Andy Sweetman (Innovia Films)
Chairman

Andy Sweetman is Global Marketing Manager Sustainable Technologies at Innovia Films.

He holds a degree in Modern Languages from the University of Southampton and a diploma in Packaging Technology from the Institute of Packaging. Mr Sweetman has worked in the packaging industry for over twenty years, principally in the field of technical sales and marketing management.

Dr. Jens Hamprecht (BASF SE)
Vice Chairman

Jens Hamprecht is Head of Global Product Management, Biodegradable Polymers at BASF SE. He joined BASF SE as Internal Strategy and Value Chain Consultant in 2006.

Dr Hamprecht studied at ETH Zurich and Imperial College London, and was awarded a doctorate from the University of St. Gallen in 2005. He has been Senior Researcher in Sustainability and Technology at ETH Zurich in Switzerland since 2005.

Mark Vergauwen (NatureWorks)
Vice Chairman

Mark Vergauwen is the European commercial director for Ingeo® biopolymer at NatureWorks BV. He leads the company’s business development efforts in Europe. Mark Vergauwen joined NatureWorks in 2003, bringing to the company more than 15 years of experience in polymer sales and marketing. Prior to joining NatureWorks, he held several commercial positions at BP Amoco, where he was most recently European sales manager, polypropylene. He began his career in the polymer industry at Borealis.

Mark Vergauwen holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the Karel De Grote Hogeschool in Antwerp, Belgium.

Rainer Barthel (Danone )

Rainer Barthel is Head of R&D Packaging Central Europe at Danone GmbH.

Since 2005, he is managing the R&D packaging portfolio for all central European countries to guarantee the smooth project realization, acc. to cost, timing, quality and environmental criteria. From 1997-2004 he was employed as junior and senior R&D packaging engineer responsible for various central European countries and projects inside Danone as well as external (Co manufacturing).

Before joining Danone GmbH he worked from 1996- 1997 at the Fraunhofer Institute IVV Freising.

Mr. Barthel holds a diploma degree in engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Munich.

Francesco Degli Innocenti (Novamont)

Francesco Degli Innocenti is Ecology of Products and Environmental Communication Manager at Novamont, where he began in 1991.

Harald Käb (narocon)

Harald Käb, born October 1963, is a chemist holding a PhD (Univ. Wuerzburg, Germany, 1991). In 1998 he founded narocon, a consulting company offering strategic business development services to public and private partners in the sector of green chemistry and bioplastics.

In 1995 Mr. Käb was first time elected as member of the Board of European Bioplastics. He was leading the industry association as managing Chairman of the

Board from 1999 to 2009. From 2009 to April 2011 he served as Secretary General leading key policy projects of European Bioplastics.

His professional life is dedicated to growing the innovative biobased products industry

Jöran Reske (Interseroh SE)

Jöran Reske is responsible for the development of recovery systems and bioplastics at Interseroh SE.

After studying Biology at the University of Munich, he coordinated the government-funded project “Development of the Legislative and Technical Framework for the Composting of Bioplastics” and was responsible for product development at Mafo GmbH. Jöran Reske has been a member of the European Bioplastics Board since 1999.