Phillip Mango has spent almost forty years in nonwovens, starting in 1981 with Air Products and Chemicals, where he was the Manager of the Nonwovens Group. Air Products was the major supplier of latex binders to major nonwovens used in wipes, notably airlaid and DRC (double recrepe). In 1991, he left Air Products to join Walkisoft USA as Director of Technology. Walkisoft was the largest global producer of airlaid at that time. Sensing a need for a more innovative, specialty oriented airlaid producer, Mr. Mango started his own airlaid business and designed and built a specialty airlaid line in 1997. This company, Airformed Composites, was one of the early developers of commercial multibonded airlaid for baby wipes, as well as other unique products and process advances. In 2000, Concert Industries acquired Airformed Composites and Mr. Mango. With Concert, Mr. Mango was the Director of Product Development. In 2002, Mr. Mango left Concert to start his own consulting business, Phillip Mango Consulting, LLC. Over the last 18 years, Mr. Mango has consulted extensively in the wipes market, technology, nonwovens and raw materials. He has authored numerous studies on flushable wipes, the global wipes market and technology, and other nonwovens related subjects.
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Michael Carus, nova-Institute and Renewable Carbon Initiative (Germany), is a physicist and one of Europe's leading experts, market researchers and policy advisors on the renewable carbon economy – including bio-based, CO2-based and recycling. In late 1994, together with five other scientists, he founded the private and independent nova-Institute for Ecology and Innovation. From the beginning, Carus has been involved in the company as an owner and one of the managing directors (until February 2026), and is now senior expert in the department “renewable feedstock”. Today, the nova-Institute employs nearly 50 scientists from a wide range of disciplines, covering markets, technologies, sustainability, communication and policy.
In 2020, Carus founded the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI), which today has 80 members from the chemicals and materials industries. Carus is one of the two executive managers of the RCI and in this position member of the core group of the Critical Chemical Alliance (CCA) of the European Commission (2026).
Ibrahim Sagerer-Foric, MSc is Senior Manager for Lenzing Nonwoven Technology (LNT) with over 25 years of experience in innovation, process engineering, and plant engineering. He is responsible for process development, product development, and industrialization, and is the co-initiator of the LNT project and inventor of the LNT spinning technology.
Marion, working as head of R&D, is shareholder in Gruppo X di X Gruppo srl, a company generating patents on innovations in the packaging and mainly paper sector, developing them with industrial partners and licensing patents, know how and technology. She is co-author of the base patents of Gruppo X’s developments and has been working since 1990 in the field of process and material innovation.
Gruppo X’s technologies, patents and know how have been licensed in Sweden, Japan, USA, Canada and Mexico.
Marion holds degrees in architecture from Germany and Italy.
Keren Shabtai holds a Ph.D. in a multidisciplinary field combining chemistry and applied physics from Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and an M.Sc. in Materials and Surface Chemistry from Weizmann Institute of Science.
She has over 20 years of industrial R&D experience, with deep expertise in materials science and various developments. For the past nine years, she has been with Albaad, where she currently serves as Corporate Director of R&D and Innovation, leading strategic developments.
Dr.-Ing. Ingo Mählmann is an experienced nonwovens professional with a strong background in engineering, product management, business development and sales. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Ph.D. from RWTH Aachen University and has held senior roles at Oerlikon Neumag and Oerlikon Nonwoven before joining Trützschler Nonwovens in 2026 as Director Sales.
Anne Gückel started her career in 2000 in application department for technical biocides and cosmetic preservatives at schülke & Mayr GmbH. Over the years, she has held various roles in this field and gained a broad expertise in microbiology, preservation, innovation and legislation. Since 2021 part of Microbial Protection at Ashland responsible for Technical Service Europe as an expert for technical questions related to antimicrobials.
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Oliver Breucker is Co-Founder and Managing Director of ROOVER Consulting, a boutique consultancy specializing in Artificial Intelligence, digital transformation, and innovation. He advises organizations across industries on how to successfully adopt AI technologies and unlock new opportunities for growth, efficiency, and innovation.
Before founding ROOVER, Oliver worked at Roland Berger and Kaufland Digital, where he led digital transformation and performance improvement initiatives. He holds degrees in Industrial Engineering from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and TU Berlin, and has completed advanced executive education in Artificial Intelligence at MIT.
Over the past years, Oliver has delivered numerous AI keynotes, workshops, and training programs for executives and employees at leading international organizations. His presentations are known for combining strategic insights with hands-on demonstrations, making complex AI concepts accessible, practical, and immediately actionable. His current focus is helping organizations harness the power of AI agents and human-AI collaboration to shape the future of work.
Filip Lukić is COO and Co-Founder of ahead&, where he leads the company's operational units in bringing artificial intelligence into real business operations - across different industries. He focuses on turning emerging AI capabilities into practical tools that organisations can actually use. With a background spanning technology and product leadership, Filip helps companies move from experimenting with AI to embedding it in their everyday workflows. Formerly leaded the Center of Excellence for Smart Data at TÜV Rheinland Consulting, aswell as implementing different digital transformation use cases into the retail branche at Porta Group. And before Strategy consulting for companies such as Deutsche Telekom.
Theresa Schlegel is an ecological sustainability manager at dm-drogerie markt, Germany's most popular drugstore chain.
Founded in 1973 by Prof. Götz W. Werner in Karlsruhe, dm-drogerie markt operates across 15 European countries and employs over 93,000 staff members across more than 4,000 stores.
With a bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in bioeconomy, complemented by practical experience in life cycle assessment, Theresa serves as a bridge between dm's product managers and manufacturing partners.
She advances dm's 28 private-labels toward future-readiness by increasing recycled and secondary material usage, strengthening circular design, reducing environmental impacts and building customer transparency.
o Ana is a research consultant in Euromonitor's Düsseldorf office, focusing on client insights in Euromonitor’s fashion and lifestyle industries. With over fifteen years of experience in consumer products and services marketing in European and Asian countries and an MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management, Ana relocated from Asia to join Euromonitor's Düsseldorf office in 2022 to provide actionable insights to businesses on how to address consumer trends and needs in the DACH region.
David James has been a leader in the nonwoven materials industry for over 30 years .His longstanding industry experience and deep-rooted dedication to helping organisations excel through sustainable business practices has positioned him as a trusted partner in the nonwovens landscape. David has collaborated with external agencies and trade associations for advocacy and promoting industry standards and best practice. David has chaired the EDANA (European disposables and nonwovens association) Wet wipes working group during 2020-2022. He is a member of the steering committee of The Nonwovens Network UK and currently sits on an ISO technical committee working group ISOTC224 WG10 “on Flushable products”.
David has successfully developed products that are fabricated with sustainable alternatives to traditional nonwoven and packaging materials as used in the wet wipes industry.
• Petra Heiß is Product Manager in Lenzing’s Global Nonwovens Business, with extensive experience in product management, innovation and strategic marketing. She oversees the global nonwoven fiber portfolio for wipes segment at Lenzing.
Anna currently serves as Product Specialist at Kungh AB, a family-owned contract manufacturer founded in 1984 and headquartered in Sweden. The company entered the wet wipes market in 2001, notably developing its own in-house wet wipe machinery from the outset — a testament to its engineering capabilities and entrepreneurial spirit. Over the past six years, Kungh AB has experienced significant growth and today holds a strong market position across Scandinavia, with particular strength in Sweden and Norway. Underlining its deep commitment to sustainability, Kungh AB is the largest licence holder for cosmetic wet wipes under the Nordic Ecolabel and the largest licence holder for home care wet wipes under the Good Environmental Choice label — two of the most recognised and respected environmental certifications in the Nordic region.
In her role at Kungh AB, Anna leads product development initiatives that balance performance, consumer safety, and environmental responsibility. Her deep knowledge of wet wipe substrates, formulation chemistry, and market requirements makes her a trusted voice in the Scandinavian wipes industry.
Dr. M. Naeimirad (Momo) is a polymer and textile scientist, project manager, and business developer specializing in advanced polymer systems, melt-spun fibers, biodegradable yarns, technical textiles, and nonwoven technologies. He previously worked at EMPA, North Carolina State University, and Institut für Textiltechnik (RWTH Aachen) before moving into industry.
With over 10 years of experience, he has led and contributed to projects including Liquid-core Fibers, STIMULATE, PolyBioDeg, and BioFur, funded by SNF, BMBF, MSCA, and DFG, and has authored 40+ peer-reviewed publications. His expertise includes polymer processing, fiber spinning, composites, textile recycling (rPET/rPA), PHAs, and nonwoven technologies such as spunbond, meltblown, needle-punching, and wet-laid systems.
He also served five years as an Assistant Professor and has delivered 30+ invited talks at leading international textile and bioplastics conferences.
Ruxandra advises and defends clients in matters related to EU regulatory law and litigation, with a strong emphasis on product, environmental, and sustainability regulations, and increasingly, climate change challenges. Her experience spans a wide array of sectors, from raw materials (including chemicals and minerals) to products such as electronics, consumer apparel, medical devices, cosmetics, food, and food contact materials. She is well-versed in regulations such as ESPR/Eco-design, Product Liability and Green Claims, REACH, CLP, PFAS, BPR, PPPR, PPWR, POPs, CPR, and WEEE/RoHS.
Ruxandra regularly provides guidance on supply chain-related matters, particularly those concerning environmental and regulatory issues, including CSRD, CS3D, and EUDR. Recognizing that while rules and regulations apply per jurisdiction and companies operate on a global scale, her knowledge and advice help businesses navigate and address global challenges and risks.
I am the sustainability officer and part of the quality assurance team at DELO, a family-owned flexible packaging converter, founded in 1961 in Lohne, Germany - now home to the largest flexographic printing plant for plastic packaging in Europe.
With six years of experience in the flexible packaging industry, my expertise focuses on regulatory affairs and bridging the gap to sustainability, including certifications like ISCC or flustix and carbon footprint calculations.
I am passionate about aligning rigorous quality standards with sustainable practices. My goal is to help reduce the ecological impact of our packaging films and successfully navigate evolving regulations.
I earned my degree in Chemistry with a focus on polymers from the Technical University of Dortmund in 2019.
