Speakers

Antonello Romano

Head of Brussels Office and Corporate Affairs Director, Stora Enso, Brussels

Antonello Romano is a senior EU public affairs professional with extensive experience in regulatory, sustainability and circular economy policy. He holds a Law degree from the University of Siena and an LL.M. in European Law from Lund University. He currently serves as Head of the Brussels Office at Stora Enso, where he leads the company’s engagement with EU institutions and stakeholders on key regulatory and policy developments. His work focuses in particular on packaging, circular economy, recycling, waste and chemicals legislation, as well as the broader competitiveness and sustainability agenda. Before joining Stora Enso, Antonello was an Associate Director at Dentons Global Advisors, advising companies and industry organisations on EU regulatory and public affairs matters, particularly in the areas of packaging and chemicals. Earlier, he spent around five years at PlasticsEurope, where he worked extensively on circular economy, packaging, recycling and food contact materials. Over the course of his career, Antonello has developed broad experience at the intersection of EU policymaking, industry advocacy and sustainability regulation, working closely with European institutions, national authorities, industry associations and corporate stakeholders.

Jean-Louis Kindler

CEO, Clean Energy Enterprises SAS, Bordeaux, France

JL Kindler is the founder and CEO of Clean Energy Enterprises and Ways2H, companies developing advanced thermochemical technologies for converting biomass and difficult waste streams into renewable hydrogen and managing the associated carbon. His work focuses on the intersection of waste management, renewable hydrogen, carbon removal and distributed energy systems. Throughout the span of his 40 years career, in Asia, Europe and the USA, he has led the development and commercialization of projects seeking to transform locally available waste and biomass resources into valuable energy products while reducing their environmental impact.

Mika-Petteri Kuro

COO / CeLLife Technologies Oy, Finland

Mika-Petteri Kuro is the Chief Operating Officer at CeLLife Technologies Oy. He holds two University-level Master’s degrees – one in Technology from Tampere University of Technology and another in Finance & Economics from the University of Oulu. Kuro has over 20 years of experience commercializing various deep-tech applications from Finland. His career spans diverse business areas, including driving behavior analysis, container handling equipment, sports data, surface quality control, and batteries. He has conducted business across tens of countries globally. A common thread throughout his work has been business model development. Kuro is a specialist in products sold as a service, including Battery Diagnostics as a Service and Quality as a Service. With his educational background and extensive experience in deep-tech commercialization, he describes himself as a business engineer.

Davide Bassano

Director at Save Group – Venezia Airport, Italy

Davide Bassano is Director of Sustainability at SAVE Group, where he leads the sustainability strategy across a network of airports operating within one of Europe’s most environmentally and regulatory sensitive regions. With more than 20 years of international experience in ESG governance, decarbonisation, business transformation and innovation, he is responsible for embedding sustainability into corporate strategy, operations and governance while driving the Group’s Net Zero 2030 ambition. Holding a Master’s Degree in Oil Engineering and a postgraduate Master in Management Systems and Industrial Logistics, he combines a strong technical background with a strategic vision for sustainable infrastructure. Throughout his career, spanning manufacturing, consulting, certification and airport management, he has led major renewable energy investments, including a MW agrivoltaic project, while advancing circular economy initiatives, climate adaptation programmes, biodiversity conservation and blue economy projects. His work focuses on creating shared value by integrating environmental protection, landscape enhancement and community engagement into airport development. A strong advocate of sustainability as a driver of resilience, competitiveness and long-term value creation, he regularly represents the organisation at international forums and leads collaboration with institutions, regulators, communities and industry stakeholders to accelerate the transition towards a low-carbon, nature-positive and future-ready aviation sector.

Andreas Forfang

Vice President Sustainability & Public Affairs, Vianode AS, Norway

Vianode is a cleantech scale-up in the battery value chain, developing technology designed to reduce the environmental footprint of batteries. Today, as the company expands across Europe and North America, Andreas works at the intersection of sustainability, industry and public policy amid geopolitical uncertainty and increasing pressure on the green transition. His responsibilities include Vianode’s recycling strategy, a key focus to ensure competitiveness Europe and a necessary lever to deliver on the company’s sustainability ambitions.

Steven Burns

Commercial Director, ReVentas Limited, United Kingdom

Steven Burns is Commercial Director at ReVentas, where dissolution recycling returns waste PE and PP to virgin-like quality. Founder of Impact Recycling and a veteran of scaling both plastics and electronics recycling from pilot to plant, he sits on CEN and ISO committees shaping recycled-plastics standards.

Björn Lövenich

Head of Sales Waste Recycling Division / Steinert GmbH EMEA, Germany

Björn Lövenich is a recycling expert with almost 15 years of industry experience. As Head of Sales Waste Division at Steinert GmbH in Cologne and Steinert UniSort GmbH in Zittau, Mr. Lövenich specializes in mechanical recycling and sensor-based sorting technologies. He leads a global sales team responsible for developing markets and driving the sales strategy for innovative sorting solutions. His work focuses on advanced sensor-based sorting technologies and their application in challenging recycling processes, with the aim of achieving high purity and high recovery rates.AI-based sorting for sorters is one of his key areas of focus, particularly where intelligent sorting approaches can improve performance and process efficiency. He is also a regular speaker at specialist conferences, sharing his expertise in modern sorting technologies and sustainable recycling processes.

Jonas Wachtel

Chief Technology Officer Circular Silicon Europe GmbH, Germany

Jonas Wachtel is CTO of Circular Silicon Europe GmbH, a recycling technology company based in Braunschweig, Germany. His work focuses on the recovery of silicon, silver and copper from complex residue streams generated in photovoltaic recycling. At Circular Silicon, he is responsible for technology development, process scale-up and the industrial implementation of recovery routes for laminates, fines, granulates and cell-based fractions. Jonas combines technical process understanding with a strong focus on practical circular economy solutions. His goal is to close material loops in the solar industry and return valuable secondary raw materials to industrial value chains.

Jasmin Nurikic

Head of International Sales, Doppstadt Umwelttechnik GmbH, Germany

Ing. Jasmin Nurikic is Head of International Sales at the Doppstadt Group, where he is responsible for international sales and the strategic development of the company’s global dealer network. His focus is on developing new markets, strengthening international partnerships, and positioning innovative solutions for recycling, waste management, and material processing. Prior to joining Doppstadt, he served as International Sales Director at MG Handel, managing market development across 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe and building strong sales and service networks. Earlier in his career, Jasmin held a sales leadership position at FCC, one of Europe’s major waste management companies.His background combines extensive international sales experience with in-depth knowledge of the recycling and waste management industry, giving him a strong perspective on market development, customer needs, and sustainable business growth.

Harald Kollmann

Production Manager, VEOLIA-Batrec Industrie AG, Switzerland

Harald Kollmann is Production Manager at BATREC Industry AG in Switzerland, a company of Veolia Hazardous Waste Europe. He is responsible for the recycling of lithium-ion batteries using mechanical processing methods, including sorting, dismantling, wet grinding, and dry mechanical separation. He graduated from the Technical University of Leoben (Austria) with a degree in Recycling Technology, specializing in lithium-ion battery recycling. His BSc and Master’s theses focused on the hydrometallurgical recovery of lithium and graphite. His goal is to efficiently and effectively close the cycles of secondary raw materials in order to preserve natural resources and the biosphere in the long term.

Alice Garau Aroffu

Chief Technology Officer, Coalchry Green Srl., Italy

Alice Garau Aroffu is a researcher and entrepreneur, Founder, CTO, and CEO of Coalchry Green Srl and Co-Founder and Sustainability Manager of LY Company Group, a group she co-founded in 2019. His work stems from a guiding principle: nothing is rejection, everything is value to be brought back to light. Inventor and owner of a proprietary biotechnology for the recycling and efficiency of industrial systems sector, she has filed several patents for the biological treatment of complex materials, developing solutions that eliminate traditional chemists and reduce time, costs and energy in the recycling of UFBC (Use Food and Beverage Carton) multilayer packaging. He received the 2023 Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Award and the 2024 Green Heroes and Sustainable Development recognition. It analyses and efficiencies industrial systems and agri-food supply chains to identify critical issues before they become problems, transforming them into concrete circular economy opportunities by creating biotechnological products suited to the needs of industry.

Lia Voermans

Chair Board, Brightlands Circular Space, Netherlands

Lia Voermans is a highly experienced manager who guides companies through disruptive processes. An enterprising innovator, strategic thinker, binding networker, and transition manager with more than 40 years of extensive experience in leadership with valuable and complex transition processes, innovation strategies and builder of multi stakeholder collaborations and public-private business consortia. Features a large international network within business, knowledge, and government environment. Is an empathic and ambitious professional who likes to work in different networks on tomorrow's challenges, developing workable solutions for complex tasks. Has the knowledge and skills in creating new value chains in an interactive and learning environment with a diversity of stakeholders. Nowadays she is the Director Innovation Strategy – Transforming Ecosystems of the Brightlands Chemelot Campus, Chair Board Brightlands Circular Space and Chair Executive board a Horizon Europe Program.

Carlota Galván Bisbal

ESG Director, HBX Group, Spain

Carlota Galván Bisbal is Director of ESG and Health & Safety at HBX Group, a global TravelTech company. She has led the ESG function since 2022, overseeing sustainability strategy, reporting, non-financial risk management and initiatives across people, communities and the environment. She recently led the launch of HBX Group’s 2026–2028 ESG Strategy, the Group’s second ESG strategy, translating double materiality insights into business-aligned action. Her work focuses on strengthening collaboration across the travel value chain and scaling partnerships and programmes in circularity, decarbonisation, community-based tourism and inclusive travel, aligned with the company’s purpose: Connect to Travel Better.

Thibaud Vincendon

Business Development Director, Methanol Reformer, Barcelona

Thibaud Vincendon is Business Development Director at Methanol Reformer, with over 16 years of experience in the energy sector, particularly in Oil & Gas, Liquefied Natural Gas, green hydrogen and green methanol. He is a member of the Spanish Hydrogen Association (AeH2) and has worked as an energy and green hydrogen expert for companies including ENGIE, Neptune Energy, Hydrogen Refueling Solutions, OX2, H2B2 and AGERE. He is an alumnus and board member of the Energy and Environment Club at Esade and IÉSEG for Change. He supervises master's theses at Universities of Burgos and Barcelona. He speaks French, English and Spanish.

Axel Kolonko

Head of Circularity, Zerow, Italy

Axel Kolonko is Head of Circularity at Zerow, the leading circularity platform for the fashion and textile industry. At Zerow he helps global brands turn dormant inventory, surplus materials and industrial textile waste into high-value assets and certified ESG data, connecting sustainability, operations and financial returns. He brings more than 20 years of experience in denim, apparel and supply chains. He started at Diesel as Brand Manager and later drove ESG and traceability projects as Senior Manager at retraced. He is also co-founder of Kolonko & Anselmo, an agency specializing in denim design, production and sustainability management.

Krassimira Kazashka

CEO, Metal Packaging Europe, Belgium

Krassimira Kazashka is the CEO of Metal Packaging Europe since November 2023. Prior to joining MPE, she worked for European associations in the paper packaging sector, multinational company, national government and the European Commission. As a professional, she was extensive experience in EU policy on sustainability, circular economy, packaging & packaging waste, chemicals, food contact and trade. Krassimira holds an MSc in Chemical Engineering, a European MSc in Environmental protection and an International MBA.

Steve Mellings

Founder at ADISA, UK

Roberto Tursini

Founder Distruzione Documenti, Italy

Roberto Tursini is the Founder of Distruzione Documenti which is the leading ITAD in Italy and has worked in the sector for over 15 years. An expert in media sanitisation, Roberto has worked with many Italian companies and advised them on best practice to dispose of equipment.

Christopher Hartmann

Project Director Cartridge Recycling, PDR Recycling GmbH + Co KG, Germany

Christopher Hartmann is Project Director Cartridge Recycling at PDR Recycling GmbH + Co KG in Germany. He holds a degree in Environmental Engineering from the University of Bayreuth and has more than ten years of industrial experience in product development, environmental management, quality management and recycling technologies. Since joining PDR in 2018, he has been responsible for laboratory operations, quality and environmental management as well as compliance with waste and emission regulations. In his current role, he leads the development of PDR's cartridge recycling initiative, focusing on the creation of a scalable collection and recycling system for adhesive and sealant cartridges. His work combines technical development, project management, regulatory compliance and stakeholder engagement to support circular economy solutions within the construction and packaging sectors.

Adrian Vannahme

Chief Executive Officer, Reclay North America, Germany

Adrian Vannahme is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Reclay North America, part of the global Raan Group. Reclay StewardEdge’s experts help leading brands develop more sustainable packaging while navigating complex Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) requirements worldwide. He is also a board member for the French PROs LEKO and LEKO PRO, which provide services for household and commercial packaging in France. An environmental policy expert with 15 years of international experience, Adrian brings expertise in the economic and structural impacts of environmental regulation, as well as policy development and implementation. His career includes senior government roles as Chief of Staff to Ministers, adviser to the Premier of Manitoba, policy officer with Germany’s Foreign Office, and Director of Stakeholder Relations for Manitoba’s Climate Office.

Evy Puelinckx

Founder, HetVindingrijk, Belgium

Evy Puelinckx is an author, architect, circular design expert, and founder of HetVindingrijk, a Belgian organization working at the intersection of circular economy, upcycling, and social impact. For more than two decades, she has pioneered the integration of upcycling and circular thinking into design education, architecture, and public communication. She introduced upcycling into design education at a time when the concept was still largely unknown and later helped establish circular design as a core part of interior architecture education. She currently lectures at the university level, exploring how discarded materials become valuable resources for new products, spaces, businesses, and social opportunities.

Axel Benoist

Sales and Product Development Director, eco2Veritas, United Kingdom

Axel Benoist leads product development at eco2Veritas, a UK-based company that automates the evidence behind recycling and recycled-content claims. Axel owns the platform roadmap and turns the realities of recycling sites, regulatory requirements and auditor expectations into software that captures evidence once and converts it into verified certificates. Axel rebuilt the product and module architecture, delivered a multi-site enterprise deployment and its expansion, and works with recyclers, packaging producers and compliance schemes across the UK, Europe and Latin America. Previously CEO at Arxum France, Axel scaled the subsidiary from €0 to €800k ARR in 2 years. Graduate of the X-HEC Executive program in Energy & Sustainability.

Tivadar RUNTÁG

Strategy & Sustainability Director, MOHU MOL Zrt., HUNGARY

Tivadar RUNTÁG spent 30+ years in senior regional positions in global Oil and Chemicals organisations (Shell, OMV, Chevron Lubricants, Chimcomplex) in Latin-America, Turkey and the CEE region. In his current role as Director of Strategy & Sustainability at MOHU MOL Hungary, he is responsible for shaping the company’s long-term strategy and advancing the transition to a circular economy. In collaboration with producers, regulators, and waste management stakeholders his work focuses on integrating sustainability objectives with business transformation, regulatory implementation, and resource efficiency across Hungary’s evolving waste management and recycling system.

Aino Erkinjuntti

Sales & Marketing Director, Innomost, Finland

Aino Erkinjuntti is the Sales & Marketing Director at Innomost. Since joining, she has been driving the company’s international growth and building its brand as a pioneer in transforming forest industry side streams into high-value, sustainable solutions. With over 20 years of international experience in sales, marketing, and communications, Aino has a strong track record in developing customer-focused strategies and expanding businesses across industries and markets. At Innomost, she is responsible for leading global sales, strengthening partnerships, and positioning the company as a frontrunner in biobased innovation.

Rinus de Kok

Manager New Business, PRS Pooling

As a graduate of the University of Eindhoven, Rinus has been working in a variety of supply chain and commercial roles across diverse industries at companies like Jacobs-Douwe Egberts, DHL, Kuehne + Nagel and LC Packaging. The last 10 years Rinus has been working in pooling and reusable transport packaging for the European Industrial & Petrochemical value chains. Currently at PRS Pooling, where he served as Commercial Director and now as Manager New Business. In this role Rinus has been advocating circularity, especially for the European Polymer industry, where creating new circular concepts is a must. Now more than ever, because the EU PPWR (Packaging & Packaging Waste Regulation) is setting challenging targets for mandatory reuse of transport packaging.

Óscar Martín Ruiz

Independent Researcher, The Netherlands

I am a Environmental Specialist and Project Manager with expertise in diverse topics surrounding sustainability, such as waste management, energy efficiency, carbon accounting and ESG reporting. Born and raised in Madrid in 1996, studied Environmental Sciences at University of Alcalá (UAH) and studied a master's degree on QHSE integrated systems at Universidad Internacional de la Rioja (UNIR). I am currently working and living in the Netherlands for 5 years in the food and logistics sectors, where I have successfully implemented an Energy Management application enabling predictive maintenance and run several projects on reducing the rest waste rates from operations among others.