Global Cosmetics Regulatory Summit 2023

Sok-Han gains her industry experience as an independent regulatory affairs consultant, with a focus on Japan, South Korea and other Asian markets. She serves as a conduit between the Japanese market and the rest of the world, assisting industry in navigating through complex compliance frameworks. Her specialty is in food and beverage, food contact, health supplement and cosmetic products. Sok-Han is a fluent speaker of Cantonese, Japanese, Korean and Mandarin.

Shaun is currently the Manager of the Hazardous Substances Reassessments program within the New Zealand EPA. There he is responsible for the reassessment of already approved substances and the existing Group Standards. Previously having worked 13 years in Belgium and Germany for BASF SE and Cefic, he has wide experience in chemical regulatory affairs in the EU, USA and New Zealand.

Mr. Bryan Zhou is Deputy General Manager and Senior Regulatory Consultant of CIRS Europe based in Dublin, Ireland. He has been working for CIRS since 2015. He has practical experience on both global chemical and cosmetic regulations including EU, UK, China, South Korea and many other Asian countries. Bryan has assisted hundreds of EU companies meet regulatory compliance requirements in different regions.

Regulatory affairs professional with over 18 years of industry experience in consumer goods and pharmaceutical industry. Expertise in managing regulatory affairs and quality management department for the region, developing, and executing strategies for product registrations, product compliance, chemical registration, and product safety. Proficient in establishing regulatory intelligence systems, framing policies via regulatory influencing, developing system and work processes, conducting regulatory audits, managing technical issues & crisis. Experienced in managing regulatory functions in cosmetic companies like P&G and Shiseido. Diverse expertise in successfully working with various external stakeholders and industry associations across various countries within Asia including Australia and China for framing / updating / harmonising policies and product standards related to various consumer goods categories and product life cycle management.

Arshdeep is a seasoned regulatory affairs professional with experience in multiple industries & geographies. Currently, she serves as the Director of Regulatory Affairs & Product Safety at Givaudan, overseeing the South Asia, Middle East, and Africa region. In this capacity, she works with authorities and downstream users across the geography to pave the way for responsible regulations & safe usage of fragrances. Her deep understanding of regulatory frameworks and their contributions to shaping the regulatory environment globally has been instrumental in advancing industry standards, bringing a unique perspective on regulatory harmonization. She actively represents Givaudan at multiple Industry Associations across the region, ranging from India to the Middle East & South Africa. 

Hans Ingels is heading the Unit responsible for the bio-economy, chemicals and cosmetics in the European Commission's DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. The unit also manages the EU legislation on CLP, fertilising products, toys, detergents, pyrotechnics, civil explosives, Good Laboratory Practice and drug precursors. Before this, he was the head of unit responsible for single market policy, mutual recognition, market surveillance and free movement of goods. Hans Ingels joined the European Commission in 1995 and spent most of his career on files related to the single market for products. He obtained a Law Degree (KULeuven – Belgium), a Degree in Notarial Studies (KULeuven - Belgium), a Postgraduate in Company Law (KUBrussel Belgium) and a Master Degree in European and International Law (VUBrussel – Belgium).

A lawyer by qualification, Emma is Deputy Director General of Cosmetics Europe since 2020. Before that, she headed the Legal Department of Cosmetics Europe since 2013. At Cosmetics Europe, Emma supports the Director General in the overall management of CE and in this role, she is particularly in charge of internal horizontal policy coordination. She heads the legal department and has also actively contributed to building up Cosmetics Europe’s sustainability work in the last years. She also recently supported the transition from an internal sciences program to an external scientific organization, whilst managing the rebuilt of the CE internal science expertise.

Sybille graduated from the engineering School of Industrial Biology, and has been working in the field of cosmetics for the past 15 years. After some experience in the fragrance industry as a regulatory affairs manager, and in the development of cosmetic products, as a quality and regulatory affairs manager, Sybille worked as a technical manager in a laboratory helping companies to validate and control their cosmetics products. Finally, Sybille joined COSMED in 2019 and is in charge of the EU regulatory monitoring and European representation. Within COSMED, we follow all types of projects under discussion that may have an impact on cosmetics and represent the Cosmetic SMEs at the European Commission working group.

Frédéric has a background in chemistry, but did not want to work in a laboratory. He, therefore, complemented his doctorate in medicinal chemistry at UCL and his post-doctorate at the Ecole Polytechnique de Paris, by a master's degree in management sciences. With this dual expertise, he began his career in the fragrance industry, working in public and regulatory affairs at IFRA, the International Fragrance Association. He then continued his career at Biorius, a well-known scientific and regulatory consultancy firm in the industry. After holding several positions in the company, including director of scientific and regulatory affairs, he now serves as the CEO with the mission of preparing the group for the future.

Mr. Wenk is internationally recognized global product stewardship and regulatory affairs professional with over 27 years of experience successfully directing and developing domestic and international product stewardship and regulatory compliance programs in multiple Fortune 100 companies. He pairs extensive regulatory expertise with a well-developed understanding of corporate operations, providing a highly unique blend of business operations knowledge and technical acumen. Well-versed in corporate mergers and acquisitions, specifically regulatory due diligence for acquisition of global chemical manufacturing firms. Among these were a $200 million pulp and paper chemicals business as well as a $110 million polymer chemical manufacturing firm.

Shimshon Roth lives in Jerusalem, Israel and works remotely for global businesses providing regulatory monitoring services covering the Israeli chemicals control legislation.

Dr. Matthias Vey is a chemist by training from the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany. After his studies and a short period of training as a perfumer he started in fragrance research and development for Marbert Cosmetics in Düsseldorf, Germany. He then became global regulatory affairs manager for Coty/Lancaster in Mainz, Germany. In 2000 Dr. Vey joined IFRA. In his current position as Vice President Scientific Affairs he is responsible for the fragrance industry's worldwide safe use program, known as the IFRA Standards. He also manages all of IFRA's science related committees and is involved in IFRA's advocacy activities. He is responsible for the management of the International Dialogue on the Evaluation of Allergens (IDEA), a multi-stakeholder initiative. He regularly presents at international meetings and conferences, including the Safety Course at the free university of Brussels.

Jennifer Dorts holds a PhD in Biology from the University of Namur, Belgium. Over the years in academia, she acquired a strong scientific background through the management of several research projects related to the effects of chemicals on aquatic organisms. She further gained valuable experience in chemical regulations throughout her career. In 2020, she joined IFRA as Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Manager. Within this function, she mainly deals with the system to manage the safe use of fragrance ingredients (i.e., the IFRA Standards), and coordinates the IFRA activities related to the Natural Complex Substances (NCS) and environmental issues.

Gavin is an immunologist by training and joined Unilever 21 years ago to help develop non-animal safety assessment approaches. He focused on skin sensitization for a large part of his early career helping to develop, evaluate and apply next generation risk assessment approaches. Ultimately working with NICEATM to develop the SARA-ICE defined approach, now part of OECD TG 497. Since 2022 he has been industry co-chair for the European Partnership on Alternative Approaches to Animal Testing (EPAA) working with the European Commission to develop the roadmap to phase out animal testing for chemical safety. In 2023, he helped launch the International Collaboration on Cosmetics Safety (ICCS) and is vice chair of the Core Acceptance Team helping support the global use of non-animal approaches for cosmetic products and ingredients.

Julia has 30+ years’ experience in human health and environmental safety risk assessment gained in academia, non-governmental & governmental (European Commission) organisations and industry. Julia has co-authored over 150 scientific publications and is best known for her leadership in applying new scientific approaches for assessing ingredient and product safety without animal testing. She is a Fellow of the British Toxicology Society and has served on numerous expert groups of the OECD, the European Commission, and the US and UK governments on new approaches for safety assessment. In 2011, Julia received the prestigious Russell & Burch award from the Humane Society of the US in recognition of her contributions to the advancement of non-animal approaches, and she was profiled in the April 2020 issue of British Vogue as a toxicologist shaping the future of skin care.

Nidia Mariana Calvo Mendez joined Enhesa Product Intelligence's Expert Services team as Managing Analyst almost 3 years ago. She oversees regulatory content and service relating to products in the Americas, and coordinates the global analyst team from her base in Guadalajara, Mexico. Prior to joining Enhesa Product Intelligence, Nidia spent her career in industries conducting regulatory analysis and risk management mainly for Latin America. She also has experience in TSCA, GHS, performing audits, and obtaining ISO 140001 certification

Dr. Linda M. Katz is the Director of the Office of Cosmetics and Colors (OCAC), in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates cosmetics and certifies colors used in foods, cosmetics, drugs, and devices.  In 2002, Dr. Katz joined CFSAN as Director for the Office of Cosmetics and Colors and additionally served 10 years as the Acting Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Katz received her MD from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, her MPH in Epidemiology from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, and her BA, manga cum laude, in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

Rae Eaton is the Chemical Hazard & Alternatives Assessment Specialist in the Hazardous Waste and Toxics Reduction programme at the Washington State Department of Ecology. Their work identifying and evaluating alternatives to chemicals of concern supports Washington’s progress towards improving the safety of consumer products. Rae holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Washington.

Shari Franjevic’s commitment to holistic health has inspired her almost two decades of work supporting a market transition to replace toxic chemicals with safer alternatives. Since 2016, Shari served as GreenScreen Program Manager and Education & Training Lead for Clean Production Action (CPA), a non-profit organization whose mission is to design and deliver strategic solutions to toxic chemicals to improve health for people and the planet. Shari set the strategic direction for the GreenScreen Program, led the design and implementation of GreenScreen® chemical hazard assessment tools and GreenScreen Certified® product certification, and developed and delivered educational programs to build skills in conducting hazard assessments and selecting safer chemicals. Shari’s desire to make the world a better place through her work catalyzed a transition from her career as a chemical engineer designing consumer products for Fortune 500 companies to starting a consulting firm in 2008.

Jen Jackson recently joined the Safer Consumer Products Program at the California Department of Toxics Substances Control. For more than 20 years, Jen’s work has focused on chemicals of concern that can harm human and environmental health, toxics reduction and pollution prevention. She has worked in government, NGOs and as a private consultant. She holds a master’s degree in environmental planning and resource management and her thesis identified sources of endocrine disruptors in wastewater.

Magdalena Jurkiewicz is a Senior Regulatory Policy and Risk Management Advisor within Health Canada's Consumer and Hazardous Products Safety Directorate (CHPSD) since 2013. Prior to that she held other regulatory positions within Health Canada’s portfolio. She holds a Master of Science in Chemistry option of Biochemistry from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Bachelor of Science from McGill University in Montréal.

Nibal Saikali a Senior Regulatory Policy and Risk Management Advisor. She joined Health Canada's Consumer and Hazardous Products Safety Directorate (CHPSD) in 2011 and has since been a key contributor to files related to the risk management of cosmetics. Nibal holds a B.Sc. in Biopharmaceutical Sciences with a Specialization in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Ottawa. She has contributed to several significant projects, including supporting the drafting of legislative amendments to ban cosmetic animal testing. Nibal is currently the Chair for the 19th cycle of the International Cooperation on Cosmetics Regulation (ICCR-19).

Scott Faber leads EWG’s government affairs efforts, in which capacity he has frequently testified before Congress on food, farm, energy, water and chemical policy issues. Faber is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Faber is one of EWG’s top spokespeople and is a frequent source for journalists with national and regional media outlets. Faber has appeared on network and cable news programs and in documentary films, and he is regularly quoted in The Washington Post, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, Politico and CNN.com, among many others.

- Health Division Coordinator at Vigna Brasil Group - Regulatory Affairs Consultancy. - Biomedical, MSc in Medical Sciences (UNIFESP, SP, Brazil). - Member of the ABBI - Bioinnovation Working Group (MAPA and ANVISA) – Brazilian Association of Bioinnovation. ◦ Member of the ABNT - Insecticides Working Group.

Lawyer with a master’s degree in environmental policy by the Sustainable Development Center at the University of Brasilia. Since 2008 acts as a Governmental Affairs in the field of animal protection, advocating in favour of legislations to protect animals in different fields. In the last 10 years have been working to replace animal used for scientific purpose and lead the HSI cosmetic campaign to ban animal testing for cosmetics in Brazil.

Charline joined the European Environmental Bureau and the Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG) in 2021 as Policy officer for mercury, working on various mercury-related files, including the ZMWG Skin Lightening Campaign. Before joining the EEB, she worked as policy and project officer in international cooperation at SOLIDAR, focusing on issues related to social justice in the MENA and Sub-Saharan regions. Charline holds a Master’s degree in Public Policy and Human Development from the University of Maastricht and the United Nations University (UNU-MERIT), a Master’s degree in Comparative and International Politics from the KULeuven and a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the Université Catholique de Louvain-la-Neuve.

Alissa Sasso works on the EDF + Business team focusing on reducing human exposure to toxic chemicals in consumer products, including food, home, and beauty and personal care products. Alissa works with retailers and their supply chains to promote effective business solutions to protect consumer health. She has been with EDF for 6 years.

Michael Bender is the director of the US-based Mercury Policy Project and international co-coordinator of the Zero Mercury Working Group, a coalition of over 110 NGOs from more than 55 countries. ZMWG promotes ‘Zero’ emissions, demand and supply of mercury and the effective implementation of the Minamata Convention. Michael has over thirty years experience working on policies, programs and policies to reduce mercury uses, releases and exposures to mercury, including co-leading on the ZMWG’s campaign to eliminate mercury in skin lighteners. He is co-lead of the UNEP Global Mercury Partnership product area and is currently providing guidance to countries interested in developing strategies for managing and phasing out mercury-added products.