Moderator: Kelly Helein, Principal, Stratus Solutions, LLC
Panellists:
Sarah Price, Director Sustainability, Sappi & 4evergreen Chair
Ulrich Leberle, Raw Materials Director, Cepi
Alena Maran, Director Strategy & Sustainability, LPM EMENA, Avery Dennison
Annica Eldh, R&D Packaging, H&M Group
Colin is responsible for Unilever’s longer-term packaging technology programme and is particularly involved in the challenge of reducing Unilever’s use of virgin plastics. This includes maximising recycled plastic use in Unilever’s portfolio, developing solutions to ensure all plastic packaging used by Unilever is recyclable and finding alternative solutions, to reduce Unilever’s plastics use. He has previously occupied Global Packaging leadership positions across 3 of Unilever’s Business Groups and has worked for Unilever for 37yrs.
Luis Sampaio, VP Business Development, Europe - Luis Sampaio has spent over 15 years of his professional career in the European pulp and paper industry focusing on strategic and consultative sales, growth initiatives, management strategy, production and cost structure, and key account management. At ResourceWise, Luis leads sales and support for our Eastern European client base which includes the top producers in the region, providing advanced business intelligence resources as well as leveraged consulting services.
Before joining ResourceWise, Luis held management positions at The Navigator Company, where he was responsible for the pulp business line in EMEA. He also served as Head of Projects and Engineering. From 2006-2016, Luis worked at Valmet as a Mill Sales Manager and GSM, responsible for their growth and development in Iberia.
Luis earned his Industrial Management Engineering degree from Universidade Nova Lisboa and a master’s degree in management from HEC Paris. Since his degrees, he's continued to gain certificates in leadership, B2B sales, innovation, and management. Luis and his wife, live with their two children in Lisbon, Portugal.
Ulrich Leberle was born in 1975 in Nördlingen, Germany.
He holds Master degrees in history from the Universities of Tübingen (Germany) and Aix-en-Provence (France).
After professional experiences in the European Commission, the European Parliament and as a Public Affairs Consultant, he joined the Confederation of European Paper Industries (CEPI) in November 2005.
Having held several positions in the area of raw materials at CEPI, his responsibilities in his current role of Raw Materials Director include the availability of raw material both from sustainable forest management and the separate collection of paper for recycling as well as the impacting policies.
He is secretary of the European Paper Recycling Council (EPRC) since 2014.
Dr Marinella Vitulli is a Chemist and a Food Contact Expert. She is the owner and director of Food Contact Center and Food Contact Services; her companies cooperates with FCM producers, Universities, Technical Groups and Associations at a global level.
She often participates as speaker in food and packaging events.
Dr. Diego Fort is a Senior Specialist within the Industrial segment of Cargill.
Originally from Uruguay, he studied chemistry and pharmacy at the Universidad de la República, in Montevideo.
In 2006, he started his Ph.D. at the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) in Seville, Spain. The thesis work was based on isolation and synthesis of natural products with pharmacological activity. During his studies, he spent some time working at the FU Berlin (Germany) and The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego (USA).
After receiving his Doctor title, he accepted a postdoctoral position to work on photochemistry at the Technical University in Munich (Germany) and later on at Roche in Basel, Switzerland. The main objective of that work was to produce complex molecules to be incorporated in the drug design process.
In 2014 he moved back to Germany and worked 4 years as a Lead Chemist in product development for Ecolab.
Since 2018 he is part of Cargill Process and Product development team for Renewables, focusing on the development of bio-based products to be used in the Paper and Packaging industry replacing petrol-based ingredients.
His main areas of interest are paper and packaging, biopolymers and chemical modification of biomass.
Mrs. Andrea Glawe graduated in 1992 with the Master degree for “Technical textiles and process engineering” at the Technical University of Chemnitz.
She started her career as scientific assistant and project manager for the Textile Research Institute Thüringen-Vogtland e.V. Greiz and worked there until 2001.
From 2001 to 2011 she worked as Deputy Sales Director with responsibility for technical sales and project management at Coatema Coating Machinery GmbH in Dormagen.
Between 2011 and 2012 she took her responsibility as R&D leader DRYTEC GmbH & Co KG in Norderstedt.
Between February 2012 and September 2015 Andrea Glawe worked as Director R&D for all R&D activities of the KROENERT group in Hamburg and was also responsible for Business Development.
Since October 2015 she is responsible as Regional Sales Director for the Asian / Pacific market at KROENERT.
Magnus has worked within the paper -& board industry sector for 30 years and has had various positions such as R&D, Coating Pilot Plant mgr, Product mgr, Procurement, Commercial Director and now as a Sales Director at UMV Coating System. He has also been CEO of the drying equipment supplier Ircon Drying Systems AB, before rejoining UMV last year. He has gained a vast experience in coating and sizing application through the numerous R&D- and customer projects he has managed in the whole world as working field. Magnus has made several presentations at international conferences and symposiums, with coating perspective.
- Kiril Dimitrov is a Chemical Engineer by education with over 20 years of extensive experience in the field of packaging development and materials innovation. Professional career across the entire packaging supply chain, working for some of the leading paper and packaging manufacturers and recyclers, with many years in food retail and currently a Packaging Expert at Nestle’s Confectionary Product Technology Centre in York, UK. With specific interest and focus on restorative and renewable solutions, Kiril Dimitrov has been leading the confectionary packaging science & technology R&D portfolio for the past 5 years.
Polymers at Brabender GmbH & Co.KG, Ludwig Schmidtchen has spearheaded innovative projects in seaweed-based polymer development. As an Application Engineer Biopolymers, Ludwig Schmidtchen contributed to the creation of extrudable biopolymer materials from seaweed.
Having worked as a Research Assistant at both Technische Universität Dresden and Ocean Rainforest Sp/F, Ludwig Schmidtchen has experience in packaging technology and seaweed cultivation due being actively involved in research projects within the domains.
Manuel Milliery, CEO and founder of Papkot, a groundbreaking startup revolutionizing the packaging market with sustainable paper coatings. With a decade of experience in UX design and product development, he has collaborated with well-regarded brands such as Nespresso, Airbus, Zalando, Samsung, and Bayer Pharmaceuticals.
In 2019, Milliery left his position as Head of AI Design Officer for a prestigious multinational corporation to tackle a more significant challenge: the pressing issue of plastic packaging.
Through this endeavor, he won the National Geographic Plastic Pollution Challenge in 2020 with a groundbreaking sol-gel coating solution.
This accomplishment inspired the creation of Papkot, a startup dedicated to revolutionizing the packaging market with sustainable paper coatings. Manuel Milliery has steered Papkot to accolades, including recognition as one of the top 100 startups to invest in France or winner of the CITEO Circular Challenge.
Throughout his career, Manuel Milliery has advised numerous companies across Europe, Japan, and the US. Today, he continues to make a significant impact on the world with his commitment to sustainable practices and innovative solutions, such as Papkot, which develops coatings that provide paper with plastic-like properties without altering its end-of-life characteristics.
Emiliano has always been interested in innovation in technology and business sustainability. Qwarzo® technology struck him because of the impact it could have, so Emiliano decided to invest in the company in 2020 and then serve as CEO in 2022, supporting and assisting the development of the brand's growth strategy with the goal of creating a new international standard.
In the meeting between Emiliano and the inventor of Qwarzo ® that took place a few years ago, foresight is combined with the capacity for vision and creation of winning business models gained over the years.
Dr. Claire Monot joined CTP in 2021 and is working as project leader in the functional products division. She holds an engineer degree in wood and a PhD in process engineering and chemical analysis. She is mainly in charge of CTP research and development of chromatogeny technology and of the 3D-spray coating of various formulations. She is leading a project as part of a Specific Innovation Programme aimed at improving the barrier performances of cellulose packaging.
Dr Scott Thompson is Head of Research and Development at Xampla, leading internal core research projects and customer focused product development programmes. He has a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and over 10 years of industry experience in leading the research and development of novel technologies. Including developing and scaling advanced polymer materials at Hexcel Corporation
Jürgen Dornheim, Director Corporate Packaging Innovation & Sustainability.
Works for 33 years for Procter & Gamble and Gillette in the non-food brand business.
For 8 years Head of Global Packaging Development for two of the world's leading brands: Oral-B and Braun.
Since 2013, working on packaging innovation and circularity for all P&G brands on global corporate level, with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability and new materials.
Focus: Fibre-based packaging, with technical innovations in the field of new properties, as well as good recyclability. Introduced over last 8 years of a large number of fibre packaging.
Outside of P&G, he worked as an expert in 4evergreen, in the European paper industry, and until 2023 as an expert on the German "minimum standard".
Gaspard Duthilleul is an accomplished engineer and operational lead whose journey began with the construction industry. Working in Paris, New York and London, he has extensive experience steering high-stakes global projects, each valued in the multiple millions. Following these ventures, Gaspard joined Greyparrot, where he spearheaded a multitude of R&D projects to support product development while strengthening Greyparrot's ties within the waste industry ecosystem. Gaspard has been instrumental in building the operational and customer service frameworks necessary for the company's global expansion. Today, in his capacity as COO, he stands at the forefront of Greyparrot's operational strategy. A dynamic leader who turns inspiration into concrete results, Gaspard is actively engaged in forging new partnerships and translating Greyparrot's waste intelligence into tangible solutions for the circular economy.
A representative voice in paper-based solutions with 20+ years’ experience in Paper & Packaging Industry, serving major Industrial, CPG Brands, Retailers and Private Labels, and E-Commerce provider. First point of contact in Mondi for Retailers and Brands on achieving Sustainability goals in packaging with flexible solutions (paper, plastic, hybrid) and circular business model. Holding a Civil Engineering Degree, MBA & Executive programs in Sales & Marketing Excellence from US Business Schools, and specialized in Business Sustainability, Net Zero, Circular Economy from the University of Cambridge. Grown in Venice (Italy), international market experience, living a multicultural family, passionate Sailor, Architect & Engineer of Sustainability in Business.
Dr. Bernhard Kainz holds master’s in Chemistry and Economics and a PhD in Chemistry. He has worked for Dow Deutschland for more than 34 years in multiple technical functions, driving the development of novel liquid barrier coating technologies from the idea up to commercial implementation in fibre-based and metal packaging for food as well as non-food applications. In addition, he is also engaged in multiple alliances such as the technical joint-industry-group for metal packaging, DIN and sub-groups of CEFIC. He is also a member of the steering group of 4evergreen.
Tobias Pietsch studied chemical engineering and chemistry in Dresden and completed a PhD in the
field of analytical chemistry specialized on NMR and optical spectroscopy. In 2023 he joined PTS as a
project manager in Department Functional Surfaces. At PTS he works in publicly funded projects and
together with industry partners on the development of novel paper coatings for sustainable
packaging solutions. This work comprises the development of new material solutions as well as the
analysis of their effects on the environment during their use, disposal and recycling
Benjamin has held a variety of positions in R&D, Manufacturing, and Technical Sales. His current dual role is as Senior Technical Service & Development EMEA and Sustainable Packaging Technology Leader at Trinseo, where he focuses on barrier products, particularly for sustainable packaging. Benjamin is located at Trinseo's Center of Excellence site in Rheinmünster, Germany, hosting Trinseo Binders production, R&D and application facilities, including the curtain coater pilot plant, where he acts as Technical Advisor for Paper&Board applications.
Dr Guy Newcombe is CEO at Archipelago Technology, www.archipelagotechnology.com , a Cambridge-based company focused on developing precision droplet creation and deposition systems. Guy studied physics at the Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK before embarking on a career in the world of inkjet and microfluidics. In the course of the past 30 years Guy has created technology in piezo, electrostatic and continuous inkjet. At Archipelago Technology, he is driving the scale-up and implementation of the Powerdrop coating platform.
Oliver is commercial and strategic lead for water-based coatings at Siegwerk. With over 15 years’ experience in the fiber-based packaging industry working with functional papers and boards, he has dealt with many types of coatings and for a wide range of packaging applications.
Markus started his apprenticeship in 1990 at Alberdingk Boley, after that he studied chemical engineer parallel to his work in technical marketing. Since more than 20 years he is heading the technical marketing for all polymers at ALBERDINGK BOLEY.