PVC AUS 2022 Speakers

Andrew Petersen

CEO, Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia

Andrew has spent over 20 years helping businesses understand and develop their capacity to respond to the reality that environmental and sustainability issues have moved from the fringes of the business world to the top of shareholders' agenda. His extensive experience includes identifying and managing environmental and sustainability risks and helping businesses to foresee and maximise the value of opportunities arising in the rapidly changing environment.

As a respected leader on sustainability, Andrew has held multiple legal and advisory roles advising clients on emissions trading, environmental compliance frameworks, environmental markets, renewable energy project development and corporate social responsibility stakeholder engagement. He has also been an industry delegate to the Australian Government's representation at the UN Conference of Climate Change and is currently a Director of APCO.

Gihan Perera

Futurist, online presenter, speaker and author - sponsored by Australian Vinyls

Gihan Perera is a futurist, conference speaker, online presenter and author who shows you how to be fit for the future in a fast-changing world. For 25 years, he has worked with organisations and leaders throughout Australia, as well as in New Zealand, South Africa, the UK, Europe, Asia and the US - helping them to thrive in a fast-changing world. Since the pandemic, he has helped people lead in uncertainty, and act with clarity and confidence through crisis, recovery and growth. As well as being the author of "The Future of Leadership", "Disruption by Design" and multiple other books, Forbes magazine rated him the #5 social media influencer in the world (and #1 in Australia) in his area of expertise.

Click below to view Gihan's video preview for his keynote futurist presentation:

Jane Gardner

Managing Director, European Resilient Flooring Manufacturers’ Institute - sponsored by Australian Resilient Flooring Association

Jane has been the Managing Director of the European Resilient Flooring Manufacturers’ Institute (ERFMI) since 2018, where she is actively involved in standardisation and is the Chair of ISO TC 219 textile, resilient and laminate floor coverings. She is also actively involved in the Circular Plastics Alliance, an Alliance set up by the European Commission which aims to turn millions of tonnes of recycled plastics into new products.

Prior to joining ERFMI Jane was Head of Consulting for Axion, a UK based resource efficiency consultancy, where she focused on the collection and recycling of resilient floor coverings and carpets, as well as other plastic construction products. As well as helping to set up Recofloor, the national collection and recycling scheme for vinyl flooring, Jane managed Carpet Recycling UK and was the UK Regional Representative for Recovinyl, the pan-European PVC recycling scheme.

Cindy Bray

Executive General Manager, Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia

Cindy Bray is the Executive General Manager of Plastics Industry Pipe Association of Australia (PIPA); the peak industry body representing the interests of Australia’s plastics pipe, fitting and resin suppliers since 1999. Prior to joining PIPA she was a Product and Category Marketing Manager, responsible for the technical marketing and product development functions for Iplex Pipelines Australia Ltd, one of Australia’s largest manufacturers of PVC pipeline products.

Her plastics pipe career spans more than 18 years in a variety of hands-on technical marketing, product management and communications functions. Cindy holds an Executive Master of Business Administration degree and has a strong focus and passion for sustainability now and into the future – continuing to share the industry’s sustainability story through advocacy, education, technical data, and science.

Rob Coombs

Managing Director, Interface Australia & New Zealand

In his role as Managing Director Rob leads Interface’s business operations in Australia and New Zealand, a significant and growing business within the wider Interface group. Rob has been with the company for over 25 years and his passion for sustainability ensures Interface continues to be a leading proponent of sustainable business development via its Climate Take Back® commitment. He is also a former long-serving member on the Board of the Green Building Council of Australia and he continues to advocate for the need to create a built environment in harmony with nature. Rob frequently speaks to trade associations, manufacturers, businesses, universities and media to provide a manufacturer’s insight on how making the strategic shift to a business model that focuses on creating a climate fit for life leads to better business results.

Shane Walden

Managing Director, ANL Container Line Pty Ltd

Shane graduated from Monash University in 1999 with a degree in International Business and soon joined ANL Container Line, an international shipping and logistics operator servicing the Oceania region which moves more than 1.3M TEO per annum with a turnover of 1.5B USD annually. During his 22 years with ANL to date Shane has spent time working in the CMA CGM Group Global headquarters in Marseille, and from 2006 until 2010 he was ANL’s Regional Director for Asia based in Hong Kong. During the last 10 years Shane has held a number of trade, commercial and management positions in the ANL head office in Melbourne, and his passion for global issues and international trade along with his dedication to customer experiences resulted in Shane’s promotion to ANL’s Chief Executive Officer in 2020.

Tapas Strickland

Director, Economics, Markets, Corporate & Institutional Banking, NAB

Tapas is Director of Economics at NAB and provides commentary and insights for clients on the economy and financial markets, including regularly kicking off the working day with key overnight updates on NAB’s Morning Call podcast. Having recently spent the past couple of years in the London office, he continues to work with NAB’s diverse range of clients, from SMEs to institutions, both in Australia and abroad. Prior to NAB, Tapas spent six years at the Reserve Bank of Australia and also worked as an economic adviser in the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, advising the Gillard, Rudd and Abbott governments.

Andrea Wilde

Senior Experimental Scientist, CSIRO Manufacturing

Andrea is a team leader in the Materials Characterisation and Modelling Program at CSIRO Manufacturing and has over 25 years of experience in vibrational spectroscopy. Her research, in the area of physical and analytical chemistry, focuses on the use of spectroscopic techniques for materials characterisation, and she has applied her knowledge to a wide range of samples including carbon nanotubes.

In recent years she has focused on using spectroscopic analysis to understand, characterise and resolve problems in various aspects of carbon fibre production, including polymer synthesis, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibre production, stabilisation of PAN and carbonisation. Andrea is excited to be a part of CSIRO’s mission to end plastic waste and is currently working on a project to understand and explore PVC recycling and develop capability to improve the recyclability of PVC.

Jorge Chapa

Head of Market Transformation, Green Building Council of Australia

As the Head of Market Transformation, Jorge is responsible for ensuring the GBCA's product and service offerings deliver healthy, resilient and positive places for people and nature. This includes setting the vision for Green Star, Australia’s leading rating system for the built environment. He is the chair of WorldGBC’s Global Commitment for Net Zero Carbon Buildings Taskforce, and is also a member of Climate Bonds Initiative’s building standards working group.

Alireza Ashtari

Manager, Global Plastic Services

Alireza has worked in the PVC industry since 2007 and assists sectors in the Middle East, Russia, India, Turkey, and Australia to develop the requirements for the right formulation and cost-reduction solutions for raw materials. He has performed more than 400 industrial trial tests to improve and design the formulation for different PVC applications of pipe, window profiles, panels, cable, blown films and plastisol for more than one hundred companies globally.

He has also served as an employee and consultant in R&D and technical services for various market leaders in PVC additives including Baerlocher, Omya, Deceuninck, Goldstab and Rushimset. As a material engineer with a focus on PVC additives, over the past 15 years Alireza has helped support the market shift from heavy metal additives to environmentally friendly options.

Jay Thomas

Executive Director, Vinyl Sustainability Council

Jay serves as the Vice President of Sustainability for the Vinyl Institute and the Executive Director of the Vinyl Sustainability Council, where he is responsible for developing and implementing the strategies and tactics that support the sustainability mission and policies of the Vinyl Institute. He has more than 25 years of vinyl industry experience in the wire and cable, roofing and flooring industries having worked in various capacities at Tyco International and Sika Corporation. Jay is also an emeritus director of the Green Building Initiative and is a certified Green Globes Professional. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Northeastern University and an M.B.A. from University of Massachusetts.

Alexander Scott

PVC Stewardship Manager, Vinyl Council of Australia

In his role as the VCA’s Industry Sustainability Officer, Alexander aims to advance the sustainability of the PVC industry through his management of the PVC Stewardship program as well as a variety of other industry sustainability initiatives. Through this work, Alexander works closely with Stewardship Signatories to help them better understand their supply chains and raw materials, and assist them in taking action to address issues around waste, recycling & PVC recyclate use, 'chemicals of concern', and energy and carbon emissions. Alexander strongly believes that understanding the origin and nature of manufacturing materials and the organisations involved allows businesses to make smarter, more sustainable decisions for their company in the short and longer term.

Bryn Buckley

Technical Sales Manager, Deceuninck Australia

Originally from the North of England, Bryn has worked in the uPVC windows industry for over 30 years and has held a wide range of positions across glazing and installation, production management, fabrication, sales and training. Bryn transitioned from sales and customer liaison roles earlier in his career into helping oversee fabricator training and product development throughout South-East Asia for one of the major players in the uPVC windows market. Bryn has worked with Deceuninck since 2019, where he continues to support fabricators and installers while promoting allied industries such as hardware and software suppliers, machinery manufacturers and the glass industry. Bringing his range of knowledge and experience within the industry, Bryn is in full support of the Windows Alliance and helps support the ongoing inclusion of uPVC products within the construction industry.

David Morehouse

Managing Director, AFRC Lab - presenting on behalf of OptiSeal Australia

Having been involved with windows and doors since 1998, David is currently the Managing Director of AFRC Lab, which specialises in consulting and performance reporting on window, door and façade products for overall thermal and acoustic values. David is a strong advocate for the adoption of double-glazing standards and pushing window regulations to higher-performance numbers, and he is passionate about using world-leading solutions to assist in ensuring increased air tightness, waterproofing and fireproofing of buildings. David is also the Technical Director of e2 Environments Engineered, which specialises in raising awareness and supplying higher performance products to the built environment, as well as the Performance Solution Consultant for OptiSeal, a company that specialises in pressure-sensitive tape products in the windows and construction industries.

Gerhard Hoffmann

Head of Product Design & Innovations, Greiner Extrusion

Gerhard was originally born in Johannesburg and studied a Masters in Mechanical and Production Engineering and Product Management. In the years since, Gerhard has held multiple roles working as a toolmaker for Oli OMW, Manufacturing Supervisor at Engel Automatisation and Head of Project Management at Technoplast. Gerhard has held his current role as Head of Product Design & innovations at Greiner Extrusion for over 20 years, and has a wide range of knowledge and expertise in profile extrusion and window manufacturing.

Nigel Jones

Technical Manager, Australian Vinyls - presenting on behalf of Formosa Plastics Corporation

Nigel has worked in the plastics industry for over 30 years, most of which has been spent working with PVC. His career started in research and development of polymers used in telecommunications, before moving into technical service roles in the Australian PVC industry, then to business and marketing roles. He has been with Australian Vinyls since its formation in 1997 and has presented around the world on the benefits of PVC products, particularly on the many advantages of PVC pipe. Nigel was involved in the establishment of the relationship between Australian Vinyls and Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC) over 20 years ago and has visited FPC headquarters many times. Nigel is also a member of the VCA’s Technical Steering Group, and has a degree in Chemistry from Monash University with postgraduate studies in polymer processing.

Tabor Akman

Director, Product Stewardship, Waste Regulation and Stewardship Branch, Environment Protection Division, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment

Tabor is the Director of the Product Stewardship section within the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. He has a broad range of experience across the public and consulting sectors, and has spent the last five years working on environmental programs and policies ranging from product stewardship to climate change. He specialises in regulatory administration and policy development. Tabor holds a bachelor’s degree in Criminology and a master’s degree in Commerce. 

Kylie Hughes

Director, Office of Resource Recovery, Department of Environment and Science Queensland

Kylie is an experienced government Policy Director with a history in development of waste management and resource recovery policy and legislation. Kylie has held roles as director and manager within the Queensland Department of Environment for over 10 years, and her range of achievements include the development and introduction of Queensland's first dedicated waste reduction and recycling legislative framework, including a waste disposal levy in 2011. Kylie works closely with the community and stakeholders to help manage negotiations involving resource efficiency policy and legislation and continues to be involved on various national waste recovery projects.

Damien Digney

Managing Director, Repurpose Recycling

Damien began his career as a qualified plumber in 1998 before obtaining his building license in 2007 through a Construction Management degree at QUT. Damien’s love of manufacturing took off in 2009, when an opportunity presented itself to manufacture building systems using 3D design and robotic automation. Due to his passion the circular economy, in recent years Damien began looking for a PVC recyclate to extrude construction profiles, and came across the Vinyl Council who were looking for a manufacturer to commercialise their patented chemical polymer separation process as part of the TexBack project. Damien's company Repurpose Recycling won the contract to manufacture two pilot plants for PVC Separation, and Damien and his team have worked closely with PVC Separation over the last three years on the design and manufacture of the plants, which are due for completion in June 2022.

Peter Hammer

Vice President Special Projects, Battenfeld-Cincinnati

Peter hails originally from Austria and is a Plastics Extrusion Machinery specialist with over 30 years of experience in various Technical and Senior Management roles within the industry. After working as an Electrical and Software Engineer, in 1989 Peter joined Cincinnati Milacron in their injection moulding division as an Electrical & Software Engineer, and was shortly after appointed as Manager of Electrical Engineering & Control Development of Cincinnati Extrusion. In 2010, Peter became Managing Director Service & Chief Quality Control officer and was then appointed Vice President of Technology at Battenfeld-Cincinnati Austria, before he moved to the US in the role as Vice President Special Projects at American Maplan/Battenfeld-Cincinnati USA. Peter is currently the Vice President Special Projects at Battenfeld-Cincinnati Austria GmbH, which he has held since 2018.

Inna Jeschke

Polymers Business Unit Manager, Inovyn

As the Business Unit Manager for Polymers at Inovyn Inna is responsible for Europe’s biggest general purpose PVC Business Unit within the INEOS company, and holds a wide range of responsibilities within procurements, supply chain and project & business management. Among her many business achievements with the Inovyn team, Inna was involved in the development and launch of BIOVYN™, the world’s first Bio-attributed PVC, which has got incredible sustainability credentials. Inna has over 20 years’ experience working with INEOS largely in the ChlorVinyls chain, and also holds a Master of Economics and degree in Business Management.

Michael Ward

National Marketing and Business Development Manager, Australian Glass Group

Michael has been in the building and construction industry his entire career and for the last 10 being in the glass industry. Starting his career with the largest global softcoat LowE manufacturer in the world opened his eyes to what high performance glass and glazing can do. Now in his role as National Marketing and Business Development Manager for the Australian Glass Group (AGG), he is passionate about driving the much-needed legislation changes in our NCC codes to increase the minimum performance standards of our glazing that will boast many benefits. Michael holds a master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Auckland University of Technology

Dick Mason

Company Secretary, Shintech USA

With over 30 years’ experience at Shintech, a major manufacturer and seller of PVC resin with a combined production capacity of more than 7.1 billion pounds of PVC resin per year, Mr Mason is currently advisor to the President of Shintech as well as being Chair of the Executive Committee of the Vinyl Institute. Mr Mason has previously held a range of roles including as Secretary of Shintech until 2018 and Controller from 1987 to 1997. Mr Mason has been involved in Shintech’s relations with state and local governments and community affairs for many years and brings a huge amount of knowledge and experience within the industry.

The Hon. Meaghan Scanlon

Minister for Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs

Meaghan has served in her current role as Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs since 2020, before which she was the elected State Member for Gaven and Assistant Minister for Tourism Industry Development for over 3 years. Prior to being elected, Meaghan worked as a solicitor and advisor to the federal Labor Senator, and she is committed to ensuring the continued growth and sustainability of Queensland’s tourism industry and environment. Meaghan holds a Bachelor of Laws from Griffith University and a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice from the Queensland University of Technology.

Matthew Hoyne

Chairman, Vinyl Council of Australia

Matthew is the current VCA Chairman and Director of Welvic Australia, a manufacturer of PVC compounds, dryblend and recycling based in Melbourne. Matthew joined the plastics industry in 1994 and held a range of roles with multiple companies prior to joining Welvic, where he has been for the past 15 years.

Sophi MacMillan

CEO, Vinyl Council of Australia

An environmental scientist, Sophi is driven by finding commercially viable solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of products and drive change within industry. At the Vinyl Council of Australia, Sophi has engaged the vinyl, or PVC value-chain to advance the industry’s sustainable development. She has been instrumental in the establishment and management of the PVC Stewardship Program and Best Practice PVC accreditation scheme which have driven measurable changes over the past 20 years in the PVC supply chain. Sophi has also been responsible for initiating a successful recycling program with Australian hospitals for PVC medical waste which is now being adopted in the UK, South Africa, Canada and the US. 

Dr. Martin Stimpson

Market Development Manager, IXOM/Valtris Specialty Chemicals

Located in Wiltshire, England, Martin’s focus is on new product and new market development for plasticisers and formulation additives. He has nearly 30 years’ experience in the European plasticiser markets including previously working for Velsicol and Eastman. Martin is a Graduate of the Royal Society of Chemistry from the Polytechnic of Northeast London and also holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from City University.

Trond Stengrimsen

Sales Manager, Idealtec Srl

Trond originally graduated as Mechanical Engineer at the University in Kongsberg, Norway in 1987, and after 3 years moved to Italy starting his career as a Process Engineer of DCS controllers in a PVC resin and Plasticisers plant. In addition, he has worked in engineering and improvements of production of UPVC and PPVC pellets.