Bio coming soon.
Kamran Paynabar is a Fouts Family Career Professor and Associate Professor in the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering at Georgia Tech.
Dr. Paynabar’s research interests comprise both applied and theoretical aspects of data mining and statistical modeling integrated with engineering knowledge. His current research focuses on the analysis of high-dimensional complex data including multi-stream signals, images, videos, point-clouds and network data, for system modeling, monitoring, diagnostics and prognostics using semi-parametric and nonparametric approaches. The generic methodologies he develops have been widely utilized in a variety of applications ranging from manufacturing including automotive, aerospace, medical device, and so forth, to healthcare applications including cardiac surgery and rotator cuff tear surgery.
He received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering from Iran University of Science and Technology and Azad University in 2002 and 2004, respectively, and his Ph.D. in Industrial and Operations Engineering from The University of Michigan in 2012. He also holds an M.A. in Statistics from The University of Michigan.
Gary Robinson specializes in helping companies develop meaningful business and technical strategies to advance Sustainability. Gary holds a packaging degree from Michigan State University and over 25 years in global business leadership. His experience includes major consumer brands such as The Home Depot, Kraft Foods, Newell Rubbermaid, and Amway. Throughout his career Gary has held leadership positions in R&D, Global Supply Chain, Engineering, Manufacturing, Purchasing, Marketing, and Business Development. This diverse professional background is the key to success to drive innovation.
Summary coming soon
Scott Hyland holds a BS degree in Business Administration from the State College of Vermont at Castleton. His career started in the paper industry with work for Omya, Penford Products, and Ingredion Incorporated where his focus has been related to coatings and surface treatments. Managing demands from various positions as a supplier to the industry, he has worked extensively to expand the use of starch-based polymers designed for higher performance coating applications for specialty paper/ packaging arenas. His current position with Ingredion is in product innovation/ application of specialty coatings and surface treatments; his emphasis is related to barrier coatings in packaging applications.
With over 28 years of experience in the paper industry, Ronald graduated from the University of British Columbia, Canada with a Masters of Engineering degree in Pulp and Paper Technology. With short stints at a pulp and paper process consulting company, a paper mill and a pulp and paper research institute, Ronald has spent a large part of his career in the application development and launching of paper making chemicals. He has been with FiberLean Technologies Ltd since 2017 at his current position of manager, paper and packaging applications. He has resided in Sweden since 2006.
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).
Bio coming soon
Peter Désilets is Managing Director and Co-founder of pacoon Sustainability Concepts GmbH, based in Munich and Hamburg, Germany. PACOON is a leading agency in Europe for sustainable packaging solutions.
PACOON has been following developments in sustainability for over 13 years and organised the 'SOLPACK - International Conference for Sustainable Packaging' four times with latest news and trends in material, technologies, strategies and concepts. PACOON organises training courses and workshops and advises companies on evaluating and developing solutions.
The agency has a broad network of internationals suppliers and institutes and is itself involved in several customer and funding projects for innovative food packaging.
As Senior Product Stewardship Engineer within Printpack’s Office of Sustainability, Alan has the opportunity to lead Printpack’s Compostable Development Platform. Within his role, Alan works with various suppliers of resins, films, adhesives, and coatings to develop structures that will continue meet the needs of flexible packaging while being designed to meet 3rd party compostable certification requirements. Alan is an active member in multiple industry organizations, including BPI Standards & Procedures committee, BPI Communications committee, and SPC Composting Collaborative and is determined to work closely with composter organizations, brands, and technology providers to ensure all parties’ needs are met. Printpack’s Office of Sustainabiilty was formed in 2020 and focuses on sustainable development within Compostable Structures, Paper Structures, Recyclable Films, Post Consumer Recycled Films, and Biobased Films. Prior to joining Printpack in 2017, Alan worked as Packaging Engineer with Conagra Brands, giving him unique insight to the challenges and goals of Brands and Converters alike.
Simona Bălan, PhD, is a Senior Environmental Scientist at the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), where she researches potential exposures and adverse impacts from the use of harmful chemicals in consumer products and implements the California Safer Consumer Products (SCP) regulations. Since 2016, she has been leading the SCP teams working on regulating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in certain consumer products. Before joining DTSC, she was Senior Scientist at the Green Science Policy Institute, managing international projects on the use of flame retardants and PFASs in consumer products. She also lectures at UC Berkeley in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and in the School of Public Health. She has a PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management from UC Berkeley, and a BSc in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Jacobs University Bremen, Germany.
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)
Jay Sperry is a color and print quality management leader and practitioner with 20-years-experience in packaging & specialty printing – from flexographic print operations to academic research patents to global product & business development.
Jay now represents Digimarc as a passionate advocate for transforming yesterdays printed barcodes to a future where packaging graphics are the digital link for a product in its lifecycle.
Jay discovered printing and graphic arts in high school in his hometown of Wilmington, NC where he now resides with his two young children. Jay completed graphic communication degrees at Appalachian State and Clemson University and is active in trade associations and industry committees.
David is the Sustainability Maven at Eco-Products, PBC, where he ensures that sustainability is woven throughout the business. From supply chain to end-of-life issues, David is involved in every facet of the Eco-Products strategy. As part of his role, David coordinates the Eco-Products’ Product and Zero Waste Specialist team who focus on working with large food waste generators to implement a fully compostable bundle and divert food waste and compostable packaging from the landfill, as well as building relationships with the compost manufacturing industry.
David has been in the Zero Waste industry since graduating from the University of Colorado in 2012, and received his Masters in Public Policy from the University of Denver in 2017.
Summary coming soon
For the past 6 years, Dustin Schadt has worked with Stora Enso as the Director of Business Development and Key Account Manager for Specialty Papers and Packaging Materials in North America. His key objective is to build partnerships with Retailers, Brand Owners, and Converters who have specific Objectives to increase the effectiveness of their Paper and Packaging. Though Quality, Service, and Logistics are all key objectives for these companies, Dustin focuses on clients whose primary goal is to find Sustainable Packaging Solutions. Bringing 18 years of experience from the Folding Carton Industry, he ties in many different components of the supply chain in order to find innovative solutions and bring value to the changing market. When he’s not talking about micro fibers, blank paper, or empty boxes, Dustin likes to travel with his family, creating many adventures along the way. Between his love for family and love for paper, there’s never a moment to rest.
Susan Thoman has over 25 years’ management experience within the solid waste and sustainability fields. Susan served on the Cedar Grove Composting senior management team for 12 years, where she pioneered the development of working models to create collaboration between solid waste systems and the food service value chain. In January 2017, she and several partners formed a private industry group, the Compost Manufacturing Alliance, to broaden the vision and scope of compostable products testing across North America. Susan served on the US Composting Council board from 2015-2018, and currently serves on the Recycling Foundation Board in Washington State.
Scott Frasca has 36 years of experience in technical sales and tech service with customers in the pulp, paper, paperboard and wet laid nonwovens industries. He has worked with specialty and commodity chemicals, binders, plastic pigments, surface treatments and precision cut fibers for a wide variety of paper and wet laid nonwovens grades. Scott has been actively involved with both national and local sections of TAPPI, currently chairing two committees on the national level, and past chair of two local sections and is a recipient of the TAPPI Paul W. Magnabosco Outstanding Local Section Member award.
Tammy has spent 15 years in digital marketing, e-commerce, and business development including leadership roles in both agencies and technology companies. Tammy was the Vice President of Market Development & Agency Relations at G2 Crowd, a B2B marketing platform backed by $45 million of venture capital. She is formerly the Founder & CEO of MarketMeSuite, one of the first social media marketing management platforms. Tammy founded MarketMeSuite in 2009 and closed $2.6 million of investment capital while building a user base of 80,000 businesses. Her company was acquired in 2014 by Vivial to integrate with their local online marketing software platform. Tammy has consulted on projects in Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Micro-Finance, Business Solutions, Blockchain, and Information Security. Tammy co-founded BTblock to enable ideation, validation, and implementation in bringing innovations to market.
Zack Leimkuehler is the Vice President of the Technical Solutions Business Unit and R&D for Ahlstrom-Munksjö. Zack and the North American team lead product development efforts with a focus on delivering sustainable, value-added solutions for Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s customers around the globe. With a strong presence in specialty papers, the team creates a wealth of opportunities for customization and product improvements to deliver value to customers and in turn, create long-term technical and strategic demand for paper. Zack has been involved with multiple different end-use markets, collaborating with customers and brand owners to build lasting value and sustainability with fiber-based products.
Zack has been with Ahlstrom-Munksjö and its North American legacy businesses for more than 20 years and has held positions in Manufacturing, Marketing, and Product Development. Zack is a Paper Science Engineering Graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.
Jürgen Luchtenberg has obtained his doctorate in the field of Polymer-Chemistry.
For more than 20 years he had various positions at Nouryon (previously CP Kelco) and he has always been passionate about the applicatons of products in the paper- and board industry.
Today he works with global responsibility as Technical Support & Development Manager. His focus is to develop new markets and applications and introduce new products and concepts to the industry.
Alex Thomas, Special Projects and Field Lead
A Wisconsin native, Alex completed his undergraduate degrees in Biology and Waste Resources before working in Waste Management and Planning in Eastern Washington for the last three years. Most recently, Alex has become a Graduate Research Assistant at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point under the Soils and Waste Resources department. There, on top of his CMA work, he is researching the affects composting can have on infectious diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease and E. Coli. Alex is happy to have been a part of the CMA team since 2019 and is looking forward to continuing to move forward the mission of effective compostables.
