Meet the Speakers 2023
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.
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Virginie BUSSIERES is Vice President, Communications, Marketing and Government Relations at Pyrowave. She is a committed leader who is passionate about building trusting relationships and mobilizing partners around innovative and sustainable action. A seasoned communications and public affairs manager who is at ease navigating in a highly regulated environment, she cultivates a common strategic perspective in a complex and constantly changing world. She is passionate about environmental innovation and does not hesitate to go off the beaten path to create value and support the achievement of business objectives in local and international markets.
Arnaud de FEYDEAU is Senior Account Manager for the Automotive, Recycling, and Compounding activity of TotalEnergies within the Polymer Low Carbon Solutions business unit. He started his career at Total in 1998 in France and in Belgium, where he held several positions within the Polymers Division (Polyethylene and Polypropylene) covering packaging, infrastructure and durable market segments. His responsibility covers market development for polymer recycled containing solutions with major Tier 1 and OEM. He graduated from the Business School, IEA in Paris.
Sophie LOUIS joined Kautex in October 2022 as their new Global Energy and Sustainability Director. She has more than 20 years of international automotive experience, most recently serving as the Senior Manager R&D (Powertrain Electrification) at Nissan Technical Center in Barcelona. In this role, Sophie held overall responsibility for coordinating the introduction of e-power hybrid technology in Europe. Prior to Nissan, Sophie worked at Volvo for almost 10 years where she held various roles in research development from environmental management to technical concept lead via quality insurance. During all these years, Sophie has cumulated extensive international experience in electric mobility and sustainability.
Sophie holds a Master of Science from INSA Lyon (Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon), France with a focus on Energy and Environment, as well as a Master in Business Administration from University of Cumbria, UK with a focus on Sustainability and Leadership.
Michel PY is the President of CIFRA but also the Director of Research and Development. His work is focusing on PVC and he had been nominated several times Expert for PVC for the AFNOR in the context of the European standardisation. He started his career as an engineer . He is also the President of the European Thermoforming Division ETD Foundation and of Vinyl Film ans Sheet Europe Division of EuPC.
Marco MONTI obtained his degree in Materials Engineering in 2005 and his PhD in Material Nanotechnology in 2009 at University of Perugia, where he kept working as a postdoc researcher until 2011. During his academic career, he was visiting scientist at Polytechnic Institute of NYU (New York) and at Tecnalia technology centre (San Sebastian – Spain). Since 2011, he has been working in Proplast as a R&D project manager. His research interests include thermoplastic and thermosetting polymers, fiber reinforced composites, nanocomposites, electric and dielectric properties, recycling, biopolymers and biocomposites. He is co-author of 38 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals, one chapter of the Wiley Encyclopedia of Composites, one chapter on Smart Packaging (Nova Science) and several articles in other Italian scientific journals. Since 2016, he is also member of Proplast’s cluster management team, with special focus on internationalization activities.
Building & Construction Session
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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.
Eva MARAQUE has been working for the French Association for Expanded Polystyrene Insulation in the Building Industry (AFIPEB) since 2010. She is namely in charge of topics related to health, environment and Construction Products Regulation. Graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux (Bordeaux Business School), she began her career in a construction company where, from marketing, she gradually became more involved in technical subjects, particularly in connection with asbestos removal. She then worked for 9 years in a large construction inspection company where she was finally responsible for the technical and quality organisation of activities related to building pollutants (asbestos, lead, etc.). She then spent 3 years as health and safety coordinator on construction sites.
Jean-Philippe COSTE is Chief Innovation & Special projects Officer at Corplex. He has a carrier of 37 years in the business of the extruded plastics sheets for packaging , Building and other markets with different role and responsibilities. Indeed, he started his carreer in 1986 as R&D engineer, then he hold these different positions: Operations manager at Beghin Say, Managing Director at Dsmith Kaysersberg​, CEO Dssmith extruded products: 7 sites, ​CIO Corplex and Managing Director at Corplex Kaysersberg France and CIO a& Special projects Officer.
Julie CHAMINADE is the Managing Director of Kaléi, the French professional association representing technical and decorative coverings. All manufacturers of plastics floors, walls, roofing or coated fabrics active on the French market are members of this association. With more than twenty years as head of Kaléi, her new appointment as representative of Vinyl Plus in France and her previous experience within EuPC, as Manager of the B&C Division, Julie has developed great insight into institutional matters as well as a large number of key contacts. Aside from these main activities, she runs the RFS, the network of training centers involved in floor coverings.
Christine BERTRAND is Business Manager Polymers at TotalEnergies. She started her career at Total in 1990 in Belgium, where she held several positions within the Polymers Division linked to developing and promoting durable applications, and in R&D leading air and water quality programs. She is a member of the managing committee of the Europe and Orient Polymers Division, as well as of PlasticsEurope PS and EPS Main Committees, and of EUMEPS Raw Material Suppliers group. She holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium).
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Stéphanie JACOB is plastics, coverings and joinerys sector manager at Valobat.
Valobat is a non-profit private company owned by 50 shareholders, mostly leaders in the production and distribution of building materials. Its mission is to improve the environmental footprint of construction.
Valobat acts as a multi-material producer responsibility organisation (PRO) for the management of all building wastes, offering specific approaches, adapted to each product family.
Environment engineer, Stephanie worked for 13 years for KALEI, French trade association representing floor, wall and ceiling converters as environment manager. In her role, she was the French representative of VinylPlus in France for 4 years and managed circular economy working groups for UPB (Building Plastics Union) and AIMCC (Construction Products Industries association).
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Ine DE VILDER, after finishing her studies as industrial engineer, and subsequent PhD in organic chemistry at the university of Ghent, she started at Centexbel more than 12 years ago.
She joined the research group on ‘textile functionalisation and surface modification’. She has been involved in many private, national and international projects with a variety of topics.
The last years, multiple of her projects are dealing with recycling and circularity.
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Dr. Olivier Ceysson has had more than 25 years of experience in the international industry in R&D, engineering, innovation and sustainability.
His experience includes: materials, products and process development, strategic innovation and sustainability.
Olivier has been at Gerflor - The Flooring Group, for more than 20 years and has held several different positions.
He is currently in charge of Innovation & Sustainability for Gerflor Group.
In addition to his position in Gerflor, Olivier is Revinylfloor's Chairman, which is the circular economy platform for PVC flooring industry.
Michel PY is the President of CIFRA but also the Director of Research and Development. His work is focusing on PVC and he had been nominated several times Expert for PVC for the AFNOR in the context of the European standardisation. He started his career as an engineer . He is also the President of the European Thermoforming Division ETD Foundation and of Vinyl Film ans Sheet Europe Division of EuPC.
Céline DE WAELEguides Deceuninck Group in the implementation of sustainability in the business strategy and operational processes. This involves challenging current practices and developing a roadmap to further integrate sustainability within the company worldwide, in close cooperation with the area specialists. Céline is the driver of the internal and external reporting and communication of performance, progress, goals and ambitions in the field of climate change, circular economy and other topics such as human rights and environmental and health related product standards.
Deceuninck is a Belgian designer, producer and recycler of profile systems for windows, door and building profiles. The company mission ‘Building a sustainable home’ is realized, not only by providing innovative solutions that contribute to sustainable living, but also by embedding this vision in every step of the process.
Prior to working for Deceuninck, Céline worked as a consultant for EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services and as a policy adviser for the Flemish minister of Economics. She started her career working on youth entrepreneurship programmes for Vlajo/Chamber of Commerce (Belgium).
As a person, she is deeply concerned about the societal challenges our world is facing and convinced of the role companies play in being part of the solutions.
Sarah DEBBICHE KRICHEN joined VinylPlus as Public Affairs Senior Manager in January 2023. She is an experienced public affairs and communications professional with ten years of experience. Sarah started her career at the European Small Business Alliance in Brussels and then moved to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. Eventually, she came back to Brussels and became the Public Affairs Manager for the campaigning association Fire Safety Europe. More recently, Sarah worked at BCW as Director in the Sustainability practice. She gained over the years a deep and comprehensive expertise on chemicals regulation, construction products regulation, as well as on larger sustainability issues.
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 established The Netherlands based consultancy company Green Wave Plastics. 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 challengesSince May 2019 Bernard is also managing director of ESWA (European Singleply Waterproofing Association) and is in charge of the ESWA Roofcollect imitative since early 2020.
Packaging Session
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.
Vincent COLARD, after two master’s degrees on law and economics, with a focus on environmental projects & political decisions, Vincent started his professional life with a first experience at Veolia, on industrial waste treatment plants. Then he joined Elipso as environment manager. He started his journey with Citeo in 2016, now he conducts with his team the ecodesign Citeo strategy for plastic and metal packaging. He is part of Cotrep board, in charge of plastic packaging recyclability assessment.
Jean-Philippe COSTE is Chief Innovation & Special projects Officer at Corplex. He has a carrier of 37 years in the business of the extruded plastics sheets for packaging , Building and other markets with different role and responsibilities. Indeed, he started his carreer in 1986 as R&D engineer, then he hold these different positions: Operations manager at Beghin Say, Managing Director at Dsmith Kaysersberg​, CEO Dssmith extruded products: 7 sites, ​CIO Corplex and Managing Director at Corplex Kaysersberg France and CIO a& Special projects Officer.
Elke BERGES is Business Manager Packaging at TotalEnergies. She started her career at Total in 2003 in Belgium within the Polymers division, holding several positions in business development, marketing, and technical service. In 2012, she joined the Petrochemicals Platform of Antwerp to take several business & support positions within Refining & Chemicals. In 2022, she moved back to Polymers to take the position of Business Manager of Packaging. She is a member of the managing committee of the Europe and Orient Polymers Division and holds a Business Engineering degree from the University of Antwerp (Belgium).
Mattia PELLEGRINI is currently Head of Unit for « From Waste to Resources» at DG Environment, European Commission. Previously he was Head of Unit for Raw Materials, Metals, Minerals and Forest-based Industries at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Previously, he worked as Head of Cabinet of Commissioner Nelli Feroci and as a Member of the Cabinet of the Vice President of the European Commission, in charge of Enterprise and Industry. Mr Pellegrini has a Master’s Degree in European Legal Studies obtained at the College of Europe, Bruges, and a postgraduate diploma in EC Law obtained at L.U.I.S.S. “Guido Carli”, University of Rome.
Julian WEGNER is Business Development Manager Technical Polymers at ALBIS. He started his career in the chemical industry at the Hamburg based distribution company VELOX in 2012.
Julian was a Product Manager at VELOX and the distribution company IMCD where he gained fundamental insights into the packaging industry and packaging related applications.
During this time he was focusing on Copolyesters, Polyesters as well as tie layers for the flexible packaging industry.
Since beginning of 2022 his responsibilities include developing the market with ALBIS’ sustainable product solutions in the area of cosmetic- and food-packaging.
Sylvain RAMBOUR has a passion for solutions in plastics, starting studying plastics engineering from 1997. Following graduation, Sylvain spent his first years at FICOSA, top-tier 1 supplier devoted to the development and injection molding of components for exterior rear-view mirrors. Sylvain joined ALBIS, a world leader in the distribution of polymers and compounds, in 2005 as an Application Development Engineer and is actually Regional Technical Manager for South West Europe since 2013.
Working across multiple industries, collaborating closely with OEMs and brand owners, Sylvain has worked with hundreds of plastics processors in the EMEA region, delivering solutions in the application of plastics from initial idea to reality. Based in France, a key driver and promoter of environmental and circular solutions, Sylvain has developed deep knowledge and experience of sustainable solutions in plastics.
Peter VOORTMANS is Global Commercial Director Consumer Products of Borealis in charge of Flexible 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.
Patrick SEMADENI is Vice President and Head of Sustainabilty with KUNSTSTOFF.swiss, the assiciation of the swiss plastics industry. He is also board member of the Swiss Packaging Institute SVI and CEO of a plastic converter manufacturing plastic packaging. He also serves as packaging expert in the Federal Office for National Economic Supply. He holds a master’s degree in business administration of the University of St. Gallen and has a degree as production manager in plastics technology of the FH Schmalkalden.
Joan Marc SIMON is a serial social entrepreneur and author based in Brussels where he co-directs the work of Zero Waste Europe. He has been a leading voice for Zero Waste in Europe since 2007 and he is a regular speaker in many industry and NGO meetings in Brussels but also at local level as well as internationally. He is member of the Steering Committee of the Break Free from Plastic movement.
With a background in Economics, he has decades of experience working with governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field of good governance, new economics, social justice, and environment. Zero Waste Europe is a network of of 33 zero waste groups in 27 European countries with the mission of redesigning our relationship with resources. Zero Waste Europe also brings together 400 municipalities moving towards zero waste.
Bruno PEREIRA da SILVA is Head of Circular Economy and Environment at PIEP, the Innovation Center in Polymer Engineering of the University of Minho, where he develops research, development and innovation activities in the field of Circular Economy and Environment in partnership with national and international industry for different sectors of application, namely packaging, aeronautics, automotive, space, defense and energy. Participation in different platforms at national and international level, including his participation as a nominated member for the Circular Plastics Alliance, the Portuguese Plastics Pact, and ECP4, the European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform.
Bruno Pereira da Silva, graduated in Polymer Engineering from the University of Minho, Specialization in Design and Manufacturing of Automotive Components by the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, and with participation in Advanced Training, on the Project Management Course and the Advanced Management Programme, held at Porto Business School. PhD student in Waste Management and Treatment in the field of Circular Economy from the University of Minho.
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.
Francois CHAMBON is the ExxonMobil Global Strategic Marketing Manager for the Polyethylene business. In this capacity he is providing vison and global strategic leadership to the business, focusing on innovation and sustainability. He is leading multiple collaborations to make packaging circularity a reality working with many value chain partners around the world, including converters, consumer brands and retailers.
Francois has over 30 years of international experience in the petrochemical industry with a broad knowledge in the field of product innovation, new platform development, business development and value chain engagement.
He has a background in materials science and earned a Ph.D in Polymer Science & Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA along with with an Advanced Leadership diploma from the Thunderbird school of global management.
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.
Olivier GREINER is Vice President Polymers Europe & Orient at TotalEnergies. He started his career teaching science in Burkina Faso, before joining PetroFina in 1991 in Belgium as an internal auditor. He held several positions in Italy, France, and the Netherlands within the Total Group before being appointed Vice President Marketing & Sales of Base Chemicals in 2007, and later Senior Vice President Styrenics. Between 2016 and 2021, he directed the R&D of Refining & Chemicals. He holds degrees in Electrical Engineering from UCLouvain (Belgium) and in Industrial Management Engineering from KU Leuven (Belgium).
Dr. Bertrand FILLON is currently the Vice President of European Affairs of CEATech for renewable energy (photovoltaic, hydrogen, fuel cells, batteries,...), micro-electronics, digital, industry 4.0, circular economy and materials. He defines, organizes and follows CEATech international project portfolio. He is president of The European Composites, Plastics and Polymer Processing Platform (ECP4) and represents EuPC (European Plastic Converters) in the ECP4 Board. He is also the head of the scientific committee of the French polymer cluster Polymeris and the French Plastic institute; he is scientific advisor of the French Polymer Group (GFP) and of the CRITT MDTS in France. He is in the scientific committee of the OE-A (Organic Electronic Association). He is in the conference board of the LOPEC conference. He is involved in different European platforms and associations, and in different expert groups at international and national levels. He has been in the board of NANOfuture, EMIRI, 4M, etc… From 2016 to 2019 he worked as General Director of Research of the French Plastic Institute. From 2003 to 2016, he worked at CEA/LITEN as VP of European Affairs and program manager of renewable energy. From 1990 to 2003, he worked for Pechiney Packaging as coordinator of the Global Packaging R&D activities and leader of the Pechiney polymer expert group. Before, Dr Fillon worked for Orkem as a research engineer of polymer extrusion. He has a number of technical publications, books co-author and patents in the field of polymer packaging and processes.
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Hervé de MAISTRE is Chairman of Valobat.
Valobat is a non-profit private company owned by 50 shareholders, mostly leaders in the production and distribution of building materials. Its mission is to improve the environmental footprint of construction.
Valobat acts as a multi-material eco-organisation for the management of all building wastes, offering specific approaches, adapted to every product family.
After having graduated Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, Hervé has managed subsidiaries of the Saint-Gobain Group such as ISOVER and Placoplatre. He has chaired the French Association of Construction Products Industries (AIMCC) for 6 years.
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Marco ten BRUGGENCATE is the Commercial Vice President for Packaging and Specialty Plastics for EMEA, and is based in Horgen, Switzerland. Marco joined Dow in 2000 in the role of Commercial Manager, Spray Polyurethanes within PU Systems House. In 2007, he became Strategic Marketing Manager for Dow Building Solutions, before being appointed Product Director in 2011. As part of that role, he became the Chairman of the European Extruded Polystyrene Insulation Producers Association, EXIBA and represents Dow on the Board of Directors of the Joint Venture, Arabian Chemical Company Ltd, (Saudi Arabia). In 2012, Marco assumed the role of Business Director EMEAI for Dow Building Solutions and in 2014 was appointed Global Business Director for Dow Construction Chemicals. In 2016, he became the Global Business Director of Dow Building & Construction and was then responsible for Global Strategy for the Polyurethanes Portfolio before assuming his current role. Currently he is President of Brussels based association PlasticsEurope, with a focus on driving circularity and decarbonization throughout the plastics industry. Marco earned his Masters degree in Business Economics at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He is a vocal and active advocate for inclusion and diversity and is Co-Chair in Dow’s Women’s Inclusion Network, as well as the business sponsor for DEN EMEAI, Dow’s disability network.
Jonatas Melo is graduated from the University of São Paulo.
He started his career at ExxonMobil where he held several positions during nine years.
At Borouge, he was firstly Vice-President of Global Supply and Demand; then he became Vice President of the Business Center to finally hold the position of Vice President – Asia South for which he was responsible for all commercial and supply chain activities India subcontinent, South East Asia and Australasia.
Jonatas currently works at Borealis, for several years now. Being Vice President - Performance Materials & Global P&L Owner for the Performance Materials Business Unit., Jonatas leads the teams responsible for Consumer Products (Flexible and Rigid Packaging) and Infrastructure applications across all geographies. General Commercial interface with all value chain players, with key focus on Circular Solutions.
He has more than 23 years of international leadership experience for leading multinational companies. He received several awards
Filipe de BOTTON has a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from "Universidade Católica Portuguesa”. Between 1980 and 1991, he represented the following banks in Portugal: Crédit du Nord (France), Banc de Sabadell (Spain), Banque Bruxelles Lambert (Belgium) and Bayerische Hypotheken und Wechselbank (Germany). From 1985 to 1990, Filipe de Botton was a Founder and Member of the Board of Interfinança, a private bank sold to Millennium BCP, and, between 1990 and 1991, he was a Founder and Member of the Board of Fonsecas & Burnay, Sociedade Gestora de Património, which is now part of the BPI group. In 1976, he founded Logoplaste with his father and became CEO and main shareholder in 1991. Logoplaste is one of the main worldwide producers of rigid plastic. It has 70 factories in 16 countries – in Europe, NAFTA, Vietnam and Brazil – with sales of over 800 million euros. Filipe de Botton is also involved as a Shareholder and Director in: Hotels and resorts sector (hotels in Brazil and in Portugal) (Portobay), Ice cream business (Santini), Production of wine in Portugal (Logowines), Largest producer of bio blueberries in Iberia (Logofruits), Financial Consultant Service Company (Invesfin), The largest creative hub in Portugal (LACS), Main shareholder of production of stoneware plates and cups factory (Mesacer), Asset management services (Sixty Degrees). He is Founder President of the Portuguese Diaspora Counsel and a French Foreign Trade Advisor. He is also President of the CADin - Neurodevelopment and Inclusion. He was President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa Alumni from 1989 to 2001, Director of the Hotel da Lapa in Lisbon from 1990 to 1994 and Member of the Board of Sporting Clube de Portugal between 2006 and 2009.
Nathalie BRUNELLE is Senior Vice President of the Polymers Business Unit at TotalEnergies. She began her career in 1995 as process engineer, then head of a polymer plant (on the Normandy platform, France). Between 2002 and 2011, she held several positions in Belgium within the Base Chemicals Division in site operations management (on the Antwerp platform), strategic planning, and marketing & sales, before joining the Refining & Chemicals Management Committee in 2012. Between 2019 and 2022, she led the Saclay Project to create a research center dedicated to decarbonized energy. Since 2019, she chairs the TWICE network – TotalEnergies Women's Initiative for Communication and Exchange
She holds an Engineering degree from Ecole Polytechnique (France) and a postgraduate degree in Advanced Technology in Petrochemicals, Polymers & Plastics from IFP School (France) and McGill University (Canada).
Pedro PAES DO AMARAL is the Executive Vice President at APIP – Associação Portuguesa da Indústria de Plásticos (Portuguese Plastics Industry Association). He has a Law degree from Catholic University of Portugal. Most of his work has been dedicated to plastics, with more than 25 years of experience in the raw material supplying and compounding areas, where he worked in a Portuguese company belonging to Mário Coelho group and later in Nexeo Solutions, an American multinational company.Since 2016, he is member of the Board of IP Interpolimeri Portugal, an Italian multinational company. Pedro was also Member of the Disciplinary Committee at the Porto Football Association between 1995 and 1998, and at the Portuguese Football Federation for more than 13 years. Since 2019, Pedro is the Executive Vice President of the Portuguese Plastics Industry Association, and in 2022 he was the Executive Director of the Plastics Summit – Global Event, held in Lisbon, on October 2022, which was considered the world's largest sustainability event ever organized by the plastics sector.
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.
Etienne BECHET DE BALAN, after graduation at EM Lyon Business school, has managed different US and French manufacturing companies, mainly involved in Mass Market products. Since 1995 he has been managing CEP , a 190 p. family- owned company based in France near Clermont-Ferrand, which manufactures office accessories so as components for the Cosmetic industry . Member of the Executive Committee of POLYVIA, Etienne has been chairing since 2019 IPC , the French R&D and Innovation center for Plastic& Composites .
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Yavuz EroÄŸlu was born in Istanbul on January 23, 1973. He received his bachelor's degree from the Istanbul Technical University Department of Electronics and Communication, and has master's degrees from the BoÄŸaziçi University Biomedical Engineering Department and the Marmara University Management Organization Department.
He started his career in SEM Plastik, a family company. After working summers while a student, EroÄŸlu started full-time work at the company in 1996. He was in charge of production, sales and export in a company that grew quickly in the plastics industry and had remarkable achievements along the way. In 1997, he was responsible for the first export transaction in the industry. EroÄŸlu is also the Founder and Board of Directors Chair of SEM Global A.Åž. and Credoy Polymer. Under his leadership, SEM Plastik was named one of the top 100 fastest-growing companies of Turkey and the region by the Harvard University affiliate Allworld Network. His 2008 investment in Plastic Disposable Packaging in Palestine was the only manufacturing investment in the region, and was cited by business guru Michael Porter in his “Shared Value” presentation as an example case. Yavuz EroÄŸlu is also the President of the Turkish Plastics Industry Foundation (PAGEV), the President of the TOBB Plastics, Rubber and Composite Industry Assembly, Board of Directors of EuPC (European Plastics Converters Association), President of Turkey, Middle East and Africa of the Waste Free Oceans Foundation, and Advisory Board Member of the MECC (Middle East Commercial Center). He gives regular lectures on the plastics industry, recycling, sustainability, packaging, trade finance, and entrepreneurship in various countries. He published a book titled "GeçmiÅŸten GeleceÄŸe Plastikler Tarihi - History of Plastics" in Turkish to educate young children about plastics. EroÄŸlu is fluent in English and also speaks German and French. Yavuz EroÄŸlu has four children.
Cátia MORAIS has a master’s in environmental engineering – Environmental Management, from Instituto Superior Técnico (Lisbon, Portugal)
Her professional activity started at SGS - Sociedade Geral de Superintendência S.A., where she was for ten years as Key Account Manager and, later, as a technician in the Environment and Safety services, carrying out activities in environmental and safety monitoring services, inspections, and audits in several industries, including plastics industry. With a background in Quality, Environmental and Safety management systems since June 2021 she has been part of the Technical Department of Portuguese Plastics Industry Association (APIP) to strengthen the skills of the technical staff in supporting its members and developing ongoing projects in circular economy and sustainability areas. Cátia is also responsible for the Communication in APIP, namely, organization of events, social media management and project management communication activities.
Cátia was also the Operation Manager of Plastics Summit – Global Event 2022, supervising the organization team and activities related to the event as communication, sponsorships, partnerships, among others.