WorldCity Business Magazine

WorldCity People

by Joachim Bamrud

Felipe Espil to lead VW Latin America

Felipe Aja Espil leaves behind a booming business in Argentina, where he was general manager of VW Argentina, to head up the regional office of Volkswagen Group Latin America in Miami. From his base in South Florida, Aja Espil will oversee a massive operation, including factories in Mexico, Brazil and Argentina.

Aja Espil spent the past seven years with VW Argentina, first as marketing director and, since 2000, as general manager. VW sales in Argentina have recovered sharply since 2001, when the country suffered its worst economic collapse in more than century. Car sales more than tripled from 9,000 in 2002 to 30,000 last year. And this year, the company is expecting sales to double yet again.

A former banker, Aja Espil has bachelor’s degree from the University of Buenos Aires and postgraduate degree from the Instituto de Altos Estudios Empresariales, a top Argentine business school.

Castonguay, new man at POMTOC helm

Fred Castonguay, former chief operating officer of Asia Container Terminals in Hong Kong, is the new senior vice president and general manager of the Port of Miami Port Operating Company (POMTOC), a privately managed container terminal located on property leased from the Port of Miami. He replaces Brooks Royster III, who moved on to Baltimore, and a new job as executive director of the Maryland Port Administration.

Before joining Asia Container, Castonguay was general manager of Venezuela’s Puerto Cabello. Prior to that he held various management positions at ports in Long Beach, Tacoma, and Charlotte. A former lieutenant in the United States Naval Reserve, Castonguay has a bachelor of science in marine transportation from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Lawyer Menendez-Cambo in select company

Patricia Menendez-Cambo, chair of the global practice group at law firm Greenberg Traurig, was named by the National Law Year to its select “40 Under 40” list of overachieving lawyers under the age of 40.As the publication explains, the list identifies “40 of the leading young attorneys in various areas across the country who, we expect, will continue to exert influence in the legal profession.”

Menendez-Cambo was singled out for the corporate megadeals that she negotiated for Telefonica, when she was U.S. legal councel for the Spanish telecom giant from 2000 to 2002, on loan from Greenberg Traurig. While at Telefonica, Menendez-Cambo negotiated the contracts of two billion-dollar purchases Pegaso Telecomunicaciones and Motorola’s Mexican assets that helped catapult the company to the number two spot in the Mexican cellular phone industry.

In 2002, Menendez-Cambo returned to Greenberg-Traurig, where she has been since 1994, as the head of the firm’s international division. A first generation Cuban-American, Menendez-Cambo has an economics degree from the University of Miami and a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

Hogan & Hartson expands international practice

The Washington, D.C.-based international law firm Hogan & Hartson added two experienced attorneys, Luis Perez and Carlos Deupi, to its Miami roster in a bid to capture a larger share of South Florida’s growing international legal business.

Perez and Deupi, both former shareholders at Ackerman Senterfitt, will focus on Latin American business and multinational clients at Hogan & Hartson. The emphasis will be on foreign companies investing and doing business in the United States. Hogan & Hartson, which opened its Miami office in 2000, now has almost 30 attorneys.

Perez has a law degree from the Catholic University of America and earned a bachelor’s degree at Rollins College. Deupi has a law degree from Boston College and a bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Finance and Commerce at the University of Pennsylvania.

ITC re-appoints Patricoff to board

The Jay Molina International Trade Consortium (ITC), Miami-Dade’s official agency for international trade, re-appointed Miami attorney Harold Patricoff, a partner at Shutts & Bowen, to another two-year term on its board of directors. Patricoff heads the firm’s international dispute resolution practice, offering litigation strategies for U.S. and foreign-based clients.

Created in November 2002, the ITC is responsible for promoting Miami as a trade destination center. On of its primary tasks is participating in incoming and outgoing trade missions.

Zadikoff named Ex-Im Bank advisor

Gerald Zadikoff, CEO of Miami-based G.M. Selby & Associates, was appointed to the advisory board for Sub-Sahara Africa of the Export- Import Bank of the United States in Washington, D.C. Ambassador Howard Jeter, executive vice president of Goodworks International and a retired Foreign Service Officer who most recently served as the top U.S. envoy to Nigeria, will chair the advisory board.

G.M. Selby specializes in engineering and telecommunications consulting and has offices in South Africa, Nigeria and Algeria.

Hellman appoints new VP

Hellman Worldwide Logistics announced the appointment of Brian McConaghy as vice president for U.S. domestic operations, based in Miami. The German company said McConaghy’s primary responsibilities will be the strategic planning and development of the new U.S. domestic logistics product line for the company.

Previously, McConaghy worked as director, domestic operations at Target Logistics Services and as senior domestic operations manager at Lynden International.

Ruiz new president of FCBF

Karma Ruiz, president of World Wise Consulting, was elected president of the Florida Customs Brokers and Forwarders Association. Ruiz has more than 12 years of experience in customs issues, working with Miami clients such as law firm Holland & Knight and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, as well as with Long Beach client California Marine Terminals Corporation.

The Pennsylvania native received a Bachelors degree at the University of Pittsburgh where she studied international business and received certification in Western European studies and completed the Semester at Sea program.

Wolniewitz heads DHL’s aerospace division

Rodolfo Wolniewitz, former vice president of sales for DHL Express Latin America was promoted to senior director of the company’s North American aeronautics and aerospace division, tasked with developing and implementing customized solutions for aerospace clients.

Wolniewitz was vice president of sales for Latin America since 2002 and prior to that, VP for business development in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Before joining DHL in 2000, Wolniewitz spent 12 years with Lufthansa Cargo. He has a law degree from Anahuac University in Mexico City.

Katz Barron adds Chinese-speaking attorney

Trilingual attorney, Desiree Causon, has joined the international practice of the Miami and Fort Lauderdale law firm Katz Barron. Fluent in Chinese and Spanish, Cuason has been practicing law in Miami since 2001, in the areas of corporate law, taxation and international business transactions. Before that she spent a year as a tax specialist at KPMG in Miami.

Cuason has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Florida International University, a law degree from St. Thomas University and LL.M. in Taxation, with a specialty in international taxation, from the University of Miami Law School.