Chemical Watch Expo 2020

For over 24 years Claudio Mereu has been focusing on EU Regulatory law, with an emphasis on the chemicals (REACH), pesticides, biocides and life sciences industry sectors. Claudio handles product approval and registration processes in the EU, related litigation before European and national courts, as well as ECHA’s Board of Appeal, and counsels companies on a wide range of business law matters relating to their international agreements and commercial presence in Europe. His expertise covers all aspects of product stewardship, regulations and restrictions (including notification, data protection, mutual recognition, classification & labelling, marketing and use restrictions, parallel imports, environmental liability, product recalls and data compensation negotiations, amongst others). Claudio is highly recommended as a Tier1 lawyer by Legal500 and Chambers Europe, and is a regular speaker and panelist at international conferences.

Koen’s practice focuses on EU regulatory, business and competition law, with an emphasis on chemicals, pesticides, biocides & cosmetics. He is specialised in solving the antitrust issues potentially arising in these areas.

Steve George has worked for 33 years in the Aerospace and Defence industries, He has wide cross-functional experience through operating within a large multi-national enterprise and in working across industry sectors, with the European Commission, ECHA, UK officials and parliamentarians. Steve has chaired a REACH Authorisation consortium, held trade association director and officer roles, and chaired the European Aerospace and Defence REACH and Chemicals working group for 10 years. Steve has had good working relations with management at all levels of organisations, effectively communicating on difficult issues around Brexit and supply obsolescence. His “downstream” supply chain and complex product experience provides a valuable alternative perspective on chemical regulation challenges.

Frederik is responsible for REACHLaw Sales. Since 2004, he has been working in depth with EU Chemicals Regulations: REACH and CLP as well as REACH-like regulations globally including UK REACH, Turkey KKDIK and Eurasia REACH. As of late, the interphase between product and waste legislation has also become an area of interest.

James contributes to data management, verification, assessment, supply chain training/engagement, mitigation and due diligence strategy at Assent Compliance. With more than 12 years of compliance experience, he leads Assent’s team of regulatory and compliance experts, advising on areas such as materials and substance management, responsible sourcing and corporate social responsibility. James has previously worked with companies such as Nortel, Rakuten and Intertek. In addition, he has authored many publications, and is a member of several industry groups, including the IEC TC111 Group Mirror Committee, IPC-175X, IAEG, SCCE and AIAG.

Isabelle is currently a Global Regulatory Affairs and Business Development Manager at our knoell Medical Device office near Nashville (TN), USA. Strategic technical planning, interaction with authorities in terms of negotiating submission strategies as well as guiding clients through the ever changing landscape of global regulatory requirements are her passion.

Peter Sellar has extensive experience advising clients on EU environmental, social and governance law, including on general chemicals, biocides and pesticides, ecodesign, electronic and electrical equipment, cosmetics, medical devices and medical products law, as well as on the circular economy and sustainability law.

Emma has 35 years of experience working as a journalist and editor specialising in the health and environmental impacts of chemicals in products - 15 of those at Chemical Watch. She left in 2021 to explore avenues for raising general awareness about chemical issues, in the broader context of sustainability. Working with a great team of consumer journalists, she is in the process of launching the Ocki website, which blends information, with community activities, events and tools - all aiming to empower people who want to live sustainably.

Before Dr Wunderskirchner joined knoell Germany in 2015, she gained more than three years of experience in skin research at the R&D Department of Beiersdorf AG in Hamburg, Germany (PhD thesis). At knoell, Dr Wunderskirchner changed the perspective and focused on the regulatory framework impacting cosmetic products and industrial chemicals used as cosmetic ingredients. With regards to the EU/EEA, Dr Wunderskirchner acts as Regulatory Affairs Manager in the areas of cosmetic product compliance and the registration of chemicals under REACH, including Only Representative Services and Consortia Management.

Stacie has over 35 years of combined regulatory and chemistry experience, with extensive regulatory expertise. In her current role with UL, Stacie applies this expertise to engage directly with industry and association stakeholders to evaluate compliance and sustainability challenges and create solutions focused on providing targeted compliance data, advisory services, and software. 

Christoph joined Eurofins on May 1st 2020 as Head of Business Development and Strategy for the European Chemistry & Ecotox business of Eurofins Agroscience Services. Christoph has a deep understanding of the Agroscience sector. After gaining a PhD in organic chemistry from RWTH Aachen (D) and a postdoctoral fellowship at Princeton University (US), Christoph joined Bayer CropScience as a lab leader in active ingredient research, followed by an assignment as plant manager of the glufosinate ammonium production. He then moved into Bayer’s Procurement function to head the Procurement R&D team for CropScience. He led the establishment of a strategic R&D Procurement footprint for the entire CropScience R&D organization and was also in charge of the post-merger integration of the Monsanto acquisition for the Procurement R&D organization.

John J. Kowalski is a Certified Hazardous Materials Manager (CHMM) and an expert in Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) regulations. In his current role as a regulatory affairs lead at UL Solutions, John manages a team responsible for maintaining TSCA-related content in UL Solutions’ regulatory database, developing and providing TSCA-related training, and helping customers across different industries with TSCA compliance. This includes, but is not limited to, preparing Section 5 notices and Section 8 reports using the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Chemical Information Submission System and Central Data Exchange.

Ghassan (Gus) Zughaib is a Senior Regulatory Specialist for UL, and has 10 years of chemical-based regulatory experience. Gus is an expert in global chemical control regulations including the U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) as well as Middle Eastern and African chemical regulations. He is also responsible for researching and maintaining this regulatory content for UL’s Chemical Regulatory Database and Navigator Reference Tool. Gus provides TSCA consulting services to both domestic and international clients seeking to market products in the United States and for all aspects of TSCA compliance. Additionally, he co-instructs UL’s TSCA Essentials training course. Gus holds a B.S. in Biology and is fluent in Arabic and French.

Nhat Nguyen is a US licensed attorney with over 9 years of global regulatory compliance. He currently serves as the Chief Analyst for Enhesa Product Intelligence and leads a new department which provides further insights and solutions to Enhesa Product Intelligence's customers on regulatory compliance, technology and scientific data regarding chemical and chemical products. 

Wiebke Sossinka studied environmental sciences at the University of Lüneburg. She joined knoell in 2008 initially working on Safety Data Sheets (SDS). In 2010, she changed to the working group for EU REACh and in November 2015, she joined the group for global regulatory affairs of chemicals. She has a broad knowledge of EU REACh and many other chemical regulations around the world. She has supported numerous clients in registering their substances in countries such as Australia, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan etc. and provides strategic advice on how to keep chemical portfolios compliant on a global scale.

With more than 10 years of experience in delivering tailored solutions for customers, Martin Kappel, Solution Consultant at Veeva Systems, helps chemical and consumer good companies to address their challenges in regulatory affairs and quality management with Veeva’s cloud-based software solutions. Martin is based in Germany and consults customers all across Europe. He has a strong background in Enterprise Content and Business Process Management.

Andrew is responsible for Veeva’s strategy for the chemical industry. This includes market segmentation, identifying and assessing new product opportunities, product positioning and messaging and supporting customer development. Andrew has more than 20 years’ experience in R&D and marketing within the chemical, biotechnology and consumer goods industries. He has held senior roles at Syngenta, Solvay, Zymergen, and The Clorox Company/ Burt’s Bees. He is an expert in product and business development, innovation and partnerships. Andrew has a B.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Southampton, England.

Dr. He has been engaged in scientific research and teaching of environmental ecological risk assessment and environmental toxicology in Universities for more than ten years. 6 years of molecular genetic toxicology research and teaching experience. Since 2007, she has been engaged in the registration of chemicals management regulations, the implementation of relevant regulations, registration scheme design, and toxicological assessment. Familiar with EU REACH regulations, chemicals management regulations in China and Asia Pacific region.

New Chemical Substance Notification, Taiwan Chemical Registration under Taiwan revised TCSCA & Taiwan OSHA. He has gained extensive hands-on experience in data gap analysis, project management, exposure scenario development.

Dr. Piyatida (Tung) Pukclai has worked in several technical and managerial positions within the Business Development and Regulatory Policy. Currently, she is Asia-Pacific Lead for Regulatory Policy and Business Development of knoell, an independent service provider for Regulatory Affairs and Product Registration over 25 years.

Ji Yeong has a master degree in environmental engineering and experience in both EU and Korean chemicals and biocides regulations. This provides her with insights into the differences between both regulations and the needs for regulatory support of the respective industries.

Olesia is part of both sales and business development and legal teams at REACHLaw, combining expertise in regulatory business strategy and corporate legal matters. She has an educational background in law and international business and has been with REACHLaw since 2010, working on global chemicals regulations and contract management. She has experience working with customers from various industries, including chemicals, petrochemicals, metals, and specialty chemicals, supporting them with regulatory and legal requirements. In addition to her role in business development, she is responsible for managing contracts and handling corporate legal matters within the company. In recent years, Olesia has focused on chemicals regulations outside the EU, including UK REACH, Turkey KKDIK, K-REACH, Ukraine REACH, and other global chemicals regulations, assisting companies with compliance. Olesia speaks English and Ukrainian fluently and has a good command of Finnish.