Steve Ottone is the holder of a BS and MS in Wood Science from the Pennsylvania State University. His career started in the paper industry with work for Container Corporation of America, St. Regis Paper, and Champion International. He then moved to the supplier side, working in latex supply to the paper industry for Reichhold, Inc., Dow Reichhold Specialty Latex, and Mallard Creek Polymers. His current job is with Omya, Inc., a supplier of specialty coatings and rheology modifiers for a broad range of applications. His area of emphasis is polymer and rheology modifier solutions to barrier coatings needs.
Paige Goff is Vice-President of Sustainability and Communications at Domtar, the largest integrated marketer and manufacturer of business and office copy paper in North America. In this role, she is responsible for communicating Domtar’s pulp and paper initiatives, identifying and leveraging the latest sustainability trends and strategies for the business, as well as developing and managing partnerships with environmental non-governmental organizations (NGO) and customers.
Goff has 17 years of experience in the forest products industry and joined Domtar in 2004. In her previous Domtar roles, she was also the Senior Manager, Brand and Advertising Operations as well as a Product Packaging Manager. Prior to joining Domtar, Goff was a marketing analyst and planner at Resolute, a North American paper industry supplier. She has a Master of Business Administration degree.
Graham Moore has over thirty years’ experience of the global paper and board industry that has focused on process and product knowledge, recycling, wet end chemistry and product performance research. His recent focus has been directed towards the specialty paper sector where he has assisted a number of paper companies to successfully develop and exploit new specialty products and markets. He has been a regular presenter, chairman and advisory board member for Smithers US Specialty Paper conference held annually in conjunction with TAPPI. In addition to specialty paper, he has undertaken strategic futures based research that has examined the issues and technology trends that affect the papermaking supply chain and co-authored the TAPPI Futurist’s report ‘Postcards of the Future’. He is a member and Fellow of TAPPI, member, non-executive director and Deputy Chairman of PITA (UK), and member of the Royal Society of Chemistry (UK).
Scott McNutt has over 40 years of experience in the paper industry, with a focus on process and product knowledge in the disciplines of papermaking, quality, engineering, operations management, Lean/Six Sigma, product development and innovation. He is well-versed in the downstream converting processes and end use requirements for cut sheet, QSR, flexible packaging, and technical specialty grades.
He started his career in specialty paper at Dunn Paper, serving in roles process engineering, quality management, and product dev. He transitioned to Fine Paper with Willamette and was part of the effort to infuse state-of-the-art papermaking technology into the fine paper industry in the US. He then managed the production operations for Wausau Papers, returning to his specialty paper roots. To bring his career full circle, he returned to Dunn Paper in Port Huron to drive operations success and innovation.
He has toured a vast number of pulp and paper mills in the US and abroad, exploring new technology. Scott has been a member of TAPPI since 1985, attending numerous events at the local Chapters as well as annual Conferences. In addition, he has been active in the Smithers Specialty Papers Conferences in Europe and North America. He is currently active in the TAPPI Mentor program and recently joined the Tappi Nanotechnology subcommittee.
His primary focus now with Nextep Partners LLC Consulting is on paper innovations for sustainable packaging applications.
Dr. Sandeep Kulkarni is the founder and President of KoolEarth Solutions Inc., a technical consulting and business development company focused on helping companies develop and commercialize new sustainable packaging solutions as well as to improve the sustainability footprint of existing packaging and to reduce/eliminate packaging waste. He is also VP, Plastics and Packaging at Ubuntoo (www.ubuntoo.com), a unique environmental solutions platform to address plastic waste, plastic litter, food waste, sustainable fashion and so on.
Sandeep has over 20 years of industry experience working for several large packaging companies, such as International Paper, Neenah Paper and Georgia Pacific. Most recently he worked for PepsiCo, in the area of sustainable beverage packaging. His diverse expertise includes recycling, bioplastics, paper based as well as molded fiber packaging. Sandeep has 7 granted patents as well as several publications in industry journals. He has also served on conference advisory boards and has delivered several invited presentations, at international conferences, on the topics of sustainability and sustainable packaging. Sandeep serves as an Adjunct Professor at The Packaging School (a spinoff from Clemson University) as well as the North Carolina State University. Recently he was elected to serve as member of the Executive Committee of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition (SPC) for 3 year term (2021-2024)
Kelly L. Helein brings 29 years of executive leadership in the capacity of sales, marketing and business development having worked for specialty paper companies, converters and manufacturers. A self-described highly motivated connector and collaborator, she has extensive experience in driving innovation and growth while working with leading consumer products companies. Passionate about sustainability and the impact of packaging on the global network, Kelly has championed change as the past Board President for the Paper Discovery Center and the Paper International Hall of Fame. She also serves on the advisory committee for Smithers Pira Sustain Pack Europe and US. Kelly previously worked as Vice President, Industrial for Coveris, now TC Transcontinental and now serves as Vice President, Strategic Accounts for Footprint.
