BCS COUNCIL BIOS
Chris McLauchlan
Chair
I was born in Rio de Janeiro and am a British citizen. I am married to Moira, and we have two adult children who attended the British School in Rio. I graduated in Electrical Engineering from PUC–Petrópolis and spent over 30 years with Texaco and Chevron in the lubricants industry before retiring. I have had the privilege of serving as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the British School and as President of the St. Andrew Society of Rio de Janeiro. I enjoy playing squash and have a keen interest in sport.
William Ballantyne
Hon. Treasurer
William (Bill) Ballantyne was born in Georgetown, Guyana, went to School in Carlisle, and became a Chartered Accountant in Manchester. His family roots are both in Angus, Scotland, and in St. Helens, Merseyside. Bill moved to Brazil in 1975. He has run the Rio Office of major professional service firms, leading their Energy & Natural Resources practice for Brazil. Bill served as Honorary Treasurer of The British School, for 4 years, and as Board Member of the British Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Brazil, for 4 decades. Bill is the Treasurer of the BCS. Currently, he also serves on the Audit Committees of the Brazil Foundation, as Chair, and of Itanhangá Golf Club. Bill loves cricket, rugby, football, golf and music but has no talent in any of these activities. Husband of Anna, an Italo-Carioca, father of Andrew, an old boy of The British School who lives in Adelaide, Australia.
Margo Black
Hon. Secretary
Born in Scotland but brought up in Mexico and Nicaragua, Margo has lived in Rio since 2000. Prior to her retirement in 2018, she was a senior executive in the insurance industry both in the UK and Brazil. She has been Chair of the Royal British Legion (Rio Branch), has served on the British School Board and on the St Andrew Society Committee and is currently on the NRH/BCS Investment Committee and is a Trustee of the BCS. Since becoming involved with the BCS, she has been Deputy Chair, Welfare Officer and is currently the Honorary Secretary. Margo has one daughter (a former pupil of the British School) who now lives in Singapore and two little grandchildren.
Moira McLauchlan
Welfare
Born in São Paulo and educated in Scotland, Moira has lived in Rio for over 30 years. Prior to retirement she worked as Administrative Manager at a major law firm. She has been Hon. Secretary of the Board of The British School, a Warden of Christ Church, and is currently a Trustee of the British Burial Fund. Moira has headed up the Welfare Committee of the BCS for the last year and a half, and in her spare time enjoys teaching English to under-privileged kids and pilates.
Martin Hester
Member
Has been a resident of Brazil since 1971, working firstly as a financial executive for RTZ and Brascan, and afterwards as CEO of his own company, Alta Assessoria, Alta was the intermediary for Scottish companies producing software for the oil industry, working with Petrobras for 35 years. Martin has contributed to the BCS for many years, as Treasurer from 2010 to 2014 and more recently as a member of RevComm, the Committee which revised the BCS Statutes. In the musical field, Martin has participated in or promoted events in the Queen Elizabeth Hall for more than 50 years. He founded the Society de Cultura Musical and the Beatles Choir, initiated the BCS Beatles Night (together with Neville Thorley) and the BCS Choir Festival, and wrote a column “Good Listening” for the Umbrella from 2004 to 2017. He now lives in Itaipava.
Richard Laver
Member
Born in Rio, the son of a Croatian mother and a British father. He holds a degree in Business and Law, he is the managing partner at Comunica, the largest Simultaneous Interpretation Services Company in Brazil, providing both interpreters and equipment for events. He also owns Calabouço a live music rock venue. He started preparing for his role as a simultaneous translator by being in the cast of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Iolanthe, staged by The Players in October 1989, in which he played a very small Peer. Richard was elected to the Council in 2016 as an Alternate and became a full member in 2017 and has been a full Council Member since.
Andrew Lowe
Member
British citizen and Brazilian permanent resident, married. Born in the United Kingdom, Andrew grew up in Winchester, Hampshire attending a catholic independent school in Southampton. Andrew is an Economics graduate from the University of Warwick. Andrew spent over 20 years in the City of London primarily in investment banking before moving into corporate finance for a family office in London. Andrew subsequently established a technical consultancy and advisory business in 2010 in London for private funds, primarily real estate. Andrew set up a connected business in Sao Paulo in 2021 and has since resided in Rio de Janeiro.
David Gray
Member
British citizen from Manchester, married to Fernanda from Rio. Alumni of the London School of Economics, University of Oxford, and Columbia Business School/University of Hong Kong. Started as a strategy consultant and now working for a US food tech company after living and working across Asia for 10 years in healthcare, insurance, and for the UK government. Huge Arsenal and Flamengo fan!
Jacqueline Lang
Member
Originally from South Manchester, now living in Urca , married to Steve, three children one of whom is studying at the British School. Well travelled Teacher of Geography and History having previously worked in East Africa and El Salvador and is currently home schooling middle child and trying to learn Portuguese. Likes swimming, racket sports, walking the dog and reading .