William Alfred PickwoadOBEFRSA (1886–1975) was a British businessman who was a prominent figure in South America's railway industry and also held directorships in the major business concerns of Bolivia during the 1930s and 1940s.[1][2][3][4] He was variously general manager of the Antofagasta & Bolivia Railway, general manager of the Central Argentine Railway, general manager of the General Mitre Railway,[5] special adviser to the Argentine Ministry of Transport, President of the Bolivian Railway, a founding director of the Central Bank of Bolivia,[6] President of Banco Mercantil, still one of the largest banks in Bolivia, and President of the National Cement Company of Bolivia.[7]
After the war Pickwoad became general manager of the Antofagasta and Bolivia Railway[18] and President of the Bolivian Railway.[19] In 1944 he was appointed general manager of the Central Argentine Railway,[20] a position he held until 1948 when he was made special adviser to the Argentine Ministry of Transport.[21][22] In 1949 he was made President of a significant import and export business in São Paulo, Brazil.[23]
In addition to his work on South American railways, Pickwoad was a founding director of the Central Bank of Bolivia,[6] President of Banco Mercantil, still one of the largest banks in Bolivia, and President of the National Cement Company of Bolivia.[7]
On 17 August 1929, Pickwoad married Mary Frances Watkins of Alhambra, California, USA.[8] They had one daughter, Pamela Elizabeth Pickwoad,[24] who married (secondly) Lieutenant-Colonel James Dighton Butler with whom she had two children.[25]
A prominent freemason, Pickwoad was Grand Commander of the Supreme Council of Bolivia and Worshipful Master of the Anglo Bolivian Lodge No 7.[26][27][28] He was a founder of the Rotary Club of La Paz in Bolivia and one of its early presidents.[29][30]