Discover the speakers of the conference

Carr Neil
President Dow Europe, Middle East, Africa & India
Session - Trade in times when the global competitive landscape is fundamentally changing
Session - Trade in times when the global competitive landscape is fundamentally changing
"The Covid-19 pandemic has confronted economies across the world with the consequences of a globalised world with complex and integrated value-chains over several continents. It exposed the fragility of our model based on open free trade and cost efficiency. It showed how much our industries are dependent on foreign supplies, not only raw materials but also intermediate products, to manufacture their goods. Since then, there has been a strong emphasis in reinforcing the resilience of our economies by developing Europe’s open strategic autonomy. A combination of diversification of sources, development of strategic capacities, reshoring or nearshoring is advocated by European policymakers to make Europe more resilient. How does this compare with businesses’ behaviour on the markets? Do we see in practice a change of strategy and in the way companies do business? Recent surveys amongst international businesses tend to indicate that international leaders do not envisage to change significantly the organisation of their supply chains nor to reshore some of their activities to Europe. This panel will discuss how businesses see their supply chains in the near future and in the medium term and the reasons behind their strategies."
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Carr Neil
Neil Carr is President of Dow Europe, Middle East, Africa and India – a position he assumed in June 2018. In this role, Carr is responsible for designing and leading the growth agenda for this critical and dynamic region. From April 2016 through February 2020, Carr served as Business President of the US $4 billion global Coatings and Performance Monomers portfolio. This fully integrated portfolio provides a range of products from raw materials to industry leading, innovative, next-generation coatings solutions. From April 2014 to April 2016, Carr served as Business President of Dow Industrial Solutions, a business that enables manufacturing of the world’s goods and services with additive solutions supporting industrial manufacturers associated with virtually all end markets. Prior to this role, Carr served as Business President for Functional Materials, a business group responsible for solutions to help address the world’s needs for clean water, increased energy, improved personal care products, and better food and pharmaceuticals. The four businesses within Functional Materials included Microbial Control, Consumer & Industrial Solutions; Pharma & Food Solutions, and Water & Process Solutions. Carr has had an extensive career as a leader of businesses and functional organizations for Fortune 500 companies in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries in both North America and Europe. This has included leadership positions for businesses including paints and coatings and specialty additives businesses, as well as for procurement and logistics support organizations. Carr holds an MBA from the Kingston Business School, London, as well as an Economics degree from Cardiff University, South Wales."

Casamada Josep
Project Manager, AEI Tèxtils
European Cluster Collaboration Platform
European Cluster Collaboration Platform
" Launched in 2016, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform now boasts more than 1,200 industry clusters from all over Europe. In 2021, the ECCP offers more services than ever to strengthen the European economy through collaboration. The European Resource Efficiency Knowledge Centre is an integral part of the platform, offering an essential reference point to make resource efficiency a key aspect of EU businesses’ competitiveness in their transition to a green industry. Come to this session and discover how it can help your business grow and collaborate with others."Read biography
Casamada Josep
Project Manager at AEI Tèxtils He is the responsible for managing cluster projects within AEI Tèxtils. He has a Masters in Innovation Management from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, a Master in Science from the University of Colorado, Chemical engineer and technical industrial engineer from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. International experience in the field of advanced materials and in research, development and innovation projects’ management.

Cerutti Maxime
Director of Social Affairs department, BusinessEurope
Session - Upskilling Europe – new solutions and partnerships
Session - Upskilling Europe – new solutions and partnerships
"Industry is going through an unprecedented transformation on a global scale and we are witnessing increased disparities between sectors and regions. The rapid shift towards a climate neutral Europe and digital transformation is changing the way we work, learn, take part in society and lead our everyday lives. Europe can only grasp these opportunities if its people develop the right skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a profound impact on millions of people in the EU have lost their job or experienced significant income loss. Many will need to acquire new skills and move to new jobs in a different sector of economy. More will need to upskill to keep their job in a new work environment. For young people, entry in the labour market could be very challenging. To answer these challenges the Commission highlighted the importance of skills in the EU Industrial Strategy and adopted in July 2020 European Skills Agenda. A key for recovery is to increase public and private investment in upskilling the workforce to maximise job retention and new job opportunities. The Skills Agenda sets that by 2025, 120 million people should participate in training every year. The session will discuss how to address this challenge and mobilise efficiently the Recovery and Resilience Plans and the next Multi-Financial Framework (2021-2027)."
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Cerutti Maxime
Director of Social Affairs department, BusinessEurope
Chatzimarkakis Jorgo
Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe
Joining forces – how industrial alliances help to achieve EU policy objectives?
Joining forces – how industrial alliances help to achieve EU policy objectives?
Industrial alliances help achieving key EU policy objectives related to green and digital transition in a given ecosystem or value chain. They bring together a wide range of partners including public and private actors and civil society. Alliances have already delivered benefit in the area of batteries and circular plastics. Building on this success, the Commission launched in 2020 the European Clean Hydrogen Alliance and the European Raw Materials Alliance. How they help to achieve EU policy objectives and at the same time create opportunities for participating companies? Tune in to this session to learn the answers.
Activity 2 : Circular economy
Transition to safe and sustainable chemicals – opportunities and challenges
Transition to safe and sustainable chemicals – opportunities and challenges
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Chatzimarkakis Jorgo
Jorgo Chatzimarkakis is Secretary General of Hydrogen Europe since 2016. Before he was Representative of Infineon Technologies in Brussels and Member of the European Parliament (2004 – 2014) inter alia in the ITRE Committee (Industry, Technology, Research and Energy) where he could contribute to lay the cornerstone for the first and the second Joint Undertaking on hydrogen and fuel cells. In 2007 he was elected “MEP of the year” by his colleagues of the European Parliament in the category “Research and Innovation”. In 2015 he was appointed ambassador at large for Greece. Mr Chatzimarkakis was born in Duisburg, Germany. He holds German and Greek nationality, a degree in political science from the University of Bonn.
Cholakova Stefana
IPCEIs policy update
"In January 2021, the European Commission approved a second Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI) in the battery value chain. This highlights once again the importance of pan-European cooperation and public financing to tackle the massive innovation challenges that come with the green and digital transition. This session will explain IPCEIs as a State aid instrument. It will show that IPCEIs make it possible to bring together knowledge, expertise, financial resources and economic actors throughout the Union to overcome important market or systemic failures and societal challenges."
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Cillian Lohan
EESC Vice-President for Communication and EESC Member of the European Circular Economy Stakerholder Platform (ECESP)
Circular procurement: public and private
Circular procurement: public and private
Public procurement can be a powerful tool in the transition to a sustainable and just circular economy. The aim of this workshop is to walk policymakers and decision-makers through the circular procurement process. Our goal is to share/highlight the daily concerns and huge change in mindset for those involved in procuring. We want this workshop to help policy makers tackle the bottlenecks in legislation and we hope to give a unique insight for businesses and decision-makers on how they should transform their range of products & services to enter the circular economy. Organised by European Economic and Social Committee
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Cillian Lohan
EESC vice-president for communication
Cillian Lohan has been a member of the EESC since 2015 and was elected vice-president for communication in October 2020. He is a leader in the field of Circular Economy. He was the inaugural Chair of the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform, which he helped to establish.

Copin Didier
Director Mission rev3 and Sustainable Development, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hauts-de-France, FR
Fostering resilient regional ecosystems to decarbonise industry
Fostering resilient regional ecosystems to decarbonise industry
For Europe‘s industry to reach climate neutrality, we need to tackle several main challenges. This session aims to identify these barriers and give a way forward for the industry to successfully lead this transition. One of these challenges is to diminish the innovation gaps from Research and Development investments to the deployment of new technologies in Industrial eco-systems.
Leveraging and exploiting the synergies between manufacturing companies and sectors in order to optimise resource and energy management on a regional level and beyond will be one of the most important drivers for decarbonisation. Increased cost efficiency and resource productivity as well as technological and process-related innovation resulting from industrial sector coupling are also particularly critical in the context of the current economic crisis. Stimulating a circular and materials efficient economy is also one of the main challenges.
Activity 2 : Circular economy
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Copin Didier
Career
Director rev 3 and Sustainable Development
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Hauts-de-France
Since 2016
Lille, France
Manager of the environment and sustainable development department
Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Grand Lille
Grand Lille, France

Cornelis Nele
Executive Director, European Chamber of Commerce (Singapore)
European business & sustainability in third markets
European business & sustainability in third markets
Organiser: EBOWWN The main focus of the session will be to showcase the role of European business in delivering projects towards the green transition in global markets. The EBO Worldwide Network is an association which includes European Chambers of Commerce and Business Councils in over forty countries in all continents (except Antarctica). A panel of European Chambers from a country from each continent (Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania) will present the main context for green transition policies and programmes in their market, and how European companies are delivering project to achieve these ambitions.
Activity 1 : Advanced Technologies
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Cornelis Nele
After spending more than a decade living and working in Europe and the US, Nele Cornelis relocated to Singapore in 2008.
Since September 2017 she took the role of Executive Director at the European Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) where she heads the executive team and leads the daily operations.
Under her leadership the Chamber expended the advocacy work of the Chamber representing the voice of European companies towards stakeholders such as European and Singaporean authorities and policy makers.
In 2019 she was elected as Governor of the Board of the European Business Organisation Worldwide Network (EBO WWN), the leading voice of European Business in third markets.
Before Nele has been Executive Director with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (Singapore) from 2011 till 2017 where she played a key role for the joint venture with the Association of the Dutch Business People (ADB).
Before relocating to Singapore Nele spent most of her career working for large media companies both in Europe and the US including like The Baltimore Sun (Chicago Tribune Company).
She holds a Masters degree in Business Administration (EHSAL Management School, Brussels) and a Bachelor Degree in Mass Communications (Artevelde University, Ghent)

Cozigou Gwenole
Director, European Commission, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
Decarbonising Industry Value Chains: Hydrogen over Ammonia to Green Agriculture Products
Decarbonising Industry Value Chains: Hydrogen over Ammonia to Green Agriculture Products
Organiser: Fertilizers Europe The session is expected to showcase innovative, breakthrough projects with industrial symbiosis at their core, illustrating value added for actors across the value chain as well as flagging the challenges faced by front runners and their needs to scale up. Representatives from the fertilizer and energy industries, end-customers, as well as EU and national policymakers will come together to discuss how to build a business case for a net zero world.
Activity 2 : Circular economy
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Cozigou Gwenole
Director for Sustainable Industry & Mobility, DG GROW, European Commission

Crabb Alison
Head of Unit, European Commission, DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion
Session - Upskilling Europe – new solutions and partnerships
Session - Upskilling Europe – new solutions and partnerships
"Industry is going through an unprecedented transformation on a global scale and we are witnessing increased disparities between sectors and regions. The rapid shift towards a climate neutral Europe and digital transformation is changing the way we work, learn, take part in society and lead our everyday lives. Europe can only grasp these opportunities if its people develop the right skills. The COVID-19 pandemic has also had a profound impact on millions of people in the EU have lost their job or experienced significant income loss. Many will need to acquire new skills and move to new jobs in a different sector of economy. More will need to upskill to keep their job in a new work environment. For young people, entry in the labour market could be very challenging. To answer these challenges the Commission highlighted the importance of skills in the EU Industrial Strategy and adopted in July 2020 European Skills Agenda. A key for recovery is to increase public and private investment in upskilling the workforce to maximise job retention and new job opportunities. The Skills Agenda sets that by 2025, 120 million people should participate in training every year. The session will discuss how to address this challenge and mobilise efficiently the Recovery and Resilience Plans and the next Multi-Financial Framework (2021-2027)."
Read biography
Crabb Alison
Alison Crabb, Head of Unit “Skills and Qualifications"", European Commission, Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion Alison Crabb, working in the European Commission since 1999, currently heads the Skills and Qualifications Unit in DG Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. Her team is working with Member States, social partners and other stakeholders to improve skills development and skills intelligence for better career choices, and to make skills and qualifications more visible and comparable. Her previous work in the Commission includes both policy and funds management in vocational education and training, adult learning, and school education.