Kiril Dimitrov is a Chemical Engineer by education with over 20 years of extensive experience in the field of packaging development and materials innovation. Professional career across the entire packaging supply chain, working for some of the leading paper and packaging manufacturers and recyclers, with many years in Food manufacturing and retail.
 
With specific focus in flexible packaging technologies and interest in paper materials, Kiril is currently a Flexible Packaging Lead at Nestlé’s Central Technology R&D team based in Vevey, Switzerland, leading Nestlé’s global flexible packaging R&D portfolio.

Jens is a diploma engineer within textile spinning, Nonwovens/paper manufacturing and machinery.

He has been with UPM/Walkisoft airlaid from 1989 to 1999 as operation manager of two airlaid production lines.  In 1999, he took on the CEO role at Dan- Web Int., on the supply of turnkey airlaid production lines, before he decided to go freelanc within the airlaid nonwovens industry in 2005.  Since 2013, Jen is the partner at CAMPEN/VARO and director for the CAMPEN Airlaid business.

The CAMPEN R&D center has the capability to demonstrate the airlaid paper process as well the drymolding process for the fiber based packing industry.  The center has full lab facilities, one complete state of the art pilot airlaid line (New type of airlaid Beater forming head and SPIKE forming head technology patented by CAMPEN Machinery) and one complete pilot dry molding line.

Alexey Vishtal is working at Capsul’in Pro as a Head of Cellulose development and focusing on bringing home-compostable pulp-based solutions for single-serve beverage systems to the market. He has more than 15 years of experience in various roles in FMCG, material and process development with a focus on packaging sustainability. His core abilities lie in the bringing novel innovative packaging concepts into industrial use, from idea conceptualization to CAPEX and operational excellence. He also has strong academic background in paper physics, barrier coatings, and packaging converting where he authored more than 20 peer-reviewed papers and hold 10+ international patents.

PhD in Materials Chemistry with the focus of using nanocellulose for fundamental and application study. Has been acted as research specialist and project manager leading wet forming R&D, pilot and production trials. Wide network in MF supply chain beneficial from consultancy service experience and as global application expert with connection of raw material and machine suppliers, converters, IP and technology provides, as well as brand owners worldwide. Passionate in creating and turning ideas into market application with ecosystem approach for development of sustainable and circular economy particularly in Molded Fiber industry.

Renata Daudt is a packaging engineer and founder of AWEN Packaging Consulting, based in Australia.

She has over 15 years of global experience in sustainable and circular packaging, and advising brands on compliance, design, and material innovation.

She holds a Master’s in Packaging Engineering and is pursuing a PhD in Circular Design.  Her work connects science, policy, and industry to drive packaging transformation.

Bernhard Kainz is Principal Scientist and Global Technology Leader for Dow Coating Materials (DCM). In his current role, Kainz takes primary responsibility for driving forward the development and technical support of DCM’s portfolio of barrier coating solutions, with a particular focus on barrier coating applications in the metal and fibre-based packaging market.

Since Kainz joined Dow in 1990, he has been influential in coatings research and application development for barrier coatings. He held various technical positions in Epoxy Resin Coatings before spearheading the development of novel DCM aqueous dispersion barrier coating technologies for the food and home & personal care packaging market. Throughout his career, he has authored more than 20 patents and commercialized more than 25 products.

Kainz holds a Master’s degree in both Chemistry and Economics, and a PhD in Inorganic Chemistry and is a certified 6Sigma Black Belt. He is a member of the steering group of the 4evergreen cross-industry alliance as well as a key player in task force teams for national and international associations, including CEFIC EPDLA & FCA, Plastics Europe, the Joint Industry Group for metal packaging.

Manuel Milliery founded Papkot in 2020 to eliminate plastics from packaging using AI and data-driven material science. His work focuses on creating modular coatings that give paper the functional properties of plastic—while remaining recyclable, biodegradable, and industrially scalable. By combining formulation expertise with real-time performance data, he has built a system to rapidly adapt coatings across substrates, processes, and market needs. At Papkot, innovation is built for speed, rooted in science, and designed to scale.

Jose Alonso is currently Head of Converting processes unit at ITENE. Before being named Head in March 2020, Jose was previously project manager of several European projects and technical leader in other projects dealing with packaging materials development and evaluation. He also played a key role in the development of strategic research and development at ITENE, ensuring flexibility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace for more than 18 years.  Prior to joining ITENE, Jose worked on packaging materials research at the Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA, center of Spanish National Research Council (CSIC)). Jose earned a Chemistry degree from Universitat de València.

Suhan is a CEng and CSci chartered materials scientist with over 10 years of experience developing innovative and sustainable materials and technologies for companies in the FMCG and manufacturing industries. Currently, Suhan leads the barrier team in dry-moulded fibre development at PA Consulting, focusing on enhancing the functionality of fibre-based materials as alternatives to single-use plastics. Suhan holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge.

Michele Gherardini has 15 years of experience at the intersection of food law, consumer protection, and sustainability. He began his career as a legal advisor in top-tier international law firms, where he specialized in European and international competition law, food law, and consumer regulation. In this role, he supported multinational clients—particularly in the food and beverage sector—on matters ranging from product compliance and advertising claims to food safety, labeling, and international trade regulations.

Building on his legal expertise and industry insight, Michele transitioned into the corporate world by joining Perfetti Van Melle, one of the world's largest manufacturers of confectionery products. Over the years, he has held roles of increasing responsibility, currently serving as Group Regulatory Affairs Associate Director responsible of the regulatory sustainability branch with a global remit.

In his current capacity, Michele leads complex, multi-jurisdictional regulatory and sustainability initiatives, supporting global product launches and ensuring alignment with evolving legislative frameworks, including green claims, packaging regulations, EPR schemes, and the EU Green Deal agenda.

A trusted advisor to senior leadership, Michele is known for combining legal rigor with strategic foresight, enabling business teams to innovate responsibly while navigating a rapidly evolving regulatory environment. His leadership contributes to building resilient compliance frameworks that align with corporate sustainability goals and respond to increasing stakeholder expectations for transparency and environmental accountability.

Dr Scott Thompson is Head of Technology and Development at Xampla, leading internal core research projects and customer focused product development programmes. He has a PhD in Polymer Chemistry and over 10 years of industry experience in leading the research and development of novel technologies. Including developing and scaling advanced polymer materials at Hexcel Corporation.

Andrea Vittadello coordinates the group of Project Managers in our Food Science Center and is himself Project Manager for the "Sustainability" area. He has been part of this laboratory since 2002 and has been involved almost immediately in biodegradability studies. He is a member of the European Bioplastics T.C., Din Certco, TUV Austria and the BPI Committee on Standards and Procedures and CEN,ASTM and ISO working group on Biodegradability, Recycling of Plastics and Packaging . Member of Aticelca  WG on Paper Recyclability He is also currently Convenor of the CEN WG7 for Specific Migrations, of the CEN WG8 for Global Migrations and EU Stakeholder for evaluation of FCM regulation.

Luca Panzeri, Founder and CTO of Qwarzo. With over 35 years of experience in the materials and engineering sector, his work has always focused on researching technical and industrial solutions to enhance material performance, with growing attention to sustainability. Qwarzo® was born from this journey, with the aim of creating a concrete alternative to single-use plastic.

Vladyslav Kolesnyk is currently the director of technology and innovations at Univest Paper Packaging Factory, bringing over 30 years of expertise in the printing and packaging industries. For the past 12 years, he has driven Univest’s R&D and innovation efforts, with the most recent launch of Ukraine’s first barrier-coating line for cardboard—pioneering in-house production of plastic-free food packaging such as paper cups, ice-cream buckets and other packaging for fastfood. He also initiated the country’s first extrusion-coating line, enabling Univest to independently certify and manufacture barrier-coated cartons and cups. Under his leadership, Univest is launching molded-fiber lids for cups, further advancing our commitment to sustainable packaging.

Vlad’s strategic vision also underpins our circular-economy initiatives—aligning operations with principles of resource efficiency, waste reduction, and product life-cycle optimization. He has driven solar-energy integration, energy storage, and smart consumption projects across our production sites, resulting in measurable CO2 emissions reductions and significant cost savings. Thanks to his guidance, Univest’s Department of Technology and Innovations has repeatedly won international awards for innovation and design both in Ukraine and abroad.

Armin has accumulated over 39 years of papermaking experience at Gessner, with his apprenticeship in 1986.  He became the production manager for the paper machine in the mill in Weidach for almost 11 years, and then he moved to the US and was responsible for a rebuild and startup of mill in Appleton for Gessner. Returned to Germany in 2017 and Armin took a switch to R&D for new business. Gessner is in the southern part of Germany and operates under the Mativ Holding.

Franko Vrhovac is Investment Manager and sector specialist at Emerald Technology Ventures, focusing on sustainable materials and packaging. He covers the full investment cycle from sourcing to exit, supporting innovative packaging start-ups. Previously, Franko held technical and business roles across the packaging value chain, from engineering sustainable materials at Elopak to category management at Barry Callebaut. He later drove sustainable packaging implementation at Bosch Power Tools, collaborating with FMCG leaders and fostering innovation, design thinking, and industry-wide transitions toward more sustainable solutions.

Mahdi is a researcher in the field of packaging technology and engineering. His primary research focus is on paper-based materials and their conversion in vertical form fill and seal (VFFS) applications. Mahdi's work centers on understanding and improving the behavior of paper-based materials during the forming and sealing processes.

His recent research includes the optimization of heat sealing parameters to ensure package tightness, material runnability and convertibility, minimizing the wrinkling behavior. Mahdi is committed to advancing sustainable solutions in packaging by leveraging insights into material performance and process interactions.

Annika works as a sales engineer and Airlaid Specialist at Campen Machinery.  She has a Diploma Engineer degree as a Global Business Engineer with a specialization in Mechanical Engineering.  Her final thesis is focused on Airlaid meat trays as an alternative to other packaging materials.

With over 33 years of packaging professional experience, Daniel is the Chief Commercial Officer of Huilin Packaging, based in China.  Daniel looks forward to tap on his flexible production solution and experience to level up molded pulp production.  Using state of the art mini production system, he is involved in the re-structuring of a 25 years old, 500+ staffed, molded pulp factory in China.

Marco earned his Master's degree in Experimental Physical Chemistry from the University of Milan in 2008, laying a strong foundation for a career rooted in scientific inquiry.

His career began in the Polyurethane Rigid Foam Business (2008-2015), gaining valuable experience in R&D and provided technical assistance for an independent system house. This role developed his practical skills and understanding of industrial applications.

In 2015, Marco joined Lamberti as an Applied Researcher for the Paper Business Unit. Since 2022, he became Product Manager for Food Contact Barrier Coating on Paper substrates and he is responsible for overseeing the entire product lifecycle, from initial development to successful industrialization and implementation with customers.

Kalle Miettinen brings 15 years of experience in the specialty paper and fibre-based packaging industry, encompassing consulting and operations. Throughout his career, Kalle has participated in numerous business development projects, investment feasibility assessments, due diligence processes, and market studies. Before joining AFRY Management Consulting, he spent several years in R&D at a specialty paper company.

Rafael Sánchez is PhD in Chemistry from the University of Córdoba (Spain). He is the author of 24 scientific articles related to the production, characterization, and applications of cellulose, nanocellulose and lignin. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the development and characterization of cellulosic pulp, nanocellulose and lignin. Additionally, Rafael worked as plant and production manager in the company ECOPAPEL, S.L. 
 

Currently, he is working in the department of new materials development of ITENE as a project manager. He has experience in national and international R&D projects related to the development and design of sustainable new materials, mainly for packaging applications. He has participated in European and national research projects, based on the valorization of lignocellulosic sources, such as agricultural and food processing waste, to produce a new generation of renewable, biodegradable and environmentally friendly products.