian companies by driving trade opportunities and developing strategies that initiate and manage export promotion activities between Victoria and Latin America.
Our Americas office locations
San Francisco
575 Market St Ste 2080
San Francisco, CA 94105 United States
Email the San Francisco office
New York
675 Third Ave
8th Floor Suite 816
New York, NY 10166
United States
Washington DC
1530 Wilson Blvd, Suite 650
Arlington, VA 22209
United States
Email the Washington DC office
Boston
One Broadway,
14th Floor
Cambridge MA 02142,
United States
Santiago
Burgos 80
Office 301B
Las Condes, Santiago, Chile