Speaker Biographies

Speakers

Moderators

Jyrki Katainen

Vice President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, European Commission

Jyrki Katainen is currently Vice President of the European Commission responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness. He joined the college in July 2014 as Vice-President for Economic and Monetary Affairs and the euro.

Before that he served as Prime Minister of Finland, 2011 - 2014 and Minister of Finance, 2007 - 2011. He was Member of Finnish Parliament 1999 - 2014 for the National Coalition Party (Kokoomus).

He was Member of the Finnish Delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly 2003 - 2007, Member of the Administrative Council of the Finnish Broadcasting Company 2003 - 2005, Member of the Finish Delegation to the Western European Union Parliamentary Assembly 2004 - 2005 and the Deputy Member of the Finnish Delegation to the Nordic Council 2001 -2003.

Jyrki Katainen has MSc in Political Science from the University of Tampere, Finland (1998) and he did an Erasmus exchange year at the University of Leicester, UK.

His hobbies are running, cycling and tennis.

Thierry Mallet

Executive Vice President, Innovation and Business Performance, SUEZ

Thierry Mallet, born 4 September, 1960, is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique (1980), and Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (1985) and also holds a Master of Sciences degree from the Massachussetts Institute of Technology.

He began his career working for the French Ministry of Transport between 1987 and 1989, and then moved to the Générale des Eaux Group, where he held various positions, primarily as Head of the water activities in Spain between 1995 and 1997, and in North America between 1997 and 1999. Thierry joined Degrémont as Executive Vice- President in 2002, working closely with Jean-Louis Chaussade, who was the company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at that time, before becoming Chief Executive Officer in June 2004, a position that he held until October 2009, when he became Chairman. On 1 October 2009, Thierry Mallet was appointed as Senior Vice President in charge of International Operations.

Since 15 April 2013, Thierry Mallet is Executive Vice President of Innovation and Business Performance for SUEZ ENVIRONNEMENT.

Eva Kjer Hansen

Minister, Ministry of Environment and Food of Denmark

Mrs Eva Kjer Hansen was appointed Minister for Environment and Food on 28 June 2015. Mrs Kjer Hansen has been a member of Venstre - The Danish Liberal Party since December 12th 1990. From September 12th 2007 to February 23rd 2010, she served as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and from from August 2nd 2004 to September 12th 2007 Minister for Social Affairs and Minister for Gender Equality. Mrs Kjer Hansen was Chairwoman of the European Affairs Committee from October 2011 - June 2015 and Chairwoman of the Foreign Policy Committee March 2010 - September 2011. She was a Member of the European Parliament 1994-1999.

Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy MEP

European Parliament

Gerben-Jan Gerbrandy was elected in 2009 and 2014 as MEP for D66. He is member of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment, Health and Food Safety and the coordinator for the liberal group (ALDE), a substitute member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, and a substitute member of the Budgetary Control Committee. In addition, Mr. Gerbrandy is a member of the delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee. Mr. Gerbrandy is also the ALDE first spokesperson on Biodiversity and Resource Efficiency. He studied public administration at Leiden University, and at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania. Mr. Gerbrandy began his career as a political assistant to Joris Voorhoeve, former director of the Clingendael Institute. From 1994 to 1998 he was the personal assistant of Doeke Eisma, MEP for D66. After his work as political secretary of the Dutch parliamentary group of D66 he was a senior political adviser at the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality.

Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP

Rapporteur for the Circular Economy, European Parliament

Ms. Sirpa Pietikäinen is a Finnish member of the European People's Party (EPP) in the European parliament. Ms. Pietikäinen is former Finnish Minister of Environment (1991–1995). Her career at the Finnish parliament is extensive, ranging from the year 1983 to 2003. She first came to the European parliament to replace Alexander Stubb in 2008, and was re-elected in 2009.

In the European parliament, Ms. Pietikäinen is a Member in the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and a substitute member in the Women’s Right and Gender Equality Committee and in The Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety. She is the rapporteur of the circular economy package in the European Parliament. A graduate from the Helsinki School of Economics, Ms. Pietikäinen has MSc (Business), and still teaches university courses on negotiations theory and practices.

Ms. Pietikäinen has a long track-record in the field of promoting sustainable development. She has actively worked with a number of NGOs promoting environmental issues, democracy, and human rights.

Kęstutis Sadauskas

Director for Green Economy, DG ENV, European Commission

Kęstutis Sadauskas, born in 1969 in Lithuania. In 1994 graduated Vilnius University where he obtained Master Degree in International Relations at the Institute of Political Science and International Relations and Master Degree in Geography at the Faculty of Natural Science.

He started his professional career in September 1993 at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania, Vilnius, in the sector of Government's foreign relations, dealing with Lithuanian policies on Council of Europe, Human Rights, UN, OSCE, NATO.
In 1996, Kęstutis Sadauskas joined the Permanent Mission of Lithuania to the United Nations, New York, as Deputy Permanent Representative-Counselor responsible for general political affairs, UN Security Council activities and reform, international security.

In 2000, he went back to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Vilnius, as Head of Unit of the EU Department, and later as Director, responsible for Lithuanian policy towards EU, EU accession negotiations of Lithuania, Convention of Future of EU.

In August 2002, he joined the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to EU, Brussels, as Minister-counsellor responsible for coordination of EU accession negotiations of Lithuania, general coordination of activities in the COREPER, negotiations of Financial Perspectives 2007-2013.

In September 2006, Kęstutis Sadauskas was appointed Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Vilnius, Lithuania. In February 2010, he joined the European Commission as a member of the Cabinet of Commissioner Šemeta and in April of the same year he became the Head of the Cabinet.

1st November 2014 he assumed his role as the Director for Green Economy.

Joanna Drake

Principal Adviser, Task Force: Collaborative Economy, New Business Models and SMEs, DG GROW, European Commission

Joanna Drake has held her current position since 1st June 2015. Previously, for more than 5 years, she was the Director responsible for SME's and Entrepreneurship. Between October 2005 and January 2010, she was Head of the European Commission Representation in Malta. During the preceding five years Joanna had been Company Secretary and Head of the Legal & Regulatory Department of Vodafone Malta Limited.

Before venturing into the telecommunications sector, Joanna’s professional career centered entirely around European Union matters, with an accent on law, which she taught and researched full-time for five years at the University of Malta. After obtaining her post-graduate qualifications in law from the College of Europe in Bruges, where she specialised in EU competition and internal market law, Joanna spent five years as Senior Legal Officer at the EU Directorate of the Foreign Office in Malta and a further year as Legal Research Officer at the Maltese Embassy in Brussels. As a core group member of MEUSAC (Malta-EU Steering and Action Committee) she was closely involved in the pre-accession negotiations between Malta and the European Union.

Stéphane Arditi

Policy Manager: Products & Waste, European Environmental Bureau

Stephane Arditi works as Product and Waste policy manager within European Environmental Bureau (EEB), a federation of more than 140 ENGO’s across Europe.
Before joining EEB, Stephane worked as a Quality/Lean consultant for the industry in France and UK. He also collaborated to academic research programs on energy efficiency in building and evaluation of sustainable development policy in France.

In his daily work, Stephane tries to identify as well as promote instruments and innovative practices that articulate more product and waste policy towards energy and resources efficiency, with, as a matter of priority, prevention of resources use and prevention of waste.

Peter Svensson

Co-founder & CCO, VIGGA

Peter and co-founder Vigga have been pioneers in the fashion industry for 10 years – demanding innovation and practicing CSR.
After producing one million pieces of CSR-friendly children’s clothing - they decided it was time to challenge the industry itself and the way we consume.
Since 2014 VIGGA is the founder of a circular economy business model in the textile industry. Leasing organic kid’s wear saves times, money and resources.

Website: www.vigga.us

Tim Fox

Chair of Food & Drink Engineering Committee, Institution of Mechanical Engineers

Dr Fox is Chair of the Food & Drink Engineering Committee at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and a Board member of the Process Industries Division. In this role he leads the work of the Institution on all aspects of the food supply chain from production to consumption, with a particular focus on engineering related issues, but also the wider economic, social, environmental and political contexts within which the sector functions. He was lead author of the Institution’s groundbreaking report “Global Food: Waste Not, Want Not” which galvanised public attention across the world on the issue of food waste and loss from field to stomach. Tim has a wide range of research and engineering practice experience and has worked in commercial enterprises, government agencies and educational institutions in the UK, Australia, Canada and The Netherlands. He is a Chartered Engineer and Chartered Environmentalist and Fellow of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Royal Society of Arts.

David Peck

Senior Research Fellow, Critical Materials and Circular Design, Delft University of Technology

David researches and teaches in the field of circular design and critical materials (CRM). Based on the research from FP7 CRM-Innonet, current linear economy approaches mean that the security of resources will become increasingly constrained. Based on the CRM_Innonet model of substitution, circular economy design approaches could play a valuable role in finding solutions and generating new opportunities. Currently this is not being widely translated into activity in companies. As with most CRM issues, there is often a lack of awareness and clarity. David’s research proposes a circular approach to product design could make a significant contribution to CRM substitution strategies.
David is TU Delft manager for the pioneer university status with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation for a circular economy and the UN Network – Solving the E-Waste Problem led by UNU - ISP. David is adjunct Professor at MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business and at Lviv Business School, Lviv, Ukraine, both on CRM and Circular Economy. He is the TU Delft lead manager for a Horizons 2020 project, ProSUM - Prospecting Secondary raw materials (CRM) in the Urban Mine and mining waste and H2020 project ERN – European Remanufacturing Network. David was on the writing team on the successful bid EU KIC EIT Raw Materials (sustainable exploration, extraction, processing, recycling and substitution). He is now the TU Delft manager for this 2 bn Euro project that has a focus on CRM and circular. Another exciting activity is David’s role as a manager in the Leiden Delft Erasmus Centre for Sustainability – a 3 university collaboration on circular and resources with cities as the nexus. Recently David was a member of the lead team in an edX Massive Open On-line Course (MOOC) entitled ‘The circular economy an introduction’.

Alexandra Nikolakopoulou

Head of Unit, DG SANTE, European Commission

Alexandra Nikolakopoulou received her law degree from the University of Athens after which she was called to the Athens Bar. She completed her DEA in European law at the University of Toulouse. After three years working for the legal Unit of the European Commission's Consumer Protection Directorate General she joined EuroCommerce, the European Association of retail and wholesale companies, where she worked as a food law advisor.
She joined DG SANTE in 2003 (ex DG SANCO) where she serves today as Head of Unit in the Unit 'nutrition, food composition, and information' in the Food Safety Directorate. Throughout her career in DG SANTE she has been dealing with issues relating to food labelling and general food law. More specifically she is one of the authors and was responsible for the preparation, negotiation and adoption of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the provision of Food Information to Consumers. Today, among other things, she is responsible for the preparation and adoption of delegated acts and actions pertaining to the aforementioned Regulation.

Françoise Bonnet

Secretary General, ACR+

Françoise BONNET is Secretary General of the Association of Cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management (ACR+). She is specialised in legal and economic instruments linked to waste/resource policy. In addition to the day-to-day management of the team, Françoise is in charge of the EPR Club project and the Circular Europe Network.

Françoise holds a degree in law, complemented by a diploma in European law from the College of Europe and in specialised studies in environmental law from the Brussels University. She has a thorough knowledge of European waste/resource legislation and policies, as well as broad experience in project management and waste planning. During her professional life, she has worked not only for public authorities such as Brussels Region Administration, the UN or the European Commission, but also for private companies. Thanks to this, she is familiar with local administration systems and North-South cooperation with the countries in the Mediterranean region.

Robert van Otterdijk

Agro-Industry Officer, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Mr Robert van Otterdijk (55) is an MSc food technologist, graduated in 1985 from the Wageningen Agricultural University in The Netherlands. He has worked in the European and African food industry, as well as in international development organizations in Africa and The Pacific. Currently he works at FAO Headquarters in Rome, Italy, as an agro-industry officer in the Rural Infrastructure & Agro-Industries Division. His main responsibility is the programme on food loss and waste reduction, including research and project implementation.

Irene Paredes Díaz

R&I Project Manager, Ecolup

Irene holds the title of agronomist from the Polytechnic University of Madrid with the specialisation of agri-food industry, and a Master of Science in Food Safety from the University of Wageningen. She has been researcher in renowned researching institutions both in Spain (ANFACO-CECOPESCA, Vigo) and Portugal (National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon) and has published 2 scientific articles related to food toxicology. Her last work experience before funding EURIZON was as an R&D Project Manager at GRUPOTEC, a Spanish SME consultancy firm specialised in R&D projects oriented to the agri-food sector.

Maya Hernando Calvo

R&I Project Consultant, Ecolup

Agronomist from the Polytechnic University of Madrid with the specialisation of Plant Science, and a Master of Science specialised in Organic Agriculture from the University of Wageningen (The Netherlands). Maya completed her academic background with in-the-field experiences in Nicaragua and New Zealand. She has worked for 3 years as Project Coordinator for IFOAM, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements, where she was responsible for implementing projects related to organic farming at EU Level. As a main success, she highlights the coordination of a 2M€ Life Project on climate change and farming.

Robert Nuij

Head of Sector, Energy Efficient Products, DG ENER, European Commission

Robert Nuij works for the European Commission, Directorate-General for Energy, as a Head of Sector for energy efficient products. He manages a team of about 10 officials responsible for the development and implementation of Ecodesign, Energy Labelling and Tyre Labelling legislation, as well as the EU Energy Star programme.

He started his career in the European Commission as a policy officer in the Directorate-General for Environment where he was involved in the development of integrated product policy and the European Eco-label.

Subsequently, he worked for the Directorate-General for Health and Consumers in the area of product safety, where he was responsible for the co-ordination of Member State market surveillance efforts, toy safety and international co-operation, in particular with China. Before becoming Head of Sector, he was working on the implementation of the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive.

Prior to joining the Commission, Mr. Nuij worked as a senior consultant for an international environmental consultancy with an emphasis on environmental product policy, eco-design and waste management.

Mr. Nuij is a Dutch national and holds a Master of Science degree in Industrial Design Engineering from the Delft University of Technology.

Magdalena Garczyńska

Recycling Director, European Aluminium

Magdalena has over 10 years’ experience in engineering and public affairs. She leads the recycling division within the European Aluminium. Prior to joining the European Aluminium, she was a technical manager at the European Association of the Machine Tool Industries (CECIMO) where she guided the association’s work on environmental, energy, research and engineering issues. She also worked at the NSF International as quality control auditor and the Berlin University of Technology as a researcher. Magdalena holds a M.Sc. degree in mechanical engineering from Poznań Technical University/Poland and a post-graduate degree in Fluid Dynamics from The von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics/Belgium.
European Aluminium has enlarged its membership to recyclers which were previously represented by the Organisation of the European Aluminium Recycling industry (OEA), and consequently founded a new Recycling Department to be headed by the Recycling Director.

Davor Škrlec MEP

European Parliament

Davor Škrlec is, as of 1st July 2014, Member of the European Parliament in the Group of Greens/EFA from Croatia. He is a permanent member of ENVI Committee and Delegation for relations with Canada, as well as a substitute member in TRAN and REGI Committees and EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee. He is a Professor at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing at the University of Zagreb. Scientific and professional field includes the planning and operation of power systems, with a focus on renewable energy and smart grid. President of the National Smart Grid technology platform and national expert on Smart Grid. He was Assistant Minister for Environment and Nature in Croatian Government in the period from January-July 2012. His major fields of interest include circular economy and green jobs, as well as sustainable energy and transport.

Nadine De Greef

Secretary General, FEAD

Nadine is Belgian. She joined the European Federation of Waste Management and Environmental Services, FEAD, in 2000 as Deputy Secretary General and was appointed Secretary General in January 2006. Nadine speaks four languages and graduated in 1989 as interpreter in French and German in Erlangen/Germany. Since 1994, she also holds a degree in political sciences from the Free University of Brussels. Before joining FEAD, she had gained 10 years of experience in European affairs (German political representations to the European Union, European Parliament, German-Belgian-Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce and a European Federation in the energy sector).

Ruben Dekker

Environment Attaché, Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU

Ruben Dekker is environment attaché at the permanent representation of the Netherlands to the EU since 2013. He deals with various issues including waste, biodiversity and water. During the Dutch presidency, he is mainly responsible for the discussions on the circular economy package.
Before joining the permanent representation, Ruben worked for the ministry of Infrastructure and Environment.

Hasso von Pogrell

Managing Director, European Bioplastics

Since March 2009, Hasso von Pogrell is Managing Director of European Bioplastics, the European association representing the interests of the industry along the entire bioplastics’ value chain. Its members produce, refine, and distribute bioplastics, i.e. plastics that are either biobased, biodegradable, or both.

Born 1964 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, Mr von Pogrell spent most of his childhood and adolescence in Portugal and the United States.
Upon completion of his education in Germany and a two your term of military services, he studied Economics at the University of Cologne where he graduated in1994.
He began his political carrier as a lobbyist in 1995, when he joined the Germany Industry Association for Optical, Medical and Mechatronical Technologies, where he showed responsible for public relations and economics.
After a two-year stint as General Manager at the Federal Association of the German Medium and Large Retail Enterprises, he returned to the industry sector again. As Head of Department for Foreign Affairs at the Association of the German Construction Industry and Assistant Director of the European International Contractors (EIC), he served the construction industry for seven years from 2000 to 2007, before steering the affairs of the Association of the German Sawmill Association as its Managing Director between 2007 and 2009.

Hasso von Pogrell is married and has four children.

Michal Len

Director, RREUSE

Michal Len is Director of RREUSE, a representative body for social enterprises active in the field of re-use, repair and recycling. He has been with the organisation since 2011 and specialises in EU waste and product policies as well as legal instruments promoting social enterprise. Michal holds an MSc in Environmental Policy and Regulation from the London School of Economics.

Sigrid Pauwelyn

Board member, European Former Foodstuff Processors Association

Sigrid Pauwelyn (1974) is company director of TROTEC Belgium & TROTEC France, a company specialised in converting former foodstuffs into animal feed. She is one of the founding members of EFFPA, the European Former Foodstuff Processors Association, which as from January 2014 has been representing the interests of European former foodstuff processors.

Sigrid became company director of TROTEC in 2003, a business that now converts more than 150.000 tonnes of former foodstuffs (e.g. incorrectly produced biscuits, chocolates, bread, breakfast cereals) into animal feed for food-producing animals per year and collects from food manufacturers in Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Germany and the United Kingdom. Sigrid holds degrees in company psychology and environmental coordination. In her role within as TROTEC company director, she played a significant role in the former foodstuff processing sector’s professionalization and development.

James Pennington

Project Specialist, Circular Economy, World Economic Forum

James Pennington works on the World Economic Forum’s Circular Economy initiative, leading work on policy engagement in emerging markets, institutional collaboration and reports. Prior to the Forum James worked for the London based think tank Chatham House, and consulted for the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. James is a fluent speaker of Mandarin and has spent significant time working and studying in China, with a focus on Chinese urbanization trends and resource policy. James graduated from the University of Leeds and the University of Cambridge.

Paul Adamson

Chairman, Forum Europe

Paul Adamson is chairman of Forum Europe and founder and editor of E!Sharp, an online magazine dedicated to covering the European Union and Europe's place in the world. He is also a Senior European Policy Advisor at Covington.

He is a member of Rand Europe's Council of Advisors, sits on the external advisory board of YouGov-Cambridge, a polling think-tank, is a member of the advisory group of the Washington European Society and is a trustee of the Citizenship Foundation.

Paul is a Visiting Professor at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, a patron of the University Association of Contemporary European Studies (UACES) and a Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences.

He founded the consulting firm Adamson Associates, which was sold to Weber Shandwick and The Centre, which was later sold to Edelman.

In 2012, Paul was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) "for services to promoting understanding of the European Union”, a part of the Queen's 2012 New Year Honours Diplomatic Service and Overseas List.

Julie Mandrille

Manager, Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Grayling

Julie is a Manager in the Public Affairs practice of Grayling Brussels. A French national, she has specialist expertise in the consumer protection, food safety and agriculture policy areas.
She has developed expertise on the sustainability of the food supply chain and food waste through her work for a number of clients in the agro-food sector.
Before joining Grayling in 2012 she gained experience in several communications agencies in Paris and Brussels where she has been dealing with Media relations, European Public affairs and Advertising. She has worked for various clients in the public and corporate sectors.
Julie holds a Master in International Corporate Communication from Institut d’Etudes Politique of Lyon and a Master in Marketing and Communication from French business School ESCP Europe, Paris.