Automotive & Transport Session

Claude CLEMENT is a Belgian citizen; he holds a degree in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering and a degree in Management from Brussels University.

In a career of more than 35 years in the plastic processing sector for the automotive industry, Claude CLEMENT has held several business positions in Belgium and North America before spending 12 years in Asia.

Claude CLEMENT is now holding the position of President Europe of PLASTIC OMNIUM Clean Energy Systems since 2012. In this capacity, he is managing the Europe Business Unit covering 15 plants in 10 countries among other responsibilities.

Fabian HERTER joined ELIX Polymers in 2013 as Automotive Industry Manager being responsible for the Automotive OEMs and main Tiers globally.

In 2018 he moved to the Marketing Manager position being responsible for developing strategies for key segments and regions, analyzing market trends and managing communication activities like company website, press release, social media and fairs.

Before, he has worked for 6 years in the Automotive and Plastics Industry. Fabian HERTER was Product Manager for Engineering Plastics at an European Distributer and Key Account Manager for Volkswagen group at a Tier1 producer of interior plastic parts.

Fabian HERTER helds a degree in Business Administration specialized in Sales and Marketing. He speaks German, Spanish, English and French.

Marc JACOBS holds an Masters Degree in Engineering from KU Leuven and an MSc in Leadership & Strategy from London Business School.

In 1998, he co-founded LuxPET, a PET injection molding and recycling company in Luxembourg owned by Plastipak since 2005. 

In 2016, he co-founded Molecular Plasma Group, a spin-off from VITO (Belgium)  & LIST (Luxembourg) that is bringing a revolutionary surface functionalization technology to market.

He is also the co-author of the book ‘Negotiate like a local’ which is a practical guide to dealing with cultural differences in international B2B negotiation.

Annick HERNOT obtained in 1993 her Master in Law at the KU Leuven (cum laude), studied as Erasmus exchange student in Münster, Germany (magna cum laude) and obtained a post-graduate degree in Economics from Vlekho, Business School in Brussels in 1998.

In 2016 she completed the Guberna Board Effectiveness and Director Effectiveness programs at the Vlerick Business School.

She started as an attorney at the Brussels bar for 5 years in one of Belgium’s leading Intellectual Property law firms. Subsequently, she joined Recticel, an international PU-foam producer, first at its global headquarters in Belgium and later working from Stockholm, Sweden as inhouse legal counsel.

In 2014 she started working for Audi Brussels, where she set up and developed the legal department, managing also Risk Management, Compliance and Data Protection. Since 2020 she was also given the responsibility of Secretary General at Audi Brussels, putting her in charge of government relations and external affairs as well the coordination and organization of all supervisory and management board matters.

She is a part time guest professor at the University College of Leuven (UCLL), teaching at its International Business Program.

Philippe THIRIAUX is Global Business Manager for the PP automotive and Specialty Compounds activity of TotalEnergies.

He is member of the managing committee of the Polymers Low Carbon Solutions Department. He holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from Université Libre de Bruxelles.

He held several positions in TotalEnergies Polymer Division including marketing, technical service, sales and supply chain, covering packaging, infrastructure and durable market segments. He is a former member of Plastics Europe Polysterene main committee.

Franck LAGOUTTE is graduated as Engineer in Chemistry (Polymers, ENSCCF Clermont-Ferrand) then specialized in Sales and Marketing (Ecole Supérieure de Vente Paris, IMD Lausanne).

He is working since 1997 in the Plastics industry. Franck LAGOUTTE occupied various Management and Leadership positions in Sales & Marketing (within companies HOECHST-TARGOR, GE PLASTICS, DSM Engineering Plastics and BOREALIS since 2010).

After few years as Head of Sales of BOREALIS Packaging Division, Franck LAGOUTTE is today Global Commercial Director, leading the Mobility Division of Borealis. On top of, he is Board Member of BOREALIS Italia and Managing Director of BOREALIS France.

Edouard GARREAU holds a Master in International Political Economy. He worked as a trader of raw materials for several years, specializing in plastics products, especially recycled polymers.
Noting the difficulties in sourcing recycled polymers and ensuring materials' quality, he co-founded Polytopoly in 2018 to address these issues.

Polytopoly is a recycled polymer distribution startup which relies on the expertise of its characterization and research laboratory to provide quality materials. Thanks to its digital platform, Polytopoly.com users can easily source the recycled polymers they need.

Building & Construction Session

Rudy MILLER heads the Vinyls activities of Vynova, a leading European PVC and chlor-alkali company, and leads the company’s Circular Economy efforts.

Rudy MILLER has extensive experience in various executive positions in the chemical industry. Prior to joining Vynova, he held several executive director roles at SABIC, including the global leadership of various businesses, strategy and M&A and innovation leadership.

He also worked for almost 19 years at Dow Corning in various management roles that included responsibilities for marketing, sales & technical services as well as e-commerce.

Rudy MILLER holds a Master’s degree in Business Management & Economics from the University of Louvain-la-Neuve (Belgium), complemented by additional executive trainings at INSEAD (France) and IMD (Switzerland).

Henri CHAPELLE holds a civil engineer degree from the ESTP Paris, France and a MSc in the area of Transport engineering and operations from the university of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.

 He has more than 15 years of experience in the construction sector, hold various functions in the field of project management, sales and marketing.

Since 2014, Henri leads the Global Sales & Marketing activities for PET Foams at Armacell.

His employment history is as follows:

Sales & Marketing Manager, Armacell Benelux SCS, Oct 2014 - present

Global responsibility for PET Foams sales é Marketing activities.

Member of the PET Core Foams Management Team, Armacell Benelux SCS, Oct 2014 - present

Business Development Manager – Global B&C, Armacell Benelux SCS, Feb 2013 – Sept 2014

Department Manager – Methods and planning, Saudi Oger, Oct 2010 – Nov 2012

Assistant Department Manager – Methods and planning, Saudi Oger, May 2009 - Oct 2010

Site Project Manager, CMR (Exedra), Sept 2004 – May 2009

Wim VAN EYNDE holds a Master in Industrial Design.

He started his career in 1988 at Axxis NV, a producer of polycarbonate sheets, and held positions in marketing communication, technical marketing assistance, product management and sales.

In 2000, the company was taken over by Bayer. From 2001 to 2007 Wim VAN EYNDE was Marketing Communications Manager within the newly founded group. As of 2008 he been active in business development in focused segments, holding the global marketing responsibility for the segment Mass Transit and Rail with Bayer MaterialScience/Covestro.

In 2020 the Exolon Group was founded after the carve-out of Covestro, in which he took the position of Head of Product Management.

Christine BERTRAND is Infrastructure and Durable Manager at TotalEnergies. She is a member of the managing committee of the  Europe and Orient Polymers Division.

She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from Université catholique de Louvain.

She held several positions in TotalEnergies Polymer Division linked to the development, support and promotion of durable applications and in R&D, leading programs on air and water quality.

She is a member of PlasticsEurope PS and EPS Main Committees as well as of EUMEPS Raw Material Suppliers group.

John WEBSTER is Commercial Director for the Global Infrastructure business of Borealis.

In a 30 year career with the company, he has held several international management positions in Marketing and Sales for both Borealis and Borouge (a joint venture between Borealis and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company).

John WEBSTER studied Polymer Science and Technology and holds an Executive MBA from the Manchester Business School.

Isabel DE SCHRIJVER is currently R&D Manager “Polymer Characterization, Processing & Recycling” and “Functional Thermoplastic Textiles” at Centexbel, and  holds a PhD Analytical Chemistry of Ghent University (“Development and validation of methods of analysis for the determination of additives in plastics”).

She started in 2008 as research scientist at Centexbel in the functional thermoplastic textiles group, working on subjects like nanotechnology, fire retardancy; then she specialised in extrusion applications.

Since April 1st 2014, she took on the role of R&D Manager PCPR (Plastic Characterisation, Processing & Recycling). Since June 2020, she is also R&D Manager of the FTT (Functional Thermoplastic Textile) research group.

Myriam TRYJEFACZKA joined the Tarkett Group in 2015 where she holds the position of Sustainability and Public affairs director for the EMEA division.

Tarkett has developed an eco-design approach based on Cradle to Cradle® principles to close the loop for floorcoverings. This includes the development of ReStart® take back programmes and recycling technologies. Collaboration and Transparency in the value chain are key elements supporting Tarkett's shift towards Circular economy.

In her role, she participates in the activities of European industry associations and think thanks in the field of circular economy and construction sector. She chairs the AFNOR X30M Circular Economy standardization Commission, mirror group to the ISO TC 323.

Prior to Tarkett, she has developed thorough expertise on sustainability and public affairs at Camfil, a leading manufacturer of clean air solutions, where she participated in the development of EPBD (Energy performance of buildings directive) harmonised standards on indoor environment quality and CEN and ISO related standards.

Myriam holds a Master’s degree in Biochemistry and enzymology, completed by a Master of Business Administration. Myriam developed her professional carrier in different industrial sector (packaging, electronics air filtration and flooring,  in quality, environment, international project management and has been focusing on sustainable development and public affairs for the last 15 years.

Johan PAUWELS started in 1992 at Deceuninck. As industrial Engineer he has led several operational departments and technological project within the Deceuninck group.

His knowledge extends over different domains related to the processing of PVC & TPE. This includes extrusion mold concepts & tuning, PVC compounding & recycling, granulation, PVC, TPE & WPC extrusion and the desired finishing steps. In his current position as R&D manager he is responsible for R&D and industrialisation of new products and processes within the European branches. In recent years, the focus has been on recycling Post-consumer PVC and the maximum valorisation of this material in its original applications.

Jan LAPERRE is general manager of Centexbel-VKC since 2007, president of PolyCert Europe since 2021 and managing director of BQA since 2007. He is also a member of the board of several organization in Belgium and abroad. After his PhD in physics from KULeuven he joined Centexbel and had several management positions in the company. He led the merger with VKC in 2014, created Centexbel Services and Centexbel International ltd in UK.

Paolo BOTTARELLI graduated in 2004 in Industrial Chemistry at the University of Parma, Italy. He spent there some years in research, including a period as graduate student at the Texas A&M University, and gained his PhD in Chemistry in 2007.

In 2008 he joined Polimeri Europa as a junior Polystyrene Technical Service Engineer in the Research Center of Mantova and became manager of the Technical Service and Application Development – South Europe Unit for all Styrenic Polymers of Versalis in 2012.

Since 2015 he is head of Marketing Insulation and Specialties in the Styrenics Business of Versalis, with the responsibility of developing the positioning of the most advanced Styrenic product families such as ABS, SAN and CM-EPS.

Paolo is also a member of the Main Committee for EPS, ABS and SAN in Plastics Europe and the Versalis representative in EUMEPS.

Dr. Sven HENDRIKS, currently Global Innovation Manager, PET at Armacell develops innovative foam products based on recycled PET. Sven received a PhD in Polymer Engineering from RWTH Aachen University in 2017. He has a diploma degree (Dipl.-Ing.) in Mechanical Engineering with focus on Plastics and Textile Engineering. His previous research involved development of foaming processes for bio based cellulose acetate, polystyrene and polyolefins as well as fundamental research on foaming behavior and blowing agent solubility.

Packaging Session

Laure BAILLARGEON is policy officer at the Directorate-general for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) at the European Commission.

She has been working at DG GROW since 2007 in the area of internal market and industrial competitiveness policies, from eco-design to strategic value chains to advanced technologies to plastics. She currently works in the Green and Circular Economy unit of DG GROW, which acts as Secretariat and Chair of the Steering Committee of the Circular Plastics Alliance (CPA).

Filip VANGEEL was born in Belgium in 1967 and graduated as a chemical engineer (Msc) in 1992.

After serving as a non-commissioned officer in the Belgian Army, Filip VANGEEL joined the Procter & Gamble packaging R&D team as a researcher in 1994.

Over the years, he led global projects, developed and introduced some of P&G's most iconic packaging.

Filip VANGEEL ended his career at P&G as a senior scientist with multiple patents in his portfolio.

In 2018, he took on the role of circular economy manager at Belgian Extended Producer Responsibility company Valipac. In his role of catalyst and value chain connector, he guides the Belgian industry in their transition to the circular economy.

Marcelo MILANI is an engineer with more than 30 years of experience in several industries, including personal protective equipment, medical devices, packaging, printing, electrical and construction materials.

Marcelo MILANI held management positions in both technical and commercial functions across the value chain in leading corporations. He lived and worked in five countries, and became fluent five languages.

Carole BINCZYK brings both technical expertise and industry knowledge to her position. Carole has 10 years’ experience in the flexographic and packaging industry.

Sustainability  and circular economy is high on her agenda and her mission is to make the Polymount Film Cleaner a standard within the packaging industry.

Dr. Lutz FRISCHMANN did his studies of Organic Chemistry at the LMU Munich and graduated with a PhD in 1999.

He started his professional career at Akzo Nobel in the field of Industrial Coatings (Laboratory Manager R&D + Product Development). Then he held further managerial positions in the pigment industry (including since 2006 as Head of "Inorganic Colored Pigments" at Heubach until 2012, then Head of R&D at Heubach until the end of 2013).

Since January 2014, he took the role at HuberGroup of Product Director for first solvent-based printing inks and then for flexible packaging in general.

He is currently responsible as Product Director Flexible Packaging for the product and technology management of the printing inks used in flexible packaging (solvent-based, water-based and radiation-curing).

Christian KOULIC started his career at TotalEnergies in 2003 as Product Development & Technical Assistance Engineer for Polyethylene. From 2007 onwards, he held a variety of roles within Petrochemicals and Refining (corporate strategy, sustainable development, business development, planning) before being appointed in 2017 a member of the managing committee of the Polymers Europe & Orient Division of the Polymers Business Unit in charge of Packaging for Europe. Christian is a graduate from the University of Liège (Belgium) and University of Toronto (Canada) and holds a PhD in Polymer Science.

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Achim GREFENSTEIN, born in 1965, studied mechanical engineering at the technical university of Aachen/Germany where he finished his PhD in the area of plastics processing in 1994 and has been qualified as lecturer during his post-doc time until 1996. Until today, he teaches the subject “Plastics Compounding and Recycling” at the RWTH Aachen.

 Between 1996 and 2004 he worked at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen/Germany as application engineer, marketing manager and subsequent as team leader and group-wide project coordinator in different departments of BASF.

 From February 2004 to June 2013 he has been working as Director Corporate R&D for RKW SE in Frankenthal/Germany being responsible for the R&D activities of the RKW group worldwide including the patents/licenses and the market introduction of newly developed products. From 2010 until 2013 he was also product manager for label films.

 Since July 2013 he is Senior Vice President Group R&D at Constantia Flexibles GmbH headquartered in Vienna/Austria, being responsible for all R&D departments for Consumer and Pharma Flexible Packaging worldwide and the Group Patents and Regulatory Affairs.

 For the German Plastics Packaging Association (IK) he was from 2016 to 2019 chair of the working group “Bioplastics”. At EuPC he is Chair of the Packaging Division since March 2020 and at Recyclass/PRE he is member of the Advisory Board and the Technical Committee Polyolefin Films since July 2019.

Mieke VERCAEREN is a  commercial engineer working for the Belgian Retailer Colruyt Group.

She is in charge of the department Sustainable Products and Packaging in the Business Unit Private Label. Sustainability is and has been the key driver in her career and the different roles she took in business, innovation, policy work and sustainability consultancy.

Peter VOORTMANS is Global Commercial Director Consumer Products of Borealis in charge of flexible and rigid packaging, Hygiene and Extrusion coating.  

He is working since 1992 in the plastic and packaging industry and has an extensive experience in a variety of strategic management and leadership positions.  

He holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and Business Management complemented by additional executive trainings at IMD Business School in Switzerland and at the University of St Gallen in Austria.

Edouard GARREAU holds a Master in International Political Economy. He worked as a trader of raw materials for several years, specializing in plastics products, especially recycled polymers.
Noting the difficulties in sourcing recycled polymers and ensuring materials' quality, he co-founded Polytopoly in 2018 to address these issues.

​Polytopoly is a recycled polymer distribution startup which relies on the expertise of its characterization and research laboratory to provide quality materials. Thanks to its digital platform, Polytopoly.com users can easily source the recycled polymers they need.

Tim DEVLAMYNCK (PhD) is Business Developer for Indaver’s Business Line Plastics2Chemicals (P2C). P2C’s vision is to close the loop in plastics recycling by converting plastic waste into high-quality monomers, which can be used as a feedstock for all plastic applications (incl. food-grade). Its mission is to operate facilities for the chemical recycling of PS and PO throughout Europe. At this moment, construction works have started for a first industrial facility, which will be operational in early 2024 at Indaver’s site in Antwerp, Belgium.

Tim DEVLAMYNCK received his Master’s degree in Bioscience Engineering at Ghent University in 2013. In 2017, he was awarded his PhD by Ghent University and the University of Groningen. Before his time at Indaver, Tim Devlamynck worked for Bio Base Europe Pilot Plant, a state-of-the-art facility for the scale-up and custom manufacturing of innovative processes in the field of circular bioeconomy. Among other things, he initiated and coordinated two Horizon 2020 projects, SMARTBOX and Glaukos. The latter was awarded the Food Planet Prize 2021, the world’s biggest environmental award ($2 Mio).

Main Conference & Panel Debate

Dr. Melinda CRANE is an experienced TV anchor; as chief political correspondent at Deutsche Welle TV, she analyzes German and European policy and also hosts the English editions of Quadriga and People & Politics. Dr. Crane studied history and political science at Brown University and law at Harvard. She received her PhD in political economy at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. Her journalistic experience includes work for the “New York Times Magazine”, “The Boston Globe Sunday Magazine,” “The Boston Globe,” the “Christian Science Monitor” and German newspapers and magazines. Her diverse areas of expertise include transatlantic politics, energy, climate and environment, transport and communication, globalization, finance and trade, science and medicine, migration, integration and urbanization, women, youth and education as well as new media and the internet.

Søren GADE JENSEN is a Danish politician who has been a Member of the European Parliament (Renew Europe group) since 2019.

He has been a member of the Danish Parliament from 2001. Before entering politics, he was a military officer and businessman.

Joaquim NUNES DE ALMEIDA is director in charge of “Mobility and energy intensive industries” at the European Commission in the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW) since March 2021.

This includes “Green and Circular Economy” as well as the Circular Plastics Alliance. Before that, he was director in charge of single market policy (since 2016).

He started his career at the European Commission in 1995 and has extensive experience in policies related to the internal market and home affairs (police cooperation, terrorism, law enforcement, asylum and immigration).

Valérie GOFF Senior Vice President Polymers at TotalEnergies. In this role, she is in charge of the development of Polymers activities all around the world.

Valérie GOFF is a graduate from the IFP School, in Paris, as well as the Ecole nationale supérieure de Chimie et de Physique, in Bordeaux, France.

She started her career at TotalEnergies in operational functions in an industrial environment. After several years in supply and logistics management, she became General Manager of Base Oils in Lubricants in 2003, before joining Human Resources as Senior Talent Developer in 2007. Between 2009 and 2019, she held several executive positions such as General Manager of Industrial  Lubricants , Vice President of Sales, Supply and Optimization for Refining & Base Chemicals Europe and Vice President of Crude Equity Acquisition for Trading in Geneva, before taking the lead of the Polymers Business Unit in 2019.

Christopher McARDLE leads New Business Development within the Polyolefin and CES strategy team in Borealis.

He has extensive commercial and polyolefin industry experience from senior commercial roles at Dow Chemical serving Consumer Solutions, Packaging & Specialty Plastics businesses.

Prior to joining Dow Chemical, Chris spent 16 years of his career at DuPont in a variety of strategic and marketing positions.

Jean VIALLEFONT began his career in 1990 in sales at Elf Atochem. He held product development and product manager positions before becoming Business Manager, Fluor Derivatives in Asia.

In 2004, he moved to petrochemicals to manage Styrenics and then Ethylene.

He oversaw the petrochemicals business in Asia from 2009 to 2016. Since then, he has served as Vice President Polymers Europe & Orient.

Dr. Gerald REBITZER is Sustainability Director at Amcor Flexibles. His role encompasses environmental management and social responsibility from an operations and product perspective.

He has worked in sustainability for 25 years, with a focus on packaging since 2006.

In addition to his work at Amcor, Gerald is Chair of the Board and Steering Committee for CEFLEX, a non-profit circular economy initiative for flexible packaging. He is also a Board Member of both the Swiss and German aluminum recycling cooperatives and active in the work on plastic packaging within the Consumer Goods Forum and the New Plastics Economy of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Claude CLEMENT is a Belgian citizen; he holds a degree in Electrical & Mechanical Engineering and a degree in Management from Brussels University.

In a career of more than 35 years in the plastic processing sector for the automotive industry, Claude CLEMENT has held several business positions in Belgium and North America before spending 12 years in Asia.

He is now holding the position of President Europe of PLASTIC OMNIUM Clean Energy Systems since 2012. In this capacity, he is managing the Europe Business Unit covering 15 plants in 10 countries among other responsibilities.

Gracy RAMONT is the General Director at SB Diest – Segers & Balcaen since 2009. Before that Gracy worked as a Legal Manager at Scarlet, Tiscali Broadband Network Business, Yucom NV and Eunet NV. Gracy studied law in Katholieke Universiteit Brussel and in The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Franco MEROPIALI is the Head of the Intermediates and Polyethylene Business Unit at Versalis.

Franco has a strong international perspective, and over 25 years of experience in the chemical industry. 

After graduating in Economics and Business Administration at Bocconi University in Milan, he joined EniChem in 1995.

 Over the course of his career, he has held several management roles. Before being appointed in his current position, Franco has been Head of International Business Development and Licensing and, from 2007 to 2016 has served as Vice President of Corporate Planning and Control, contributing to the definition and implementation of the Versalis turnaround plan.

 His career highlights include 5 years as Finance Manager of Polimeri Europa (todays’ Versalis), where he consolidated his experience in Finance, Insurance and Credit management.

 He also serves in the Board of Directors of Versalis’ Italian and international subsidiaries and as Chairman of Eni Insurance Dac in Dublin.

WFO session

Bernard MERKX is a renowned plastics recycling, waste management and meanwhile marine litter expert with a broad high-level network both in the international public and various private industry sectors.

Next to his career in the international plastics industry, where he held several senior management positions in among others Schoeller Allibert, a globally active plastics converting group, he has devoted a lot of time and energy to establish a solid legal and economically viable basis for today’s European plastics recycling industry.

From 2008 till 2011, he has been CEO of a masterbatch and compounding frontrunner company that specialized in producing special recipes for recycled plastics using state of the art technology, pigments and additives. In 2011 Bernard MERKX established The Netherlands based consultancy company Green Wave Plastics which aims to assist companies in the international plastics & rubber industry, fishery and some other industries in the transition to improve sustainability and profitability by offering pragmatic solutions.

He is frequently asked by (inter-) national authorities to give expert views on specific topics. Thereby he is using his over 30 years of experience in these domains. He is member of various Board of Directors and Advisory Boards and co-author of several studies on environmental issues. Since November 2011 he is Honorary President of Plastics Recyclers Europe after 12 years of Presidency. Next to the above, Bernard MERKX is co-founder of Waste Free Oceans Foundation, the Brussels based not-for-profit organization that is actively working on solutions of marine litter challenges. Identifying sources, working on prevention, organizing and supporting active clean-ups in various parts of the world. Turning retrieved marine litter plastics waste streams into valuable products. Since May 2019 Bernard is also managing director of ESWA (European Singleply Waterproofing Association) on a part time basis. He supports ESWA and its members into the transition towards even more sustainability and circularity and is in charge of the ESWA RoofCollect initiative since early 2020. 

Maarten DE JONGE is expert water quality monitoring at the Flanders Environment Agency (VMM). Currently he coordinates various projects regarding water quality monitoring, with topics ranging from micropollutants (e.g. PFAS, pesticides and microplastics) to biological monitoring.
Before he worked as researcher at the University of Antwerp, where he obtained a PhD in ecotoxicology and aquatic ecology.
 

Dorothea WIPLINGER joined Borealis in 2007 after having worked for Philips N.V. or Telekom Austria in the field of Corporate Communications and Brand Management. As Borealis’ Sustainability Manager since 2012, Dorothea plays an important role in delivering the Group’s sustainability agenda with focus circular economy, marine litter and microplastics.

Dorothea is initiator, creator and key driver of Project STOP, a pioneering programme co-founded by Borealis together with SYSTEMIQ to implement more sustainable, circular waste management systems in emerging countries and by doing so, stop plastics leaking into the environment and creating increased resource efficiency. For this achievement she was nominated for the WBCSD Leading Woman Awards in 2018. Dorothea is managing the Borealis Social Fund launched in by the company in 2008 which since then has created direct impact to over two million people around the world.

Dr. Maarten DUBOIS has 20 years of experience in addressing sustainability challenges. Currently he is Circular Economy and Plastics Project Lead at the OECD.

Previously, Maarten DUBOIS was director at EY in the Center of Excellence for Waste Management and the Circular Economy. Before that, he led a research center at KU Leuven University on Sustainable Materials Management.

He holds a PhD in Environmental Economics and has Master degrees in Advanced Economics and Environmental Engineering. He has publications in academic journals such as Waste Management, Industrial Ecology and Environmental & Resource Economics.

Hans AXEL KRISTENSEN is the co-founder and CEO of PLASTIX, a clean-tech mechanical recycling company that is committed to tackle plastic pollution preventively, by transforming waste plastic fibres, such as nets and ropes from the maritime industry, into high-quality Green Plastic raw material. Employing co-creative and innovative processes, Hans has driven the development of sustainable technologies, enabling the transition to a circular plastic economy that conserves valuable resources and reduces CO2 emissions.  

Born 1966 in Denmark, Hans holds a Master’s degree in Law and has held various international executive management positions at companies such as Scandic Hotels, Dell, and Carlsberg. Hans is an outspoken advocate of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and green economic growth.

Hans most recently received the 2021 Plastics Recyclers Show Europe Award for best Building and Construction Product with the Circular Green Rope- the world’s first full cycle closed rope.

Olivier DE VLIEGER figured out fairly quickly after starting his professional career as a sports teacher, that he was managing and educating in the wrong place. He decided to expand his experience in the commercial field, by working as an Account Manager for 5 years at international companies.

His sales talent did not go unnoticed within the packaging industry, and he was head hunted as Key Account Manager Benelux at Schoeller Allibert.

From there on, his career evolved like an express train. Within 7 years, he grew from Key Account Manager to Sales Manager BeLux,  Sales Director Benelux and currently Regional Director Benelux (MD)

With his persistent enthusiasm and contagious positivity, he’s successfully managing 2 production plants and sales organizations in Benelux, being responsible for 135 empolyees, and a EUR 50M business.

Thanks to Olivier’s hands-on management style and personal conviction that Schoeller Allibert is the right partner for RTP’s, his teams have been part of several successful projects in bringing innovative and sustainable packaging solutions.

Carlos WEVER was born and raised in Aruba, and it was from early on clear that chemistry is in Carlos’s blood. As a young boy, he would spend his childhood examining and challenging the laws of nature.

From experimenting with early technology to mixing Cupper Sulphate or Strontium Chloride with black powder and igniting it, just to see the colour of the flames.

Not only Carlos inherited the love for chemistry and physics from his father who was a chemistry teacher, also 2 out of his 3 brothers ended up working as engineers in the chemical industry.

Once in the Netherlands to finalize his studies, Carlos discovered soon that studying Electronics was not entirely his coup of tea.

He quickly switched back to his old flame Chemistry, and finished his Bachelor in 3 years. During and after this study, he developed and introduced 2 breaking new technologies on water filtration membranes, which were integrated and launched into 3 products that are since then on the market.

After 7 years, Carlos ended up at Schoeller Allibert as Materials Innovation Manager and Head of Test Centre, where his mission was to create and develop a material roadmap for the company, next to assuring the company’s quality performance in new projects.

Thanks to his excellent problem solving approach and eminent outside of the box thinking, he’s been able to put Schoeller Allibert on the map as one of world’s leading companies in using sustainable materials. Carlos’ extraordinary knowledge on materials combined with his understanding of Schoeller’s customer’s needs, have led to many successful material innovative projects already, with many more in the pipeline.

Since 5 years, Julie DE BRUYCKERE's holy grail is to ensure that every beer crate that is sold in Benelux, is one of Schoeller Allibert.

As Master in Sociology, Julie’s always been intrigued by the behavior of individuals and social groups. After working for over 10 years in the recruitment industry, she jumped into the adventure of being Key Account Manager for Europe’s leading breweries. During her time at Schoeller Allibert, she got truly fascinated to respond as dedicated and conscientious as possible to the society’s need of returnable packaging in nowadays environmental challenges.

One of the latest projects she was part of and truly enjoyed, is the Corona crate development for AB-Inbev.