What is SusChem?

Board

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The SusChem Board manages the technology platform’s overall strategy and activities. Its members are drawn from SusChem’s main stakeholder groups.

The full board meets four times a year, usually in Brussels. In addition, teleconferences and other virtual meetings of board members involved in specific tasks take place regularly. The business of the SusChem board is supported by the SusChem secretariat based in Cefic in Brussels.

The Chairman of the board is elected by board members and usually serves for a two-year term. Dr. Josef R. Wuensch is the current chairman.

Board Members

  • Josef R. Wuensch
    Josef R. Wuensch

    Josef R. Wuensch is the Chairman of the SusChem board. He is Senior Vice President R&D Performance Materials at BASF. His expertise at BASF covers global research and product development for performance materials based on ‘thermoplastic’, ‘duroplastic’ and biobased / biodegradeable materials.

    Click here to read Josef R. Wuensch‘s full biography.

  • Andrés R. Alcántara
    Andrés R. Alcántara

    Andrés R. Alcántara studied chemistry and received his doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Córdoba, Spain, in 1989. After a postdoctoral stay at the University of Kent at Canterbury, U.K., he joined the Department of Chemistry in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid, where he is Full Professor in Organic Chemistry and director of the R&D Group of Biotechnology and Applied Materials (TRANSBIOMAT).

    Click here to read Andrés R. Alcántara‘s full biography.

  • Esther van den Beuken
    Esther van den Beuken

    Esther van den Beuken is Market Manager and Principal Consultant in the field of Sustainable Materials and conversion of feedstock at TNO (a research institute in the Netherlands) in the unit Energy and Material Transitions. She has more than 20 years of experience at the intersection of public-private innovation and social themes.

    Click here to read Esther van den Beuken‘s full biography.

  • David Bogle
    David Bogle

    David Bogle is Professor of Chemical Engineering at University College London (UCL) and Pro-Vice-Provost of UCL’s Doctoral School. He is currently Scientific Vice President of the European Federation of Chemical Engineers. His expertise is in Process Systems Engineering and Systems Biology.

    Click here to read David Bogle‘s full biography.

  • Andreas Falk
    Andreas Falk

    Andreas Falk is the CEO of BioNanoNet ForschungsGmbH (BNN), co-coordinator of the EU NanoSafety Cluster (NSC), coordinator of the Austrian National Technology Platform SusChem-AT, and a national expert at OECD-WPMN. He is also a plenary member of ISO TC229 and CEN TC352, among other roles.

    Click here to read Andreas Falk‘s full biography.

  • Andreas Förster
    Andreas Förster

    Andreas Förster studied chemistry and received his doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of Würzburg in 1997. Since 1997, he has been an employee of DECHEMA, the German Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, where he heads the Department for Research Coordination and Conferences.

    Click here to read Andreas Förster‘s full biography.

  • Thomas Görgen
    Thomas Görgen

    Thomas Görgen is an experienced innovation leader focusing on OPEN INNOVATION. He is heading Alliance Management in Innovation Management and Commercial Sercives at Covestro. The function comprises university and research cooperations, innovation networks with companies, public funding as well as innovation policies.

    Click here to read Thomas Görgen‘s full biography.

  • Silke Gotthardt
    Silke Gotthardt

    Silke Gotthardt obtained her PhD in Natural Sciences from the University of Erlangen, Germany, in the field of Pharmaceutical Technology in close cooperation with Parke Davis GmbH, Freiburg, Germany. As of October 2021, she was appointed Head of Process Technology Development within Engineering & Technology at Bayer in Leverkusen.

    Click here to read Silke Gotthardt‘s full biography.

  • Philippe Jacques
    Philippe Jacques

    Chemical Engineer graduated from the University of Louvain‐la‐Neuve, Belgium, Philippe JACQUES joined Solvay in 1988 in Brussels, Belgium, and moved to various Intellectual Property, R&D management and senior leadership roles. He is since 2018, part-time seconded as Managing Director of the Energy Materials Industrial Research Initiative (EMIRI) Association based in Brussels.

    Click here to read Philippe Jacques‘s full biography.

  • Fernando Moreno
    Fernando Moreno

    Now Executive Chairman and founding partner at Solutex, Fernando Moreno has been part of the agro food industry since the beginning of his professional career. He has acted in different management positions in Group Vall Companies, Group Leche Pascual and Group SODIAAL.

    Click here to read Fernando Moreno‘s full biography.

  • Jarmo Ropponen
    Jarmo Ropponen

    Jarmo Ropponen received his PhD in organic chemistry from the University of Jyväskylä in 2004. He joined VTT in 2008 where he has acted in several R&D and manager positions. Currently he is Vice President of Industrial Chemistry research area.

    Click here to read Jarmo Ropponen‘s full biography.

  • Tanya Sheridan
    Tanya Sheridan

    Tanya Sheridan joined the Royal Society of Chemistry in 2018. As Head of Policy and Evidence, she is Policy responsible for a portfolio of research, policy and responsive work. Before joining the RSC, Tanya worked for Cambridgeshire County Council, leading economic development programmes and advising elected Councillors.

    Click here to read Tanya Sheridan‘s full biography.

  • Christoph Weckbecker
    Christoph Weckbecker

    After his studies in Chemistry in Bonn and Munich, Christoph joined Degussa taking over responsibilities in the field of fine chemistry. Since 2018, Christoph is working at Evonik Corporate Innovation and is responsible for the Group ‘Innovation Networks’.  He also represents Evonik in different associations and councils.

    Click here to read Christoph Weckbecker‘s full biography.

  • Hans-Georg Weinig
    Hans-Georg Weinig

    Hans-Georg Weinig is since 2016 Director Education, Career and Science at the German Chemical Society (GDCh) in Frankfurt, Germany. He joined GDCh 2009 as scientific coordinator at the GDCh Executive Director’s office; from 2011 until 2015, he was Director Education and Science.

    Click here to read Hans-Georg Weinig‘s full biography.

  • Daniel Witthaut
    Daniel Witthaut

    Daniel Witthaut joined Cefic in September 2021 as a secondee from Evonik and assumed the role as Executive Director Innovation. He has 20 years of professional experience with Evonik incl. several Leadership functions in the area of  Innovation, New Business Development, Controlling and Strategy. He has worked in different areas of the chemical industry and has lived in the USA, Singapore and China.

    Click here to read Daniel Witthaut‘s full biography.