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Natasha Valeeva

Natasha is a Utrecht-based analyst working for the F&A Supply Chain team.

Prior to joining Rabobank, Natasha worked as a Markets and Supply Chains researcher at LEI Wageningen University. In this position, she conducted research on a wide range of F&A sectors, such as poultry and dairy, as well as on a number of overarching food supply chain themes, like food safety.

Natasha started her career in 1999 as Quality Assurance Manager at a baby food production plant (part of Royal Numico) in Moscow. From there, she moved to the Netherlands to work on her Ph.D. at Wageningen University, focusing on the economics of food safety and traceability in the Dutch dairy chain. During this period, she was also a visiting researcher in the US and Australia. In addition to her Ph.D., Natasha holds a MSc in Agricultural Economics from the Russian State Agricultural University (Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy).

Philippe Diercxsens

Environmental chemist specialised in packaging and packaging waste management issues.
Chairman of EUROPEN Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs work group.
Chairman of FoodDrinkEurope Environment & Sustainability Committee (The Confederation of the Food and Drink Industries of the European Union).
Chairman of NMWE Sustainability & Regulatory Affairs work group (Natural Mineral Waters Europe).
Skills: lobbying on sustainable development and environment issues in the context of national and European professional associations.

Christian Schulz

Christian Schulz, B.Eng., born 1983 in Hanover, studied ‘Technology of Renewable Resources’ at the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Hanover and worked from 2011 - 2019 as a research associate at the IfBB - Institute for Bioplastics and Biocomposites in various third-party funded projects, among others for the development of a database for products made of bioplastics for public procurement as well as in the sustainability team for market analysis, calculation of land use and on life cycle assessment of biobased plastics. He also supported the institute's public relations work, e.g. in the context of the webinar series "Biomaterials in Focus" and as part of a group of young researchers who dealt with the special challenges of biomaterials on a technical-industrial level as well as in the field of marketing and communication.
Since January 2020 he has been in charge of the EU project activities of European Bioplastics.

Shubhranshu Sharma

A Global Business Leader and an accomplished Procurement and Supply Chain Professional - having lived and worked in diverse Geographies including Developed Market of North America, Singapore and Emerging Markets of China, Thailand and India. An ambitious Sourcing strategist who combines Negotiation Skills and Financial Acumen to consistently raise the bar for both internal and external Stakeholders. Natural ability to thrive in complex environment and creative in tackling conflicts. Having a penchant to challenge self and peers to aim and achieve higher goals with continuous Drive and Passion
Specialities - China, US, India, Strategic Sourcing, Cultures, Negotiation, Consumer Goods

Peter Ragaert

• Bioscience engineer chemistry (Ghent University, 2001)
• PhD on packaged fruits and vegetables (Ghent University, 2005).
• Director Pack4Food (50%)
• Professor food packaging technology at Ghent University (50%)
• Main focus: barrier materials, bioplastics, active and intelligent packaging, sustainable and functional packaging

Hedwige Verherbrugghen

Pack4Food is a consortium of 72 companies, the most important Flemish universities, research centers and network organizations active in the food-packaging interaction field. Pack4Food aims to stimulate innovation in food-packaging & process cross value chain; from packaging suppliers, food manufacturers, retailers etc, Pack4Food supports companies in their everyday packaging challenges by setting up projects, providing advice and (customized) training. Due to its vast network, Pack4Food can facilitate match making between companies.
I am a Packaging and Product Development Engineer with a passion for innovation and meeting consumer/customer needs through development and creativity. I strongly believe in connecting with consumers/customers as well as with suppliers to identify new opportunities or unmet needs.

Karen van de Stadt

I am currently employed as Packaging expert at the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV), an independent organization researching the implementation of EU waste recycling standards in the dutch industry practice. I maintain a close working relationship with all mayor Dutch industry organizations, and as Program Manager for sustainable packaging I am a key player in the research programs that are being initialized by the KIDV.
I have experience in packaging design and packaging engineering, built up in 12 years of working experience. I have specialized in prevention of packaging waste and design for recycling, and from this proficiency I have advised dutch industries on design for recycling since 2009.
I studied Industrial Design with a specialization in Packaging Design at the Haagse Hogeschool (College for Technical Studies) and have a degree in Packaging Management (NVC Netherlands Packaging Centre, 2004). I started in 2000 as a packaging designer for serveral brands, in the Netherlands and India. From 2001 to 2009 I have developed and taught courses in packaging for several institutes, like the NVC and the College for Technical Studies in Rotterdam.
In my spare time I enjoy rowing, cooking and traveling. I am an active member of the Association for Dutch Packaging experts (VNV).

Annebeth De Witte

Copackx, your companion in packaging
Packaging team/project leader at Food companies
• End2End Development; Concept to Operations
• Regulatory Compliance & Specification Systems
• Packaging Sustainability
• Guest lecturer
It’s my belief that the transition to sustainable packaging is possible for each company. The challenge is to deliver the combination of sustainability with other requirements like; brand-fit, consumer experience, technical feasibility, costs and regulatory compliance.
My drive to ensure we do deliver on packaging projects!

Niels Prinsen

Experienced Packaging Designer with a demonstrated history of working in the beauty & health care industry. Skilled in Research and Development (R&D), Product & Packaging Design, Medical Devices, Engineering, and Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA). Strong arts and design professional graduated from Haagse Hogeschool/TH Rijswijk.

Caroline Zwart-Clarijs

Professional with broad experience in building teams, packaging and system development, project management, innovation, strategic design, technical development and implementation.
Specialties:
- people manager
- leading multifunctional teams
- innovation
- building and implementing strategies
- packaging sustainability

Niels van Marle

A committed and highly motivated industrial designer with a broad experience in product development and packaging innovation. Working for a knowledge institute, a design agency and A-brands producers, builds a strong basis and a good understanding of all aspects of new product development. Experienced in circular design, consultancy, project management, creativity facilitation, marketing and sales. Creating maximum involvement of all stakeholders with enthusiasm and interpersonal skills, grounded with a thorough knowledge of innovation processes and project management. Brings complex projects to a successful result.
Specialties: Innovation Management; Circular design; Waste management systems; Innovation roadmaps; Industrial design; User centered design; Packaging design and development for FMCG; Creativity facilitation; Presenting

John Kuijt

Delivering Trust and Competence towards Brands and Retailers across Europe. Enterprise Sales and SAAS, partner for solving complex brand innovation challenges, in order to deliver optimal efficiency, by using best practices processes with cutting edge technology.
Helping (private label) Brands (re)organizing the go-to-market process related to artwork, packaging and e-commerce.
Key words:
Trusted solutions
Reduce time to market
Brand management process
Packaging Management Process
Predictable Color Management
New Business Development
Danaher business systems

Joao Bayma

Currently Global Procurement Director for Paper & Flexibles packaging at Reckitt Benckiser (RB), I’ve 14+ years’ experience in FMCG companies and Food/OTC/Health/Infant Nutrition markets. (Nestlé, Unilever and RB).
During my career I had the opportunity to work, understand and improve the E2E Supply Chain in different areas within the Procurement department, such as Food commodities negotiation on physical and future markets, Procurement Financial Controlling and Forecast, Indirect Purchase (from Capex to Corporate Services), Third Party Manufacturer negotiation, Chemicals, Packaging Procurement. In the past 8 years, 3 positions in 2 different locations, guiding multicultural team of buyers and managers to outperform.
Graduated in Economics, my native language is Portuguese, and I've fluency in English and Spanish. I consider myself open minded, creative, result oriented, inclusive, adaptable and resilient – always ready and embracing changes.
I've, also, experience in regional structure implementation, categories negotiation, processes redesign, KPI’s creation, Procurement transformation (M&A & Change management), Global Procurement/Supply Interface, make or buy studies, eSourcing & eTools, SAP, Strategic Sourcing, Supply Management, Power BI.
Recently (Apr/18) certified as Integral Associate Coach™.

Krzysztof Krajewski

Krzysztof Krajewski is currently Packaging Sustainability Director for Hygiene business unit at Reckitt based in Amsterdam. The aim for this role is focusing on two areas: Regional and Global scope. On the regional level, he is accelerating projects within base portfolio, towards sustainable transformation. Pipeline that fit local infrastructure for recycling that have a tangible impact on delivery towards Reckitt 2025/2030 sustainability pledges. On the Global side, he is running Sustainable Packaging Innovation by delivering outside-in, breakthrough sustainable innovation platforms and Polymer Science. The last one facing towards future of recycling methodologies, next generation renewable and testing bio- degradable, replacement materials. Krzysztof started his career 20 years ago in plastics processing industry (converter in blow-moulding, injection moulding) and one of the first recycling plants in Poland. Within FMCG sector, with Reckitt since 16 years Krzysztof has been on assignments within Singapore, Italy and now in the Netherlands.

Vera Bartsch

Vera Bartsch is the Sustainability Manager for UPM Raflatac’s EMEIA region. She leads the self-adhesive label company’s sustainability efforts in the market. Vera’s activities include providing expert sustainability consultancy for sales, stakeholder and partnership development, management of eco-design, life cycle assessment with UPM Raflatac’s Label Life tool, recycling of label waste through the company’s RafCycle program as well as sustainability marketing and communications.
Vera has a background in sales of label material with regards to sustainability in Central Europe, working with both label printers and brand owners. She coordinates the cooperation with other UPM business units for UPM Raflatac and has worked on several international projects for the development of UPM Raflatac.

Carel Oskam

I am a results-driven professional with 15+ years of experience in directing product and packaging development activities. I have a proven track record of building technical development teams during 10+ years, conducting 100+ interviews, and defining sourcing strategies for recruitment drives. Also consider me as an expert in research and development, especially in packaging, processing, and laboratory up-scaling. I am knowledgeable in selection of materials based on branding, marketing, and logistic requirements. Expertise in devising standard processes across packaging R&D, automated 2D and 3D design, and cost saving initiatives. Skilled in developing design concepts and presenting new packaging formats, materials, and technologies
Some Highlights of Expertise:
• Resource Management
• Team Building & Leadership
• Packaging Innovation Development
• R&D Processes & Procedures
• Packaging & Product Solutions
• Recruitment Drive Management
• Technical Management
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Project & Portfolio Management
• Process Redesign & Improvement
• Training & Development Skills
• Cost Reduction & Profit Optimisation

Mônica Damo

High accomplished professional with an experience of 16 years of proven success developing packaging for multiple product categories, such as foods, personal care and pet food. Results-oriented and smart innovator with strong ability to identify technical opportunities for sustainability, innovation and productivity at local, regional and global level. Experience on sustainability, innovation process, flexible packaging manufacture, technical customer service, tools/bag maker assets adaptation and project management within high profile organizations as Jacobs Douwe Egberts (JDE), PepsiCo, Henkel and Amcor (former Alcan). Consistently promoted into global packaging sustainability applications manager based on delivered results, and support on the development and deployment of the evolved packaging sustainability corporate commitments. High capacity to deliver technical solutions and to identify opportunities to increase team performance as well processes. Committed with business, marketing and customer needs by proactively addressing their needs.
Native in Portuguese and fluent in English and Spanish.

Stephen Tagg

Stephen Tagg is the Regional Software Solutions Manager, EMEA for Markem-Imaje with over 25 years of global experience in manufacturing software solutions across all major verticals.

Massimo Venegoni

Management of Innovation at Bocconi University and a second MSc in Economics of World Energy at the Russian State Institute for Foreign Relations , Massimo joined the global largest Brewer in 2015 with a passion of “making purposeful change happen”.
By focusing on efficiencies and transformation, he embarked on several roles to improve the Supply Chain in Operations, Material Logistics, Packaging Innovation and Soft Drinks. From the start, the relevance of identifiable and quantifiable Sustainability impacts left a mark on his endeavour, crowned by the implementation in 2019 of the first can shrink wrap, made of 100% recycled content. As Global R&D Sustainability Manager, since 2021 he is coordinating the effort of ABI´s Global Innovation and Technology Centre towards a quantifiable, objective, digital and understandable evaluation of our great Innovations´ Sustainability impact, in which Packaging surely plays a pivotal role.

Ulphard Thoden van Velzen

Ulphard Thoden van Velzen is a 55 year old Dutchman that studied chemistry in Utrecht and Enschede, worked for one year as a post-doc in Sydney and ever since at Wageningen Food & Biobased Research; a technological contract research organisation. Up to about 2008 the focus of the contract research was to extend the shelf life of perishable foods with advanced packaging solutions and hence avoid food loss. From 2008 on the focus shifted towards the understanding packaging waste and mechanical recycling. The main challenge is to relate the design-aspects of packages to the quality of recycled plastics. He has an extended network of clients from packaging industries, waste management companies, recycling facilities, EPR organisations, governments, material organisations and sectorial stakeholders.

Phil Brown

My PhD research explored the design and facilitation of collaborative circular oriented innovation networks. For insights into my research and practical outputs please visit www.circularstrategies.org

My challenge and the continuing question is if a circular economy requires inter-organisational, cross-sector, & networked collaborative innovation, how can this be facilitated?

I have joined Circularise to advance blockchain solutions to support companies to overcome the challenges of data sharing within complex supply chains to facilitate collaboration and implement circular strategies.

My aim is to support companies to turn their CE ideas into action. Please reach out to me if you have interesting ideas or projects that would benefit from a collaborative circular oriented innovation approach.

Activity keywords: Circular Oriented Innovation Strategies, Inter-organisational Collaboration, Collaborative Innovation, Block Chain Enabled Software, Tool Development, Circular Business Models, Sustainable Business Models, Design for Circular Economy

Guillem Parés

Guillem Parés (38), master’s degree in industrial engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia in Barcelona, with final master thesis completed in Germany. Joined HP almost 12 years ago: first 5 years as product engineer in the Large Format Printing organization and next 7 as marketing product manager in Large Format Printing first and afterwards in the HP Sustainable Packaging team.

Very interested in sustainability and extremely motivated with the purpose of our organization, which is to accelerate the transition to sustainable packaging solutions. Let’s make it happen!

Erica Ording

In her current role, Erica focuses on building a long-term sustainable packaging strategy at FrieslandCampina. She acquired a PhD in Chemistry from Leiden University. After her PhD, she worked for a brief period at the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) before starting as a team lead in the Renewable Chemistries department of Avantium. Here she first focused on side-stream valorization, followed by leading the efforts on electrochemical CO2 conversion (CCU). Having a chemical background with a wealth of experience in scaling innovative processes provides a multidisciplinary perspective on current packaging sustainability challenges.

Tom Domen

Global Head Long Term Innovation Manager (aka Dreamcatcher) Ecover / Method (SC Johnson)
Tom Domen graduated in 1996 with a Master in Industrial Design. In 2007, he completed a Master in Sustainable Development at the University of Brussels. With his MA on Sustainable Technology for Eastern Africa, he received the yearly Award for Innovative Technology from the Chamber of Engineers.
He started working for Philips in packaging innovation after which he worked for 5 years as a marketing and communication specialist at Panasonic. Tom has been working for Ecover/Method (SC Johnson) for 16 years, where he is responsible for the long term innovation strategy for the different categories (laundry, cleaning, dishwashing, home care and personal care). Getting inspiration out of biomimicry and system thinking, he has been laying out an ambitious roadmap for the company to inspire transformative change towards a restorative business model. Tom is also a member of the board of Kringwinkel, a Belgian organisation that gives a second life to what otherwise would be waste.

Emilian Axinia

Emilian Axinia, M.Sc. Computer Engineering and Executive MBA, has accumulated over 25 years of experience in engineering and automation projects in the food and beverage industry. He led industrial projects for the global company Ecolab before managing his own company as a distributor of innovative automation technology in Romania. Since May 2007, Emilian Axinia has been part of COPA-DATA’s team in Salzburg, Austria. His focus as Industry Manager is to develop the business in the Food & Beverage industry by addressing the challenges faced by today’s manufacturing companies, for instance supporting their agile transformation journeys with software technology.

Lawrence Hutchison

A highly creative and strategic Global Head of Packaging Design with a mix of top London agencies and company successes. He has worked on many leading global brands across a broad range of sectors & regions. With a breadth and depth of knowledge across brand identity, packaging design, packaging sustainability, Ecom optimisation and shopper marketing. The last 8 years spent at Colart, as Global Head of Packaging Design for Winsor & Newton, Liquitex, Lefranc Bourgeois & Snazaroo.

Dr. Phil Brown

Phil's PhD research explored the design and facilitation of collaborative circular oriented innovation networks. His challenge and the continuing question is if a circular economy requires inter-organisational, cross-sector, & networked collaborative innovation, how can this be facilitated? He has joined Circularise to advance blockchain solutions to support companies to overcome the challenges of data sharing within complex supply chains to facilitate collaboration and implement circular strategies. His aim is to support companies to turn their CE ideas into action.

Armin von Keitz

Armin von Keitz is the Sustainability Manager for Tata Steel in The Netherlands TSN. Armin works within the TSN Sustainability Department on sustainability related issues including recycling, Life Cycle Performance of steel, food waste reduction and ethical sourcing. He has a background in Chemistry and a PhD in Material Science.

Neill Dutton

With a background in Physics and Polymer Science, Neill has over 30 years’ experience in the field of flexible packaging with companies such as ICI, Innovia Films and Exxon Mobil. Much of his career has focused on the development of functional coatings for paper, film and foil. At Paramelt he has spearheaded the business and application development for their unique range of wax and aqueous heat seal and barrier coatings. Since 2021 he has moved into the role of CTO of the company, responsible for R&D, QA and Regulatory Affairs globally.

Eduardo Alvarez

Eduardo Alvarez is a Senior Technical Leader at Dow’s Packaging & Specialty Plastics business. In this role, he is responsible for the operations of the Tarragona Pack Studios hub, ensuring successful technical collaborations with customers and value chain partners to accelerate innovation across the packaging industry. Eduardo also owns and develops the people, technology and capability plans to expand the Pack Studios Ecosystem in alignment with Dow’s decarbonize and growth strategy.
Eduardo joined Dow in 2015 in Tarragona, Spain, after graduating from a M.S. degree in Chemical Engineering at the University of Zaragoza in Spain. He has worked across different market segments and industries in his application development role for the Packaging & Specialty Plastics business within the EMEA region. Currently, he leads a team of engineers, scientists, and lab technicians with a focus on developing innovation for the packaging market.

Marcel Keuenhof

Marcel Keuenhof has been a packaging expert at The Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) since 2019. At KIDV, his main focus lies on reusable packaging. He brings organisations together that want to explore reusable options, conducts research on this topic, sets up and supports pilots and discusses relevant themes with the stakeholders of KIDV. Before that, he was packaging manager at Wessanen, known for brands such as Zonnatura and Clipper tea. Here, he was heavily involved in the challenges of (sustainable) food packaging in relation to food safety. As a member of the FNLI working group for FCM, for example, he was involved in the MOSH/MOAH dossier. Before that, Marcel worked at KraftHeinz as a packaging technologist and packaging expert within the European Quality Department, covering many aspects of food safety. In the first years of his career, he worked at several packaging manufacturers (glass packaging, but also folding cartonage).

Nikki Groote Schaarsberg

In her role as Packaging Researcher for The Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV), Nikki is always busy translating knowledge into practical tools for the packaging industry. With a background in Industrial Design Engineering (University of Twente) and Food Packaging Design (HAS University of Applied Sciences), she is originally a designer, and she carries this into the projects she tackles. Translating complicated material about sustainable packaging into simple visual expressions is part of her expertise. For KIDV, she collaborated on the development of the Sustainable Packaging Compass, which allows companies to analyse their packaging on recyclability, circularity and environmental impact.

Massimo Venegoni

Sustainability Manager at GITEC, the global Innovation and Technology arm of AB-InBev. His goal is to ensure that Innovation is not only aligned with, but also accelerating the bold ESG ambition of the world’s largest local Brewer. With a background in Economics and a professional life in Supply Chain Teams, Massimo is well equipped to drive Circularity and Decarbonization agendas: After all, a future with more cheers is a future where value is increased for People, Planet and Prosperity.

Farida Bensadoun

Farida is a Global Packaging Innovation Manager at the Global Technology and Innovation Center of AB InBev. Through a strong background in mechanical and material engineering, she is driven to create innovative, disruptive and sustainable packaging for the beer & beverage industry that fits consumers needs and that is making a difference for our planet. On the of the project, the Barley Pack, was among the honoree of the Sustainability awards 2022 in the pre-commercialized Renewable category.

Niels Brouwers

Niels Brouwers is the Zone EUR Packaging development Manager andr esponsible for Packaging Development projects portfolio, including new innovations, value engineering, sustainability, supplier validation and cross-brewing projects that need packaging development.

Lucas van der Schalk

Lucas van der Schalk is the CEO of Corplex, a plastics extrusion company with operations throughout Europe, UK and US. Through the design, development, and production of packaging solutions for reuse, recycling, and repurposing, Corplex aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy for plastics.
Lucas joined DS Smith Plastics Division in 2016 as Director of Operations. In 2020, Lucas took over as CEO of the newly formed Corplex group after Olympus Partners acquired the division. Prior to this, Lucas worked as Senior Management for ten years in the automotive sector, which broadened his understanding of logistical loops, packaging that supports lean manufacturing practices, and businesses' drive toward zero waste operations. Armed with this knowledge, Lucas redirected Corplex's goals to help business partners improve the sustainability of their supply chains by providing them with the widest range of bespoke reusable plastic applications.

Stefano Pistoni

Stefano Pistoni, Senior Manager, Business Development in Wine, Spirits & Beverage, EMEIA region at UPM Raflatac. With more than 25 years of experience in the packaging industry, in his role he sees himself as a privileged spectator of the packaging and design community. Stefano collaborates with the global beverage brands and most prestigious packaging design agencies. Over the years he has collaborated in several projects related to sustainability and circular economy, such as ”RafCycle”, and he is collaborating with "Circular Wine" platform in Italy, and IED Istituto Europeo del Design.

John Kuijt

John Kuijt With a general background in Graphic arts, I have held different sales and marketing management positions, developing a high interest and experience in solutions and workflows for Brand Owners and Retailers. Solving complex business and process challenges, to deliver optimal efficiency, by using best practices processes with cutting edge technology.

Pieter Mulder

My entire career I have been working in international business development and account management roles in the printing, packaging and supply chain management industry with the main focus on international hardware and software suppliers, publishing houses, telecom providers and CPG’s. Currently I hold a strategic account management position Global Brand Team at X-Rite Pantone in which we are supporting Global Brands to develop, implement, manage, and sustain their digital color workflow and print quality program for their entire packaging supply chain.

Steve Claus

Steve Claus is the Sustainability & Circular Economy Officer of APEAL, The Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging. He is responsible for technical steel for packaging projects in sustainability including recyclability, recycling rates, LCA (Life Cycle Analysis) and PEF (Product Environmental Performance). Steve is as an entrepreneurial professional with more than 20 years of experience in Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), collection, sorting and recycling of packaging waste and sustainability in general. He holds a master’s degree in Applied Economics from the University of Antwerp.

Shifrah Jacobs

Shifrah's core expertise is enabling transforming lives in marginalized communities by growing social impact and investments through trade. Before taking on an executive role with Plastics for Change, she worked with leading organisations globally including the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). She sits on the board of several non-profits in India and is passionate about authentic impact.