Medha is a global fragrance leader with over 28 years of experience across Europe, UK, US, and Asia, she serves as Executive Vice President – Fragrance at Keva. She leads global product strategy, creative development, and innovation frameworks, translating consumer insight, cultural intelligence, and scientific rigour into commercially successful fragrance solutions.
Her work spans personal & beauty care, fabric care, and home care, with a strong focus on fragrance design, innovation pipelines, and creative processes. She has established international Creative Development Centres and multidisciplinary teams integrating perfumery, chemistry, consumer insight, and technology to deliver differentiated, future-ready products across global markets. Medha has partnered with consumer brands to co-create fragrances balancing emotional resonance with technical performance, sustainability, and market relevance.
Previously, she held senior creative and business leadership roles at IFF and Firmenich, leading global categories and driving large-scale innovation and transformation programs. With academic training with Masters in Organic Chemistry and MBA in Marketing, she brings scientific depth, creative sensibility, and strategic execution. She is a passionate advocate for fragrance innovation, sensory science, and the evolving role of scent in modern product experiences.
Filip is Euromonitor International’s global lead for home care research and strategic client engagement. He oversees the company’s global home care insights, authors flagship industry reports, and shapes the editorial direction of Euromonitor’s industry insights.
Widely recognised as a thought leader in the category, Filip delivers data-driven, forward-looking analysis to home care brands and retailers worldwide. His expertise helps clients navigate shifting consumer behaviours, category performance, and emerging industry opportunities.
Dr. Christoph Schwarz studied Food Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and earned his PhD in Chemistry in 2012 at the Institute of Food Chemistry and Toxicology, University of Vienna. Since 2012, he has worked at knoell Germany GmbH in product safety, advising companies on regulatory compliance and implementation. His core expertise includes Poison Centre Notifications (PCN) and detergent regulations, supporting clients from classification through notification and documentation. Previously, he covered plant protection products, master data management, safety data sheets, and protection of confidential business information.
Arturo Enguix is R&D Manager at Persán, where he leads a team focused on the design, development and innovation of multiple home care categories for all Markets where Persán is present.
With more than 25 years of experience, he has developed products that meet consumer needs and regulatory requirements, contributing significantly to sustainability and consumer engagement.
Throughout his career, Arturo has overseen the creation of sustainable formulations and performance-driven cleaning products. His work focuses on aligning technical excellence with business strategy, ensuring that Persán remains at the forefront of innovation in the cleaning products industry.
Arturo has a chemistry education background and gained his PhD in Analytical Chemistry at University of Seville (Spain) where he still lives.
Blazenka Cisko Anic is the R&D Director at Saponia d.d., a major Croatian manufacturer of detergents, cleaning products, and cosmetics. After graduating in chemistry from the Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, she began her career at Saponia as a junior researcher in the Perfumery Department. She completed her doctoral dissertation in 2007, further advancing her expertise in olfactory chemistry. Following her promotion to Senior Perfumer, she became Head of Perfumery in 2015 and advanced to the position of R&D Director in 2020.
With more than two decades in the industry, she has developed an in-depth understanding of detergent and home-care product markets across Southeast Europe, including consumer preferences, regulatory frameworks, and competitive landscapes. This regional expertise strongly informs her strategic work in product development and innovation.
Over the past five years, she has also participated in three Horizon projects addressing challenges in waste management, plastic recycling, and biobased chemicals through circular economy principles.
I graduated from Bosphorus University Chemistry departmant in 2001. Then I did my PHD in Organic Chemistry from University of Akron USA and work as a post-doctoral research assistant at Penn State University. Afterward I worked in R&D in different sectors like polmyer industry and FMCG for almost 20 years. Currently I am the R&D Director at Hayat for Homecare sector for 4 years.
Jenny co-leads WBCSD’s Climate Action program, a global, cross-value chain business platform facilitating learning and collaboration to accelerate and unlock solutions across the fields of decarbonisation and climate adaptation.
Jenny has over 20 years of international experience working in the private and public sectors directing programs for better decision making, sustainability and sustainable supply chains. Prior to joining WBCSD, she was working at Uber on its strategy to electrify ride-hailing in Europe. Before that Jenny worked 10 years at IDH The Sustainable Trade Initiative, co-founding the Global Coffee Platform and leading public-private partnerships to increase the sustainable production of coffee and other commodities together with some of the world’s largest coffee roasters, their supply chains, producers and governments. Before that Jenny worked at Royal Dutch Shell, and in the IT sector.
Jenny holds a Masters of Business Administration from the MIT Sloan School of Management with a certificate in Entrepreneurship and Innovation and a Bachelors of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.
Eric de Deckere is Director Sustainability within Cefic, aligning Cefic activities & opinions with the objectives formulated in the Cefic sustainability charter addressing the role of the sector in sustainable transition. In depth analysis of challenges and opportunities for the chemical sector related to sustainability related topics for example sustainability reporting, circular economy, corporate and product footprinting and accounting, sustainable products are on the agenda. Eric is involved in SBTi’s Expert Advisory Group of the chemical sector guidance. Before Eric was CSR Manager within the Antwerp Port Authority, coordinating the sustainability reporting process for the port of Antwerp. Eric was one of the driving forces of the World Ports Sustainability Program of the IAPH and was involved in the Environmental Committee of PIANC and in Navigating a Changing Climate.
Lara Dammer, MA Pol Sci, is the Head of Department “Policy & Strategy” at nova-Institute. She holds a Master’s degree in Political Science from Bonn University. The focal points of her work are the political framework for the material use of renewable raw materials, CCU and Circular Economy, companies’ sustainability strategies, national and international climate, resource and environmental policy, market analysis as well as standardisation and certification of bio-based and CO2-based products. Lara facilitates the Renewable Carbon Initiative’s working group on policy. In this role, she is actively involved in several European policy processes that work on advancing the renewable carbon economy.
Jannick Schmidt has more than 20 years professional experience of working with life cycle assessment (LCA) applied to agriculture&food and database development. In 2007, he obtained his PhD within the field of comparative LCA of palm oil and rapeseed oil. Since then, he has worked for several large palm oil producers and downstream users. He has led two large LCA projects comparing RSPO certified and non-certified palm oil and has made several significant scientific as well as use-oriented contributions within the field of LCA and agriculture/food. These include on tools for palm oil, dairy, beef, pork, and crop cultivation, the development of several LCA databases such as BONSAI, EXIOBASE, and “the Big Climate Database” LCA databases, as well as models for land use changes in LCA. In 2021, he won the Nordic Council’s Environmental Prize for the development of the Big Climate Database.
Peter Sandkuehler is the Senior Business Sustainability Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, in Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics business. Peter leads the business in addressing sustainability challenges and opportunities, focusing on Dow’s Protect the Climate, Transform the Waste, and Close the Loop business targets in the region. He works across the organization and with external partnerships to accelerate the increase of circular polymers, low-carbon solutions, and carbon emission reductions. He co-leads a cross-functional team to drive and implement new business models for low-carbon and circular products. He serves as the Dow representative in associations like Plastics Europe. Peter brings 20 years of working experience in the chemical industry and holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, Switzerland (2004) and a Master in Chemical Engineering from the Technical University of Clausthal.
Michel is currently Chief Purchasing Officer of Fabric & Home Care and acts as the General Manager of P&G’s Oleo-chemicals business, P&G Chemicals.
He has spent over 25 years at P&G on multiple businesses in multiple regions while dealing with a wide range of industries. Since 15 years he supports the Fabric & Home Care business globally.
Michel holds a Master in Applied Economics from the KU Leuven in Belgium and obtained a Master degree in International Commerce & Trade from the University of Clermont-Ferrand in France.
Kate is the Programme Manager for the Sustainable Polymers in Liquid Formulations (PLFs) 2040 initiative at the Royal Society of Chemistry, which aims to accelerate the industry transition from fossil derived PLFs to sustainable PLFs by 2040.
Kate leads the coordination and connection of the initiative’s different work strands, ensuring coherence and strategic alignment across scientific, industrial and policy activities. She works closely with stakeholders across the value chain, including polymer producers, manufacturers, formulators, academics, trade bodies and policymakers. The initiative sets out to two missions to drive systemic change: scaling biodegradable PLFs and advancing circular economy infrastructure by 2030.
Kate joined the RSC in 2014 and has held several management roles in business intelligence and customer experience. Her background includes more than 15 years in market research and technology evaluation, with previous positions as a Senior Analyst at Cambridge Consultants Ltd and Medipex Ltd, NHS Innovation Hub assessing and commercialising novel healthcare innovations for improved patient outcomes.
Kate holds a PhD in molecular immunology from the University of East Anglia.
Dr. Nils Wedler is a Senior Associate in the Science Platform at Reckitt, Heidelberg, where he leads a front-end innovation team focusing on surface active polymers, modified water-soluble films and biodegradable antiscalants. With his experience in home care polymers and analytical deep dives into technical problems, he has driven key developments in these technical areas for Reckitt. Prior to Reckitt, Nils held roles at Henkel, focusing on polymer synthesis for Laundry Applications, and CMBlu Energy AG, optimizing IP generation of strategic innovation activities in the energy storage sector.
Tomi Peltonen has a background in chemistry and has worked in research and development for over a decade. He joined Kiilto, a Finnish company specializing in chemical solutions for hygiene and cleaning, in 2011. As RDI Manager, Tomi leads the development of professional textile washing detergents as well as homecare laundry and cleaning products. His work focuses on creating sustainable, high-performance solutions by incorporating renewable raw materials and reducing environmental impact. Under his leadership, Kiilto has introduced innovations such as lignin-based ingredients to replace fossil-derived components, supporting the company’s circular economy goals. Tomi combines scientific expertise with a strong commitment to sustainability, driving advancements that promote cleanliness and wellbeing in a responsible way.
Yash oversees global sustainability strategy, regulatory advocacy, technical reputation management, and environmental and social responsibility for MonoSol’s worldwide business in water-soluble, biodegradable films. He has been with MonoSol since 2011 in roles spanning technical marketing and business strategy. His expertise includes bio-based materials, water-soluble polymers, unit-dose detergents, and packaging, and he is an inventor on multiple patents and author of peer-reviewed publications. Before joining MonoSol, he held technical positions at Encapsys and Appleton Performance Packaging in Wisconsin, USA.
Yash serves on several technical, regulatory, and sustainability committees at the American Cleaning Institute, the American Chemistry Council, and AISE. He is chair of ACI’s Sustainability Committee, co-chair of AISE’s Liquid Laundry Capsules Task Force, and an advisory board member for SEPAWA’s LUV group. He also sits on the advisory board for the packaging program at Cal Poly University’s Orfalea College of Business.
He holds a degree in Polymer Engineering from the University of Pune, an M.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from Clemson, a Ph.D. in Packaging Science from Michigan State University, and completed further programs at the University of Illinois Chicago (Business Administration) and INSEAD France (Sustainability Business).
Luigi Salmaso is a Full Professor of Statistics/Data Science at the Department of Management and Engineering of the University of Padua, where he has been actively involved in teaching and research for over two decades. He currently serves as Coordinator of the PhD Programme in Management Engineering, contributing to the strategic development of advanced research and doctoral education in the field.
He is also the CEO of Stat4Value, a spin-off company of the University of Padua, whose activities primarily focus on the integration and valorisation of corporate data from heterogeneous sources and on the development of advanced software solutions for artificial intelligence and data-driven decision support systems. Through Stat4Value, he collaborates closely with industrial partners to support the improvement of products, production processes, and organizational performance.
His research and teaching activities mainly focus on machine learning, industrial quality, and design of experiments, with particular attention to the application of statistical and AI-based methodologies in real industrial and business contexts. He is the author of several internationally published scientific articles and books.
Fabio Menichini is Senior Manager at Brembo Solutions, where innovation meets practical application. With extensive experience in AI-driven solutions for industrial and consumer markets, Fabio leads projects that merge advanced algorithms with real-world challenges. His recent focus includes ALCHEMIX, a cutting-edge platform designed to revolutionize chemical product development through data-driven insights and multiple Gen AI and ML models. Fabio’s expertise spans marketing, sales, and technical strategy, enabling him to bridge the gap between technology and business impact. In Brembo since more than 10 years, Fabio advocates for solutions that deliver measurable value using AI while enhancing human activities valuing know how and creativity. At this conference, Fabio will share how AI is re-shaping the future of R&D from Automotive to consumer goods industry.
Rodrigo MenaBrito is a Detergent Formulation Expert for the Household Care segment at Novonesis, based in Copenhagen.
His journey has taken him from Mexico to the United States and now Denmark, where he drives innovations for customers using biosolutions in the Technical Services EU team. Throughout his career with industry leaders like Clariant, Colgate-Palmolive, and DuPont, he has built a track record of successful product launches and strategic partnerships.
He is particularly passionate about sustainable solutions and has contributed to multiple patents and scientific publications in environmental chemistry and green production methods.
Leonard Flendrig is a pharmacist by training with a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering who gained knowledge in the area of Home Care at Unilever R&D with focus on improving the cleaning performance of tunnel dishwashers, laundry cleaning performance measurement, naturally structured hand dishwash products for Indonesia, and off-grid washing machines. He initiated SolaSoka 14 year ago, which is now an independent startup with its technology tested in 7 countries and mass-production in-place. Focus is now on realising mass-roll out of the SolaSoka in collaboration with local parties.
After studying chemistry at the Technical University of Darmstadt and receiving his doctorate in materials science in 2001, Dr. Thorsten Kessler completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Merck KGaA and at ETH Zurich. Prior to joining The German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association (IKW), he gained professional experience in both industry and teaching. Since 2006, he has served as a scientific coordinator in the Home Care department of IKW.
Esther Lansdaal has joined Corbion in March 2007 and serves as a Senior Biocide Application Specialist in non-food applications.
With 13 years expertise in the market of Home & Personal Care and Biocides Esther is a strong contributor to new technology development.
Esther holds a MSc degree in Applied Life Sciences of HAN University in Nijmegen and a BSc degree in Histopathology of Avans Hogeschool Breda.
Giulia Zilla is APPLiA’s Policy Director, Energy & Environment. She is dealing mostly with the Ecodesign and Energy Labelling Regulation for energy-related products.
Before joining APPLiA in 2018, Giulia developed experience in policy analysis and advocacy while working for a European Trade Association and for an Italian confederation representing Small Middle Enterprises at the European level. She has been focusing her professional career on European energy and environmental policies and on relevant themes such as Circular Economy, Clean Energy and Low-carbon society.
Giulia holds a BA in International Relations and European Studies from the University of Milan (Italy) and a MA in Energy and Environmental Change from the University of Westminster (London, UK). She also studied in Norway as an exchange student at the Arctic University of Tromsø.
Giulia is Italian, speaks fluently English, and has a basic knowledge of French; during her stay abroad, she also studied Norwegian. Her great passion for politics started early as she was involved in different young political organisations during her youth. Giulia is a climber and skier, who loves nature and mountains.
Studied Process Technology at the Technical University Halle-Merseburg, Dipl.-Ing. Technical Thermodynamics and Energy Management
Working at BSH Home Appliances, Berlin, Germany since 1991
Process Engineer at BSH (R&D), Senior Expert Washing Systems
Predevelopment and Washing Technology, working in laundry care on innovative solutions
Active in International, European and German standardization
More than 30 years of experience in washing appliance function development and performance measurement and related standardisation, currently with focus on washing machines and microplastics from textile sources
David creates growth opportunities for the cleaning and care markets by driving the adoption of next-generation biotech solutions from Evonik Custom Solutions—especially biosurfactants. With a Ph.D. from Sorbonne University and years of experience in application and business development across multiple markets and technologies, he combines scientific expertise with a strong business focus.
Nick Smith is Commercial Director at Viridi. He has held senior international leadership roles in both global chemicals multinationals and start-up companies, including ten years in Asia. Nick has a BSc in Chemistry from the University of East Anglia and an MBA from Oxford Brookes University.
Dan Derr serves as Integrity BioChem’s Senior Vice President of Technology, Specialty Chemicals, leveraging over 20 years of expertise in renewable chemicals, fuels, and energy. He obtained a B.S. in Chemistry (with a music minor) from Ithaca College in 1992 and a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from Colorado State University in 1998. Beginning his career at General Electric Global Research, he specialized in renewable energy and fuels. Later, at Logos Technologies, he contributed to the development of NatSurFact® rhamnolipid biosurfactants within a dynamic team.
Since 2022, Dan has been a full-time member of Integrity BioChem, leading the promotion of bio-based surfactants for personal care and HI&I applications. He collaborates closely with the R&D Team to drive product innovation and provides support to Integrity’s customers through the Commercial Team.
Volkert de Villeneuve, PhD is the founder and lead consultant at Lysning Innovation Consultants, a technical scent consultancy focused on technical fragrance solutions. With a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Utrecht University and over 15 years of experience in product and technology development, Volkert combines deep expertise in fragrance delivery systems, fragrance analysis, and modeling across product categories.
Previously, he held global technical roles at Unilever and International Flavors & Fragrances (IFF), where he was a leader in global encapsulation innovation and analytical roles and co-invented patented technologies that advanced fragrance performance. At Lysning, his work spans biodegradable microcapsules, fragrance formulation strategies, and intellectual property landscaping, helping brands integrate sustainability with technical excellence. Volkert’s approach bridges science, regulatory insight, and market needs to deliver impactful, eco-conscious solutions for the cleaning industry.
Marine Douguet is Senior Sensory and Molecular Analysis Consultant at Odournet France – Sensenet, a laboratory specialised in odour evaluation. Since 2019, she has been involved in projects for the cosmetic, hygiene, home and fabric care sectors. She leads the Sensenet malodour counteraction efficacy evaluation service and supports clients in generating scientific data to support efficacy claims of products like air fresheners, toilet paper, diapers or deodorants. Marine has a life sciences master’s degree from AgroParisTech, a French engineer school. She specialized in sensory analysis and development of correlations with instrumental measurements. She worked for 8 years within the cosmetic industry (Johnson & Johnson, L’Oréal, Stéarinerie Dubois…) where she managed numerous projects related to innovation.
Geoffrey Stijfs is a Head of Sales - Valida Homecare at Sappi. He is responsible for the global market development of Fibrillated Cellulose – branded as Valida – in emerging applications, piecing together value proposition and pitting them against the market demand, identifying key new applications in the process.
Geoffrey has a master’s degree in Life Sciences, with a specialization in biomaterial science, surface and fiber chemistry. After graduating, he joined the Sappi team to coordinate production teams and balance the system chemistry following significant process changes. After several years, he transferred his activities to the fibrillated cellulose team to maximize business potential by utilizing his fundamental understanding of fibers.
To close, Geoffrey’s mindset closely relates to a famous quote from Thomas Edison:
“There is a way to do it better. Find it.”
