Gustavo Basto has been involved in the quality control field for over 15 years. He’s been with INTRAVIS for over six 6 years beginning as a service technician and rising to become sales manager for Latin America. He combines his technical knowledge with a high level of customer orientation providing turn-key vision inspection solutions for the Central and South American plastic packaging market.

Danny Beard is the principal of Packaging Specialists, a private consulting business focused on liquid flexible packaging of food and beverages. His client list includes many of the best-known global consumer packaged goods, food processing and packaging companies. Previous to his role with Packaging Specialists, Danny spent seven years at Scholle Corp., where he directed global sales efforts in bag-in-box packaging. Prior roles included stints at Printpack Inc. and Eastman Chemical Co. Danny is a 1984 graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta with a degree in industrial engineering.

Tom Blaige established Blaige & Company, an international investment banking firm dedicated exclusively to the plastics, packaging, and chemicals industries in 2003. He has more than 30 years of transaction experience, having completed over 200 transactions. Blaige & Company’s proprietary research department tracks and analyzes over 500 plastics industry M&A transactions annually on a worldwide basis. Prior to founding Blaige & Company, he was a leading senior transaction professional with Lazard Middle Market, Lincoln International and a middle market M&A unit of a Wall Street investment bank. Tom earned a Master of Management degree, with Distinction, from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelors degree in business administration from Loyola University of Chicago.

John Brown has been with Selig Group Inc. since August of 2010 with a prior role as vice president of business development. Before joining Selig, John served for 11 years as the business development manager of CSI (Closure Systems International). Prior to CSI, he served as vice president, R&D of Courtaulds Packaging – Knight Engineering & Plastics (Berry Plastics). John has been in the packaging industry for more than 23 years, with a focus on the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, personal care and industrial chemicals markets. He received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois and MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Bryan Crosby is the CEO of FunLPro Technology LLC. In his current role, Bryan is focused on overseeing the successful management of FunLPro Technology’s IP portfolio, its sales channel development and working with his engineering and sales teams to develop, adap, and expand the integration of its technology with leading CPG brands across a wide array of fluid products. Bryan graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a bachelor's degree in business administration and later received his MBA from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville with concentrations in supply chain management and entrepreneurship and innovation.

Mark Dziersk is managing director of LUNAR in Chicago. LUNAR is one of the world’s top strategic design and engineering firms. Mark was formerly vice president, industrial design at Brandimage Degrippes & laga. Dziersk is also fellow of the Industrial Designers Society of America, of which he has held several leadership positions, including president of the organization his career, Dziersk has earned over 100 U.S. product design and engineering patents and garnered numerous awards. He’s currently the executive editor of INNOVATION, IDSA's flagship publication, and has been an expert blogger for Fast Company magazine since 2004. Since 2001 he has been an adjunct professor for the Master of Product Development Program at Northwestern University. Mark has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Michigan.

Todd Faubion is the vice president of product development, specific to closures and bottles, at Berry Plastics Corp. In his current role, Todd is focused on technology and growth for the closures, bottles, and tubes product lines for the Consumer Packaging Division at Berry. Todd began his career with Berry 18 years ago in product development before moving into sales. He later transitioned to become director of business development for the former Rigid Closed Top division. Todd graduated in 1991 from Indiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology.

Marc Fern is the commercial vice president of M. Holland Co. and is a member of the company's executive leadership team. He began at M. Holland in 1997 as a sales representative, was promoted to sales manager in 1999 and then to director of sales before being named to vice president of sales & marketing in 2010. He began his career as a sales representative for Colors For Plastics in 1993. Marc is a graduate of Indiana University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in finance.

Marco Andrea Ferri joined the SACMI Group in Imola, Italy in early 2008 and is presently area sales manager for the U.S. and Canada markets in the Closures & Containers and Beverage divisions at SACMI Imola. After joining SACMI in 2008, Ferri was first appointed as project manager and worked in this capacity until 2010. He subsequently moved on to a new position as area sales manager for the Eastern Europe and Far East markets before being put in charge of the North American market in 2013. He graduated from the University of Bologna in 2008

Michael Fink joined closure mould specialist z-moulds over 10 years ago. He started as technical consultant for manufacturing process optimization and change management during this time z-werkzeugbau-gmbh was founded by a management buyout. Now, he is vice president of sales and also is responsible for business development for new markets and new technologies. Michael has a master’s degree in international management from Leeds Metropolitan University.

Michael Flood is director of beverage closure solutions, at Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., where he is responsible for ensuring Husky’s closure products meet the evolving needs of closure manufacturers. With a professional background rooted in engineering and technical project management, Michael has been managing new product development projects with Husky for the past seven years. Prior to joining Husky, he spent more than 10 years in the food manufacturing industry in various engineering and operations management roles. Michael holds a bachelor of applied science degree from the University of Waterloo in Canada.

In over 30 years of employment with NOVA Chemicals, Chris Gick has held commercial and technical positions within the polyethylene business and at a corporate level in investor relations. As manager, industry and market dynamics, he is responsible for monitoring, analyzing and interpreting changes and trends that affect the dynamics of the industries within which NOVA participates. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from McGill University and an MBA from the University of Calgary.

Robert E. Hogan is director of global business development for Zip-Pak. The firm is a division of Illinois Tool Works and is a global leader in developing new resealable packaging technologies. Bob has been in packaging for 25 years and since 2001, has led the company’s international expansion from a North American based business to a global business serving customers in 55 countries. Bob has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics.

Jeffrey Kolbow is chief executive officer of MGS Mfg. Group, Inc. and has served as a director since July 1999. Jeff was named president of the MGS Group of companies in 2014 prior to becoming CEO earlier this year. He has been with MGS in various capacities since 1995. Jeff received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin - Whitewater.

Dave Johnson is business development manager for AptarGroup, a leader of innovative dispensing solutions. His responsibilities include product and global market development for Aptar’s flexible dispensing innovations in food markets. This includes working closely with global customers and the flexible stand-up pouch supply chain. He has over 25 years in product and market development with a diversified background having lead teams at Sony Electronics and Agfa-Gevaert. Dave is a graduate of Concordia University in Montréal.

As publisher of Plastics News, Brennan Lafferty is responsible for all aspects of the brand's business. Before joining Plastics News in 2013, Brennan served as publisher of Waste & Recycling News, another brand of Crain Communications Inc., based in Detroit. Lafferty joined Crain in 1997. Brennan earned his bachelor's degree from John Carroll University near Cleveland.

A native of Philadelphia, Paul Lichstein started in business working in sales for a Chinese maker of PVC rainwear and a Chinese garment manufacturer and become a sales representative for a Chinese mold maker. He decided to start his own plastics and metals manufacturing firm, Carpathian Industries LLC, in 2002. Growth has been organic with an eclectic mix of customers, including a steady stream of valve customers. Paul graduated from Vassar College with a degree in development economics.

Allison Lin is a director at The Coca-Cola Company. In this role, Allison leads the Global Polyolefins Program as part of the Sustainable Procurement Group for Closures, Labels, Shrink and Stretch Films. Her work is focused on further partnering with upstream suppliers on innovation, sustainability, and risk management strategies. Prior to joining Coca-Cola in 2013, Allison spent time at both the Starbucks Coffee Co. and Procter & Gamble, where she led sustainable packaging strategies across both fibers and plastics packaging. She received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business and her MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.

After earning a degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 1983, Don Loepp worked as a reporter for The Milwaukee Journal in Milwaukee, Wis., at the Daily Press and Times-Herald daily newspapers in Newport News, Va. He joined Plastics News in 1991 as a reporter with beats including packaging, recycling and medical. He was promoted to new editor in 1993, and became managing editor two years later. Don was named Plastics News' editor in 2011.

David joined Mintel in April 2014 as Global Packaging Director. He has nearly 25 years of diverse packaging experience across multiple end-use categories and all packaging formats. He has worked with retailers, CPGs, packaging converters and design and marketing agencies to help them better understand the business and innovations of packaging. At Mintel he is responsible for custom packaging projects for clients, direct interaction with US and global clients, sales support and new business development, and providing packaging insights to media. He is the former Director of Packaging Strategies. He has a photojournalism and design degree from Syracuse University.

Paul Maguire brings his years of family and individual entrepreneurial, business experience as CEO and president of Riverdale Global. Paul began his plastics career at an early age as an extruder operator in a plastics extrusion facility. He then worked for Maguire Products, Inc. (his father’s company), where he helped to develop plastics material dosing equipment and process software. In 1996, Paul established his own company, Green Bridge Station Technologies (GBS), which specialized in custom computer software, website development / hosting and network design. He has bachelors degrees in mathematics and computer science from Albright College and received a master’s degree in computer science from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

Simon Martin has more than 28 years of experience in the injection molding industry serving customers around the globe. His early career included hot runner and mold design, and over time his work has evolved into a leadership role for both technology and business development at StackTeck Systems Ltd. Simon is currently responsible for the Closures Systems business with emphasis on the beverage closures market, which involves state-of-the-art developments for molds, plastic part design, and turnkey injection molding system delivery. He has a technologist and mechanical engineering degree from Georgian College.

Jan Erik Meidell is chief executive officer of SmartSeal SA, a European company developing the next generation of sports closures for the world beverage market. He joined SmartSeal in 2009 as CEO after working as chief financial officer for a Swiss investment fund and as managing director and senior trader for a specialized commercial bank. Jan graduated from the Norwegian School of Economics and is a finance professor at Business School Lausanne in Switzerland.

Bill Michels is the CEO and founder of Aripart Consulting after more than 23 years at ADR North America. Under his leadership, ADR North America became a leading niche specialty consulting firm and has won several recognitions and awards. At the end of 2011, ADR NA was acquired by The Institute for Supply Management. Aripart Consulting helps companies transform business strategies into maximum profits and is a leading expert in purchasing and supply chain management. Bill has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Rochester Institute of Technology and an MBA from Baldwin Wallace University.

Kara Pochiro serves as the communications director for the Association of Plastic Recyclers. In that role, she is responsible for developing and implementing all marketing and educational programs, technical guidelines and bulletins, promoting plastic recycling markets, and the overall management of APR member meetings and programs. A graduate of Ohio University, she holds a master’s degree from Columbia College in South Carolina.

Joe Pryweller leads a team in organizing events, recruiting speakers, creating agendas and moderating sessions for Plastics News' industry-leading conferences. Prior to that, for eight years, Joe was editor of Packaging Strategies, a trade newspaper, where he directed a weekly business newsletter and organized five annual packaging conferences in North America. Before joining Packaging Strategies in 2005, Joe was a senior reporter at Plastics News covering the packaging industry. He also spent three years as the publication's primary automotive reporter in Detroit. Joe has a B.A. degree in Communications from Michigan State University and a masters degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri.

Matt Ramoundos is executive vice president, director of operations of REMIND-A-CAP, an emerging New York City-based company focused on the commercialization of a new medication adherence tool of the same name. The REMIND-A-CAP product is a customizable and patented pill bottle cap with an ergonomic “S” shaped dial to set for next dosing. Under Matt’s leadership, the REMIND-A-CAP launch included the creation of manufacturing and supply chains designed to meet the needs of diverse targets. Prior to joining REMINDA-A-CAP, Matt was a buyer for a small family business in the liquor industry, leading what had been a singular flat business into three distinct multi-million dollar companies. Matt has a bachelor’s degree in sports management from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

James Ray is a senior consultant for ICIS. He has worked in the plastics industry for private equity firms in manufacturing, converting and recycling polymers for blow molding, extrusion and injection molding, as well as textiles. His recent focus has been in purchasing, dealing with billions of dollars’ worth of products, as this is where the bottom line can be influenced the most. He is also an instructor for the ICIS Advanced Purchasing Course. James has a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of Texas.

Russ Riendeau, is a partner with Jobplex, a DHR International, top 5 global retained search firm. You may know him from his prior search practice, the East Wing Group--acquired by DHR in 2014. With more than 30 years as a search professional in our plastics industry, Russ brings insights to talent acquisition and leadership strategies in a stressful world, delivering both anecdotal evidence and behavioral science research. Russ is a TEDx speaker and is also a behavioral psychologist, author of 10 books on talent acquisition and leadership effectiveness, five music albums, as well as an adjunct instructor at Northwestern University. Russ has a Ph.D. in behavioral psychology from Capella University and both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from National Louis University.

Scott Sabreen is the founder and president of The Sabreen Group Inc., a plastics engineering consulting firm founded in 1992. Scott has over 30 years of experience in plastics manufacturing. Sabreen is known internationally for his work in inventing and developing leading-edge process technologies in the fields of laser marking, adhesion bonding, plasma-chemical surface pretreatments and decorating and finishing. Sabreen has consulted for over 400 companies in 28 countries, and has published more than 100 technical papers. Sabreen earned his master’s degree at the University of Texas and bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering at The Ohio State University.

Rick Ritter is general manager of Jabil Packaging Solutions, A Nypro Business, a position he had held since 2010. In that role, he helps lead business development for consumer packaged goods customers. He previously was general manager of Nypro Inc., and helped create and manage a joint venture, Nypro ADC, that focused on injection molding product development and manufacturing. He got his start as director of operations at Advance Dial Co., an injection molding business, a position he held for 21 years.

Jose Manuel Sanchez Mendez, North America market manager for Dow Rigid Packaging and Durables, joined Dow in 2003 and has served in various roles and geographies throughout his time with the company. In this role, Jose Manuel is responsible for leading the cross-functional market management team to deliver on the short and long term strategies, including targeted growth in high value segments. Jose Manuel began his Dow career as a senior account representative for Polystyrene and Fabricated Products in Mexico. Since then he has had a variety of responsibilities in the commercial area for Dow Packaging & Specialty Plastics. Jose Manuel holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh.

Kumar Sanketh is the technical service & development leader for the Rigid Packaging, Durables and Pipe market segments within Dow’s Packaging & Specialty Plastics business. In this role, Kumar is responsible for leading a team of technical experts and providing innovative resin solutions to the market segments. Prior to this, Kumar led the material science group in the identification and development of structure property relationships for applications within Dow’s strategic packaging markets. Kumar joined Dow in 2007 after being awarded a Ph.D. in polymer science and master’s degree in polymer engineering from the University of Akron.

As the group market leader for NOVA Chemicals Corp.’s polyethylene business, Alan Schob is responsible for ensuring success for NOVA’s customers in rigid markets and specifically for caps and closures. Alan oversees strategy development and execution focused on delivering innovative products and services in support of NOVA’s customers’ objectives. Prior to joining NOVA Chemicals in 1999, Alan held positions in finance and purchasing at Huntsman Chemical Corp. Alan has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Old Dominion University.

Paulo Silva is president and head of product development for Plasdan, Automation & Add-On Systems Lda. He founded the company in 1989 after being invited by Danish company Werma Signaltechnik GmbH + Co. to establish it. He previously worked as a tool designer and quality control engineer for company in Denmark and Portugal. Paulo studies plastics engineering at the Copenhagen University College of Engineering.

Joe Stodola is vice president of global business development for Jabil Packaging Solutions, A Nypro Business. Joe is responsible for all business development, applications development and program management activities within Jabil Packaging Solutions. Joe was one of the original members of Nypro Packaging which was formed in 2005 as a new business within Nypro. Previously Joe served as vice president and general manager for The Plastics Group. He received his bachelor’s degree in supervision management and technology from Purdue University and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Jim Sykes is president and CEO of Amaray, a world leader and innovator in media packaging using high-volume, highly automated injection molding. He joined Amaray in 2014 after working for 22 years at Nypro Inc. At Nypro, Jim initiated the consumer and electronics business unit and progressed from vice president – business development to become group president – consumer & electronics with global profit and loss responsibility. He has a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Nichols College.

John Sugden has spent the last 25 years as a part of Plastics Technical Service & Development organization at Dow Chemical Co. In his current role, John works throughout the value chain for rigid packaging to develop resin and process technologies based on industry trends. John has spent much of his career working directly with leading industry packaging convertors and brand owners where he has developed and commercialized multiple resin technologies. Earlier in his career at Dow, John worked on a multi-resin supplier industry team that built three recycling facilities to recycle polystyrene located across the United States. John received a bachelor’s degree from Saginaw Valley State University.

Mike Urquhart worked for Husky Injection Molding Ltd. for 33 years in various positions including vice president of mold operations, vice president of machine operations and vice president of sales. Since retiring in 2014, he has been consulting in the plastics industry, mainly in sales training, marketing and helping companies grow their business into the North and South American markets. Mike has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Waterloo and MBA from York University.

Pavan Valavala has been with The Dow Chemical Company since December 2011 applying mechanical design and finite element modeling to projects for various Dow businesses. Some notable contributions include the support of design of Tequatic Plus, a 2014 R&D 100 award winner, and re-design of USA Luge that resulted in a bronze model at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and five world cups medals. Pavan was awarded the 2016 Young Engineer of the Year (Herbert Allen and J. George H Thompson award) by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) South Texas section. Prior to Dow Chemical, Pavan spent time as a postdoctoral fellow at the Northwestern University and Johns Hopkins University. He obtained a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s in physics from Michigan Technological University.