Shaping together the circular economy for nonwovens

Rahul Bansal is ‘AVP, Global Business Development Head’ for Nonwoven business – Birla Cellulose (part of Aditya Birla Group, India).

Rahul has more than 24 years of experience in sales, marketing and business development across Nonwoven & Textile industry. He completed his B. Tech with a specialization in Man Made Fibres Technology.

Prior to working on Viscose fibres at Birla, he has handled Spunlace nonwoven and Wet wipe product sales and business development.

Natacha Defeche leads EDANA’s Marketing & Member Engagement department, dedicated to further developing and supporting member services.  The department serves as the voice enhancing the visibility of the industry and the association, its members and its activities such as events, training courses and the INDEX™ exhibition.

She graduated with a master’s degree in Political and Social Sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium). She has been with EDANA for 4 years. She has worked for the Belgium Ministry of Foreign Affairs as adviser and for BAIN & Company as Marketing and Communication manager.

Natacha is responsible for managing all marketing and member engagement activities at EDANA. She manages several of the association’s Working Groups such as the Support to Nonwovens Innovations and R&D WG, the Nonwovens Producers WG, the Durable SG and any group which has a marketing need for the topics or products dealt with. 

Lauren Greenwood is a design expert and key project leader with 10 years’ experience in bringing products to market. She is well versed in circular principles of design and has lengthy practical experience of applying these to real products and businesses.

Lauren joined Pentatonic in 2017, where her diligent work ethic was quickly felt by the team. Working closely with engineers, designers, textile specialists and senior leadership, she has led projects for many of Pentatonic’s portfolio of prestigious brand partnerships from early concepts and strategy through to development and final implementation. Having significantly influenced a number of Pentatonic’s major clients on their sustainability projects, Lauren provides a deep understanding of the keys to successful circular collaboration.

Prior to joining Pentatonic, Lauren worked in the design team at Christopher Raeburn, where her purposeful developments on sustainable textiles and manufacturing helped the company stay ahead of its competitors.

With nearly 10 years’ experience in delivering projects across a range of industries and continents, Volodymyr (Vova) Nesin is a distinguished scientist who provides the vision behind Pentatonic’s technical and material innovations.

As Research and Innovation Director, Vova is responsible for identifying untapped and prosperous avenues for Pentatonic to explore, whist leading the development and construction of groundbreaking new sustainable technologies.

Vova has an understanding of multiple precision disciplines that was enhanced by his early education; he attended one of the most prestigious science high schools in Ukraine and, after travelling to Taiwan for further studies and extensive commercial project leadership, he received a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the National Chiao Tung University.

Gil Stevens is the External Relations and Sustainability Director for EDANA, the international Association representing the nonwoven and related industries, a position he has held since March 2018.

With a Master’s Degree in Product Development and in Environmental Science, Gil started his career as product engineer in the building industry. Pursuing his passion for sustainability, Gil joined the Cradle to Cradle Platform in 2012, where he has been guiding companies in different sectors, such as textiles, cleaning agents, building, office equipment towards the integration of C2C and preparing them for a circular economy. As sustainability coach at Sustenuto, Gil supported organisations in developing and implementing a sustainability strategy. At the beverage group Spadel, Gil’s responsibilities included the coordination of local CSR representatives at the various European sites and external CSR communication. During his career, Gil also concluded an Executive MBA programme at the Antwerp Management School.

Gil currently has responsibility for managing sustainability and maintaining external relations for EDANA. He manages several of the association’s Working Groups including the Circular Economy WG, Sustainability WG, Construction WG and the Communication & Advocacy SG. 

Abby Turner is the Senior Marketing Manager for Health and Hygiene for Dow Europe GmbH. In this role, she is responsible for the overall marketing strategy and execution of plans for existing and new products within key applications. She drives the innovation and sustainability strategy for the hygiene market working in close partnership within the value chain including machine manufacturers and brand owners.

Abby has spent almost her entire career with Dow. Throughout the years, she has worked in a variety of roles including Customer Operations Leadership and Commercial Excellence Leader for EMEA. She graduated from an HCIMA in Hospitality and Event Management and more recently Marketing Diploma from IMD and the General Management program at INSEAD in France and Singapore.

Pierre Wiertz is General Manager of EDANA, the international association serving the nonwovens and related industries. 

Pierre, who started at EDANA in 1982 as a Research Associate, has held the position of General Manager since February 2004.  As head of the organisation, he is responsible for the Association’s strategy delivery and operations and has initiated a new business orientation for its activities and membership benefits and given impetus to the geographic expansion and leadership of the Association, as outlined in its Vision and Mission, as well as in its Sustainability Charter.

From 1982 to 2004, Pierre held several other positions within EDANA. He had begun his professional career after graduating in Economics from the University of Liège (Belgium) in 1979, where he worked for three years as a researcher in Labour Economics and Demography. He has authored and co-authored various scientific reports and papers on these subjects

Pierre regularly speaks at European and international conferences on topics related to the nonwovens industry trends and sustainability.

Pierre is fluent in both French and English, and has a working command of Spanish and German.