Speakers 2018

As a leading cross-cultural trainer, accomplished presentation skills coach, facilitator, moderator and keynote speaker, Avinash has extensive experience working with a broad range of clients and regularly speaks, consults and provides training for global companies and international non-profit associations, worldwide.

Avinash is a Fellow of the Learning and Performance Institute, member of the International Association of Facilitators and serves on the Chief Learning Officer Business Intelligence Committee. Voted a Platinum speaker by Meetings Professionals International (MPI), Avinash captivates audiences at regional, national and international conferences and is regularly invited to speak, moderate and facilitate on a range of Cross Cultural, Talent Development and Leadership topics.

With a degree in Business, his twenty-five year international career includes diverse roles for both corporate and not for profit organisations in the UK, US, Norway and Belgium, with project assignments spanning a further thirty countries. Indian by culture, born in Uganda and raised and educated in the United Kingdom, Avinash’s background exemplifies a broad understanding of the sensitivities and needs of the growing international and multi-cultural business environment.

Avinash also serves and consults in the area of Learning and Development strategy for MCI, the world’s leading provider of strategic engagement and activation solutions and a key driver of innovation in the meetings, events, association and congress industries.

As Mintel’s Global Packaging Insights Director, Benjamin is responsible for delivering actionable insight drawing on his eight years of extensive international experience. Over this time he has worked with the leading multinational packaging companies to provide strategic market recommendations. Benjamin holds significant experience in conceiving, conducting and delivering quantitative and qualitative research.

An accomplished public speaker, Benjamin is regularly invited to present at global conferences and trade shows such as HBA Global Expo and The European Packaging Summit. Benjamin’s packaging analysis regularly appears in the trade press in magazines such as Packaging News and Beauty Packaging Magazine.

Bertrand Piccard is the initiator behind Solar Impulse, the first airplane to fly around the world without a drop of fuel. He more recently launched the World Alliance for Efficient Solutions, and with it the goal of selecting #1000 solutions that protect the environment in a profitable way to bring them to decision makers by COP24 (2018) and encourage them to adopt more ambitious environmental targets and energy policies.

Originating from a family of explorers, it is in his DNA to go beyond the obvious and push back the boundaries of the possible, as he did with his two round-the-world flights – with Solar Impulse and before that non-stop in a balloon. A trained psychiatrist, Bertrand constantly sets out to challenge certitudes and convictions, and advocates for an innovative and pioneering spirit to improve the quality of life on Earth.

Envisioning ecology through the lens of profitability, promoting clean and profitable solutions that are “logical” more than just “eco-logical,” Bertrand demonstrates the opportunities that lie in solving climate change. With his dual identities as explorer and medical doctor, he has become an influential voice heard among the most distinguished institutions across the globe as a forward-thinking leader for progress and sustainability.

After finishing his economics studies at the University of Dortmund, Gregor Spengler started his professional career at the German Aluminium Association (GDA) in April 1994. From April 1994 to August 2011 he held the position as Manager of GDA’s Flexible Tubes and Can Division. Since September 2012 he has been Head of Packaging in GDA. From 1994 until today he has also been responsible in GDA for technical issues and food contact legislation matters for rigid and flexible packaging.

Under the umbrella of GDA Mr. Spengler holds the positions as Secretary General of the:

• International Organisation of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers (AEROBAL) founded in 2006 as a follow-up organisation of the European Association of Aluminium Aerosol Container Manufacturers for which he was responsible as Secretary General since 1996
• european tube manufacturers association (etma) since 1996, an organisation of European producers of flexible aluminium, laminate and plastic tubes

From January 2006 to May 2011 he also held the position as Director Regulatory Affairs for Flexible Packaging Europe (FPE), the European forum for the flexible packaging industry.

Representing distinguished independent Dutch Design Agency VanBerlo, and with a story to tell that spans ten years in the creative industry; join Han Toebast on a journey into how Design Thinking methodologies can be a catalyst in your innovation process. By means of inspiring project cases, he will show you how VanBerlo approaches their clients’ business challenges in a uniquely unorthodox manner. Their Design Driven Innovation approach results in products, services or a combination of the two, that focus on creating an optimal balance between building the right business case, living up to user needs and technical possibilities.

Independent of your place in the value chain, innovation should fulfil these needs in diverse ways. Han strongly believes, that optimizing total user experience unlocks hidden potential to truly grow your turnover and market share.

Scientific Communications manager for Procter & Gamble Fabric and Home Care category for Greater Europe and part of the Global Crisis and Issue Management team. Before that I have held various Brand Communications and Regulatory Affairs positions within P&G. I joined P&G about 10 years ago after completing my degree in Science and Business Management / Biology at Utrecht University.

Dr. Ralf Freiberger studied physics in Aachen. Subsequent to his graduation he was employed by the RWTH Aachen (Technical University Aachen) where he focused on Microscopy with short wavelengths. Since 2013 he has been working in the R&D department of the Mühlbauer Group with responsibility for development and improvement of products in the field of visual inspection. Dr. Freiberger is member of the DPG (German Society of Physicists) and has published papers about EUV-microscopy, defect-inspection and time resolved microscopy.

Dick Darr has been in plastics since he was a teenager. At 16 he began working after school in a small injection molding company. After graduation continued with Plasticraft in Wadsworth, Ohio as a process technician and advanced to a shift supervisor in late 1967. He started with Plastipak Packaging Inc. February 1971 as a Production Manager, Plant manager and multiple positions in Development within Plastipak. In 2000 was named Vice President Global Packaging Development and is a member of the Plastipak Packaging Inc. Executive Steering Team. He has invented or co-invented 188 Patents in the field of Plastic Injection and Blow Molding. He has been actively involved in developments of PET Stretch Blow Molding since 1978. He has been involved in the Development of Plastic Aerosol Containers for the past 10 years through the launch of the Febreeze aerosol package in 2017. He attributes his singular success in plastics to his early exposure to all aspects of the field.

Trend watcher Richard van Hooijdonk futurist lectures have been attended by over 300,000 people. He works with RTL, BNR and is guest lecturer at several universities. Hooijdonk and his international team research ‘mega trends’ such as robots, drones, the internet-of-things, 3D/4D printing, Big Data and biomimicry and how new technology affects many industries. Richard van […]

Trend watcher Richard van Hooijdonk futurist lectures have been attended by over 300,000 people. He works with RTL, BNR and is guest lecturer at several universities. Hooijdonk and his international team research ‘mega trends’ such as robots, drones, the internet-of-things, 3D/4D printing, Big Data and biomimicry and how new technology affects many industries. Richard van Hooijdonk started his career as marketing director at banks, publishing companies and technology companies where he held strategic advisory positions, was part of management teams and sat on various boards of directors.

Stéphane Tondo is Chief Marketing Officer for the Packaging and Energy segments at ArcelorMittal and the current President of APEAL, the Association of European Producers of Steel for Packaging.

After an early career as a sales engineer in Germany, he joined ArcelorMittal in 1998 holding positions as market development engineer, key-account manager and regional head of automotive sales before assuming his current position in October 2013. He holds degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Marketing from the Esidec-ICN business school in Metz, France.

Volker Krampe is the Corporate Safety Adviser of Beiersdorf AG, a major cosmetic producer located in Hamburg, Germany. the, a major cosmetic producer located in Hamburg, Germany. He has a degree in Chemical Engineering and is working for more than 30 years in the field of aerosol safety and dangerous goods. Volker is President of the German Aerosol Association IGA. He is also Chairman of the Expert Committee of the European Aerosol Federation FEA and the delegate of FEA, Cosmetics Europe and AISE at the UN Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, the so called “Joint Meeting”, the WP.15 and only for FEA at the Dangerous Goods Panel of the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO. He also is a very experienced trainer in the field of dangerous goods compliance as well as the qualification for DG Safety advisers.