A dreamer, expert and prolific communicator with a passion for international trade.

Gabriela Castro-Fontoura is a Uruguayan economist who completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Durham (UK). After living in the UK for 13 years and gaining firsthand insight into how Europe views Latin America, she founded a consultancy 15 years ago to bridge European and South American businesses, with a focus on Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay. Her work centres on the agrifood sector, spanning strategy, marketing, sales, public relations, partnership development and project management.

An experienced facilitator of cross-border business, Gabriela has supported more than 200 companies and undertaken over 250 business trips across Latin America, specialising in agriculture and agritech. She is a frequent participant at agricultural and business events throughout Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Europe and the US.

Gabriela has taught international business expansion and Latin American business at Universidad Católica del Uruguay. A keen communicator, she has contributed to outlets including the BBC (regular columnist on Business Matters), The Economist Intelligence Unit, The Telegraph and The Times, and writes regularly for El Observador Agropecuario in Uruguay. Her work combines rigorous economic analysis with an aptitude for identifying and communicating strategic business opportunities in the region to a global audience not familiar with Mercosur and its intricacies. Gabriela has delivered conferences, interviews, and presentations to multicultural, multidisciplinary teams in English, Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese. Her ability to bring people together and to communicate with energy and technical robustness is one of the qualities most valued by clients, colleagues, and partners, and a key factor in advancing projects in a region that can often be challenging.

While primarily active in the private sector, Gabriela has led projects for export-promotion and trade organisations in Mercosur such as Enterprise Ireland, the UK Department for Business and Trade, and the US Department of Commerce. She has also delivered talks, projects and training sessions for Invest Northern Ireland, TFO Canada, Uruguay XXI, and several chambers of commerce from the UK. For nearly six years she has served as Beachhead Advisor for New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) in Uruguay.

Gabriela has put together a world-class team for this podcast, who challenge her to become a better a professional, and a better person, every day.