The 17th annual gala dinner and 'Personality of the Year' awards took place at the London Hilton on Park Lane on Tuesday 12 May. This popular black-tie event recognises the achievements of two business leaders – one Brazilian, one British – who have been particularly instrumental in forging closer commercial ties between Brazil and the UK.
The recipients of the 2015 Personality of the Year awards were Marcos Molina and Sir Martin Sorrell.
Marcos Molina is the chairman of Marfrig Global Foods, a multinational food-service company (focusing on poultry, ready meals and processed foods) with operations in Brazil and 16 other countries. It has become a major investor in the UK through Moy Park, one of the largest producers of poultry in Europe.
Sir Martin Sorrell is the chief executive and founder of WPP, the world's leading advertising and marketing services group. WPP is an important investor in Brazil and owns several Brazilian businesses.
Brazil's finance minister, Joaquim Levy, was the keynote speaker at the gala dinner.
Mr Levy took office on January 1 this year at the beginning of President Dilma Rousseff's second term of office. Before his appointment as finance minister he was head of asset management at Banco Bradesco (2010-14); finance secretary in the Rio de Janeiro state government (2007-10); and secretary of the Brazilian national treasury (2003-06). He has also worked for the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago.
AUDIO: Mr Levy's speech at the gala dinner 2015
To purchase any of the photos of the event, please follow the link http://www.smilephotography.net/events/?id=502
