María González is Principal for International Relations at the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA). She is responsible for international policy, city-region diplomacy and engagement with the FCDO and foreign diplomatic missions in the UK. María has got over 20 year experience in working in European and international policy and is the lead officer driving the bilateral partnership with regional and local governments in Bangladesh, Germany, Spain, France, Japan and the US. María delivers the secretariat function of the Greater Manchester Japan Steering Group.

The GMCA International team led the refreshed of the GM International Strategy launched in spring 2022 and is responsible for the coordination of its delivery.