Speakers 2019

Abigail brings her background in strategic marketing, communications and project management with global creative agencies, international consumer brands and global small business to the ever-varied world of color management and marketing. Responsible for brand and trade marketing management across Europe, Middle East and Africa as well as advising and collaborating with leading designers and brand owners to collectively support them in making the most informed decisions about color for their brand or product strategy.

Alan has over 25 years’ experience of working with global companies and governments on sustainability. He joined the world’s largest Steel company ArcelorMittal in 2014 as their General Manager for Sustainable development and Corporate Responsibility and since then has helped develop a sustainability framework ranging from products to process. He is Co-chairman of ResponsibleSteel and sits on the steering board of the Initiative for Responsible Mining. Alan created and chaired the Ebola Private Sector Mobilisation Group, which was a collaboration of over 100 companies sharing best practice and coordinating the corporate respond to Ebola in West Africa. For this he was made a Clinton Global Citizen honouree in 2015. Previous to that he was Sustainability Director for Business and the Community (BITC) where he oversaw all their Corporate Sustainability Programmes. He advised the Virgin Group on sustainable development for seven years. Previously he has worked with global companies as diverse as B&Q where led their entire Cr and Sustainability programme for 10 years. He was instrument in founding and developing the Forest Stewardship Council. He held similar roles in the Parent company Kingfisher and SABMiller, the multibillion brewery company. For nine years he was a commissioner with the Sustainable Development Commission and he introduced the concept of "choice editing" into the product policy debate. He is a Senior Associate of the Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership. He was awarded the OBE in June 1998, in 2005 the US-based Rainforest Alliance presented him with a lifelong award and in 2013 he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Society for the Environment.

Alex-James is currently a Global Research & Innovation Director for packaging innovation at Danone. He is responsible for creating user-centric and brand relevant packaging experiences that respond to identified growth opportunities, whilst driving forward an ambitious sustainability agenda. He believes outstanding holistic packaging design & development has never been needed more by society and consumers seeking (deserving) a better solution, and brand owners looking to secure strong, sustainable growth. He enjoys building teams, new capabilities and hybrid collaborative partnerships to deliver short term impact steered within an inspiring longer-term vision. Prior to his 7years at Danone, Alex-James worked for Procter&Gamble for 12years in a variety of roles with R&D, Design, Sustainability, Quality and Engineering functions in diverse categories and cultures. Bilingual English-French, he currently lives and works in Paris. Alex-James holds a Masters Degree in Engineering from Durham University.

Attila Turos is Vice President of Strategic Alliances, Loop and General Manager, Diagnostics at TerraCycle Inc. Previously, Attila was a senior international development professional specializing in developing and managing environmental sustainability and public health initiatives for Global Enterprises and International Organizations through public-private collaboration projects/programs. Notably, Attila led the World Economic Forum’s work on Sustainability and Circular Economy and lead public health programmes at the World Health Organization.

Experienced Design & Packaging Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the consumer goods industry. Skilled in Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Retail Packaging (primary, logistic & e-commerce packaging), Business Development, Marketing Strategy and cross-functional Team Leadership. Worked closely with production, QA, purchasing, design agencies and international teams, where successfully planned from concept stages, design and implemented packaging for FMCG brands. Brought savings through value optimization projects. She loves to monitor global trends and manage innovations. Speaker at many international conferences and fairs, author of a series of articles for the quarterly World of the Cosmetics Industry. Strong interpersonal and communicative skills combined with impressive professional experience, allow her to focus on solving problems, creative discussions and thinking about the customer's needs. She works with passion and heart and is a great enthusiast of new product development strategies. Privately a fan of painting on silk, tango dancing and travelling with a backpack in a wild area to look for inspiration.

Benjamin brings over 13 years of experience in the packaging world, and 10 years creating and delivering packaging based market insight. During this time, Benjamin has worked with global clients big and small, and has been a regular speaker at international conferences. Benjamin has been with Mintel since 2012. In his current role as Global Packaging Insights Director, he is responsible for creating and delivering Mintel’s packaging content. Benjamin also leads the delivery of bespoke packaging insights, focusing on the specific packaging needs of Mintel’s clients. Prior to Mintel, he worked at Euromonitor International, initially as a researcher and client manager, which enabled him to forge strong links to the industry and grow his understanding of market research and insight needs. Subsequently, he was promoted to Head of Global Packaging Research, a role in which he led a significant revision in data collection, analysis and presentation that delivered a step change increase in data quality. Before joining the world of market research, Benjamin was Science Manager for Faraday Packaging Partnership. Working as a technology translator in this government funded initiative, he forged links between the packaging industry and academic excellence in fields as diverse as material science, decision making, engineering, psychology and design. Benjamin holds a Ph. D. in Polymer Physics from The University of Leeds where he investigated the pressure dependence of segmental polymer dynamics.

Chris has worked for PepsiCo for 27 years, predominantly in Supply Chain and Financial leadership roles. Having worked as a supply chain leader over the last decade, sustainability has been a critical part of Chris’ role and three years ago he formally took ownership of leading the sustainability agenda as part of his responsibilities to transform PepsiCo’s Europe’s supply chain. In this role, Chris leads PepsiCo’s work to embed sustainable thinking, practices and technology into the European supply chain. A key area he is driving is to establish end to end sustainability thinking into core decision making and processes across our business, alongside partnering with all stakeholders to make sustainable choices more accessible.

Desi LUCHEVA is a Senior Packaging Team Leader at Danone Nutricia Research. In this role, Desi looks after global packaging innovations for Advance Medical Nutrition. She leads a team providing user- centric packaging solutions that make positive and proven differences to health. As a big believer in people powered innovation, Desi supports talents who are grounded in courage, creativity, entrepreneurialism and resilience. Prior to her 6 years at Danone, she worked for Unilever for 6 years in a variety of roles with R&D in multiple countries. Desi holds a Masters Degree in Packaging Engineering from Packaging University (ESIEC) in France. Even though she loves living abroad, her ties with her home country Bulgaria are hard to break.

I am the founder and CEO of Foodloopz who works for Zero Food Waste in the supply chain on the Swedish market. We do that in three ways: 1. We offer companies and organizations to find new costumers in an efficient way for food and beverages that is hard to sell the “normal” way. We matchmake small and large batches risking to become food waste, both by sales and donations via our platform and network. 2. We work in collaborations and projects with specific problems or products related to food waste such as Re:winers and other projects. 3. We offer companies our services as consultants to help companies reduce food waste I have a background as packaging design manager at a food retail company but felt that I cold do more and do better things with my time and founded Foodloopz. We are a passion driven company with a focus to improve the food system in a sustainable way. Instagram: @re.winers Instagram: @foodloopzfood

I am part of ABI Global Packaging Innovation team and responsible for Aesthetic decoration on primary packs, ‘shaping’ the future looks of beer packaging! I have a fantastic job right where technical Packaging development crosses with Innovation. Whether it's doing developing digital printing, tactile executions, leading FEI projects on finishing looks or colours. It's the sweet spot where my passion meets my skills and what is needed by my FMCG industry. With a 10+ year career in Packaging, R&D and Supply, I'm happy to still be challenged every day.

Dr Geoff Brighty is Technical Director at Plastic Oceans UK. His leads the sustainability, science and policy activities that are at the forefront of the Foundation’s legacy programmes, following the release of A Plastic Ocean in 2017. He develops plastic sustainability programmes with commercial companies to support their business response on both commercial and public reputation issues on plastics. He writes the policy positions for the Foundation, and is connected with other global policy thinkers that are shaping how we address this intractable global problem. He is a published research scientist and has a career spanning 30 years in the environmental protection and regulation sector.

Gorkem Gor is the Head of Graphic Design & Product Communication at Arcelik Group. As a Team, they are responsible of designing all necessary graphic needs like on product prints, graphic user interfaces (GUI), packaging and user manual visuals for the product range of Arçelik Group brands. (Arçelik, Beko, Voltas Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, Elektrabregenz, Arctic, Defy, Dawlence, Flavel, Leisure, Altus) He graduated from Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, specializing in Graphic Art and Design. He has an experience in brand identity, print, packaging, and digital media over 10 years of experience. He experienced working at local agencies and IKEA Turkey organization.

Graham is an applied scientist with expertise in the areas of environmental quality and food safety. His aim is to contribute to sustainability, food safety, quality and security and he has over 25 years research and teaching experience. He has worked extensively with industry on applied research and consultancy projects and has developed accessible training based on a blended learning approach. Recent research has primarily been in the areas of food innovation and packaging technology with a focus on the use of agri-food by-products for functional foods and bio-based packaging. Graham holds Fellowships with the Royal Society of Biology and the Royal Society of the Arts and is also a member of the Institute of Food Science & Technology and the Institute of Biomedical Sciences.

Ilkka Harju, Packaging Design Director, is leading the Metsä Board’s packaging design team responsible for the European and Asian markets. Before joining Metsä Board in 2018, he was responsible for packaging design and innovation needs for various companies. Harju is renowned for pushing design boundaries by working collaboratively with other designers and technology experts. He constantly advocates the role of responsible design, technology and renewable raw materials as a tool for a healthier environment. In 2017 Harju received a Worldstar Award for his jewelry packaging design.

John founded Little Big in 2001 with the desire to create a different kind of branding firm; dedicated to always doing what’s right for clients while fostering an environment where employees can thrive and truly find balance. Under his leadership, LBB has become a force within the industry. John’s 25+ career has included time spent at some of the most respected branding consultancies in the world, and he’s been instrumental in successful brand initiatives for clients like Burger King, Coca-Cola, KIND, Gillette, Johnson & Johnson, Novartis, Unilever, Campbell’s, and Sun Products Corporation. In 2011, he was named to GDUSA’s prestigious “People to Watch” list. John is a frequent speaker at industry conferences like The Dieline, Packaging that Sells and Package Design Matters, and enjoys mentoring and guest lecturing at colleges like F.I.T. His work has won every major design award and is regularly featured in industry magazines, annuals, and books.

John is a 30-year veteran of Procter and Gamble where he was responsible for the development of packaging across its many business units including Healthcare, Beauty Care and Household products, based in the UK and Belgium. He led the development of the Company’s first globally-identical packaging for Haircare products in the late 90s. His time at P&G was punctuated by a period at Coty Inc. Barcelona where he was Director of Packaging responsible for the mass fragrance, color cosmetics and personal care businesses. Since 2012 John has been based in Redmond, Washington where he leads the Packaging Development and Engineering function at Microsoft.

Jos is Global Head of Design Strategy at leading FMCG innovator, Reckitt Benckiser. His focus is enabling Design to lead brand strategy throughout the consumer journey. He has spent the last 20 years leading design thinking in all areas of the creative industry – always with a focus on the end-user and an agenda to drive sustainable business practices.

Within the Philips packaging team, Judith works on global packaging design projects within the Beauty category. She is responsible for packaging development from idea to production, in which she closely collaborates with M2O, communication design, product development, and marketing. Together with M2O and communication design she is responsible for the Beauty packaging vision and packaging roadmap. Before joining Philips, Judith obtained her MSc degree in Industrial Design Engineering – with a specialisation in Management of Product Development. During her studies she interned at a.o. Grolsch and Cloetta.

As Microsoft’s Creative Director of Global Packaging and Content, Kevin leads a world-class team of designers and is responsible for the vision and creative strategy of Microsoft’s packaging for its worldwide line of products including Surface, XBOX, Hololens, PC Hardware and others. He believes that today’s consumers expect intuitive, connected product journeys and well-crafted packaging is one of a brand’s most vital assets in creating meaningful and lasting consumer relationships. Prior to joining Microsoft he was Creative Director of Marc Rosen Associates, a New York based, award-winning design firm specializing in luxury, beauty and consumer packaged goods. Prior to that, he was Global Packaging Design Director for Avon Products, Inc. responsible for packaging across global brands. With over 25 years of packaging design experience, his passion is for leading talented teams that leverage the power of inspired design while launching memorable experiences that delight consumers and build brand equity.

Luis Carlos Chacón leads the BusinessCase team, a Boutique-Global-Firm that works with multinational FMCG's identifying emerging and future business opportunities. Also, has been a columnist for Forbes Latin America for several years, and currently pursuing a postgraduate degree in Global Business at the University of Oxford (where previously graduated in Strategy and Innovation), his educational background also includes studies at Stanford, The University of Manchester, and Houston University. In business, he has worked for more than eighteen years for the global and regional operations of FMCG’s such as The Coca-Cola Company, Colgate-Palmolive, Diageo, Kellogg’s, Unilever, AB InBev among many others. Global traveller, eternal student, avant-garde thinker, business consultant, writer, and researcher, related to topics such as economics, storytelling, investment, retail, futures, semiotics, creativity, business competitive, globalization strategy, design thinking and behavioural sciences.

With the emergence of new categories in the food industry (like functional food, vegan food etc.), this has opened an opportunity window for new companies and new products, but also requires a more technical approach. Marius is a part of the company’s product innovation team, is responsible to connect between market demands and the company’s innovations.

Michael Massa is an Irish and American citizen permanently residing in the Netherlands. Before studying patent and intellectual property law he took a degree in electrical engineering. Not long after his partner, Beth Massa, founded Ozarka, he joined the company full-time, with a focus on logistics, infrastructure, and data analysis.

Morten Sivertsvik is currently research director in Nofima department of Processing Technology. He has a PhD in food science (NMBU, Ås, Norway), MSc in chemical engineering (NTNU, Trondheim, Norway) and packaging economist (DNE, Oslo, Norway). Morten has been working in Nofima for 27 years as a scientist or research leader and has been involved in numerus seafood processing, preservation and packaging related innovation and research projects. Morten has authored approx. 50 peer-reviewed papers, several book chapters and has participated in among other in the following ongoing or recent international projects; n-Chitopack, ForBioPlast, SafeFishDish, ActiBioSafe, FurtureEuAqua.

Nicolas BOUCHE is Packaging Director for DECATHLON, the sporting goods producer and retailer. He leads the packaging process with a strong “dare for less & better” philosophy. Packaging should be optimized to decease prices and costs and it’s value for employees and customers should be increased. The packaging business unit supports 58 Passion Brands in their international development in 55 countries, providing them optimized and sustainable packaging solutions. Nicolas BOUCHE He also has a strong experience in the product development, design management, innovation management and research and development. In his previous experience in DECATHLON Research & Development team, he created the Affective Sciences Department. Physical activity should first and foremost be a pleasure. This R&D laboratory is dedicated to ease of use, sensation and emotion. It is aimed at better understanding, measuring and evaluating the sensations and emotions perceived by consumers and users to design pleasurable new sport experience. Nicolas BOUCHE has a Master's degree in Engineering with a specialization in product design.

Niels Prinsen is a senior structural packing designer with over 19-years’ experience in packaging development at Philips. Currently working for different categories like Beauty, Sleep & Respiratory, One blade and Coffee. He is an expert in end-2-end structural packaging design & development from technical design, production and mark introduction at retail and online.

Niels van Marle has been an packaging expert at the Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) since 2017. Niels used to work as an packaging innovation manager for companies like Philips, Mars, Hero and Jacobs Douwe Egberts. Overtime, sustainability became a more prominent part of packaging innovation. At KIDV, Niels develops tools and supports producers and importers of packaging materials to keep up with latest developments and make their packaging portfolio more sustainable. The Netherlands Institute for Sustainable Packaging (KIDV) is founded in order to establish a circular economy for packaging, by developing and sharing fact-based knowledge with all partners in the packaging chain. This is vital while ‘closing the loop’ asks for cooperation by all parties, leading to new business opportunities, less dependency on raw materials and environmental gains.

Peter comes to Esko Brand Solutions with more than 20 years of experience in global technology business. Most recently he served as General Manager, BLUE Software. Immediately prior, he spent more than 10 years leading product management and marketing functions within the Kodak family, including Kodak’s Output Devices and Workflow Systems. During this period, he solidified an enviable sales and marketing management track record.

Santiago Navarro is a serial entrepreneur. His first start-up in 2011, Vinopic Wines, was an online retailer which was the first to use science to judge and score wines for their intrinsic quality. Following this, he went on to co-found Nightly.travel, the world's only hotel booking site to split a traveller’s stay across two hotels to enable them to save as much as 70%. Santiago’s now focused on Garçon Wines, as CEO and co-founder, innovating the 35 billion bottles used annually in wine and aiming to make flat, sustainable bottles the dominant primary packaging in wine.

Tony Waite is Sales Director Packaging at Tata Steel Europe and the current President of APEAL, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging. He joined Tata Steel in 1999 and has held a number of commercial roles within the organisation looking after Original Equipment Manufacturers from Industrial Packaging, Radiators, Domestic Appliances and Automotive tiers. Prior to his current role, he was Regional Head for EIMEA based out of Dubai where he looked after Tata Steel operations in the region and was responsible for all the sales of products into the region from both the European and Indian operations. He holds a BSc in Technology and Management, as well as an MBA from the University of Warwick in the U.K.