Investment specialists, USA

Chris Knepler
Investment Commissioner, Chicago

Tel: +1 312 374 9401

Chris Knepler manages US Midwest operations for the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade). Priority sectors for investment attraction include economic and tourism infrastructure, clean energy, advanced manufacturing, resources technology and innovation.

Chris joined Austrade New York in 2003 and has since worked on a variety of strategic projects in the United States, Australia and Brazil.

Chris has a decade of marketing, strategy and international business development experience in the telecommunications industry, including with Motorola, Ameritech and Deutsche Telecom. He has also been on the management team of two New York City-based, venture-backed technology start-ups. Chris has lived and worked in Hungary, France, Indonesia, Australia and Brazil.

Chris holds a Master of Business Administration (Management of Technology) from the University of California at Berkeley.

Richard Leather
Senior Trade Commissioner USA/Canada

Tel: +1 646 344 8120

Richard Leather joined the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) as Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for the United States in 2012.

He was previously an Executive Director at Gresham Partners and a member of the Board of Directors of Gresham Partners Capital. Prior to this, Mr Leather was a Director of Cosway Australia; Principal Consultant for Rubicon Partners and; a General Manager at Edelman Public Relations Worldwide.

Kelly Ralston
Senior Trade Commissioner, Washington DC

Kelly Ralston took up the position of Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner in the Embassy of Australia in Washington, DC in late 2011. She is responsible for Austrade’s trade and investment operations in the mid-Atlantic and southern regions of the United States and leads the promotion of Australia’s international education across the United States and Canada.

Kelly has worked with Austrade in various corporate and strategy roles since 2001. In 2008 Kelly led Austrade's participation in the Review of Export Policies and Programs conducted by David Mortimer and Dr John Edwards. During 2010-11, Kelly led a Secretariat commissioned by the then Austrade CEO to conduct the whole-of-organisation Review of Austrade’s Operations.

Kelly Sims
Investment Commissioner, San Francisco

Tel: +1 415 644 3627

Kelly Sims is the Investment Commissioner for San Francisco, and USA Investment Team Leader. She coordinates Austrade’s investment attraction strategy across the United States, and also provides input and direction throughout the Americas.

Kelly has specific responsibility for West Coast-based US investors and companies which have a strong focus on technology, including Clean Tech, IT, Life Sciences, and Financial Services. Her experience also includes working with major global and Fortune 500 companies already established in Australia to help them invest further in R&D, manufacturing, and strategic operations.

Kelly holds an Honours Degree in Environmental Science from the University of Wollongong and a Masters of Management in Industry Strategy from the Australian National University.

Nigel Warren
Consul General and Senior Trade Commissioner, San Francisco

Tel: +1 415 644 3625

Nigel Warren is Australia’s Consul-General and Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner based in San Francisco. He is Australia’s diplomatic representative with Consular, Trade, Education and Investment program responsibilities across seven Western states of the United States of America.

From 2004-2009 Nigel was Australia’s Senior Trade Commissioner Latin America, based in Santiago, Chile. He managed Australia’s Trade and Investment programs throughout Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile and Argentina. During this time Australia and Chile entered into a Free Trade Agreement, the first Free Trade Agreement for Australia in Latin America. Nigel was also the Vice President of Worldwide Sales for Equilibrium Inc., a US enterprise software technology company based in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a Board member and member of the Executive management team he grew the company’s business throughout the United States and Europe from 2000 to 2004.

Nigel has also represented Australia as the Western Region Investment Director for Invest Australia in San Francisco, working with major US corporations to expand and invest in Australia. He has also worked in a range of client service and management roles within the Queensland and Japanese Tourism Industry.

Nigel has worked extensively across the United States of America, Latin America and the Asia Pacific region and is a graduate of Griffith University in Brisbane Australia. He speaks Spanish and has a degree in International Business (Japanese). The Sunshine Coast in Queensland Australia is his home base.