Speaker biography coming soon!
Mónica Ochoa Ruiz is responsible for the Global Marketing for Dishwashing at DuPont Nutrition & Biosciencess based in Leiden, The Netherlands. She has a master degree in Biotechnology and joined DuPont in 2011 in the Home and Personal Care Applications group.
Julie Savoie is the Director of the SmartLabel program at the Consumer Brands Association (CBA). She leads CBA’s work on the consumer-packaged goods transparency initiative, SmartLabel, which enables consumers to digitally access more information about the products they use every day.
Prior to joining the CBA, Julie spent 10+ years in the apparel, cosmetics and retail industry, holding various positions in business development, marketing and demand planning. She received her MBA from Georgetown University and her bachelor’s degree from Loyola University in Baltimore.
Gwen Whiting embodies an entrepreneur’s spirit with a creative vision and an executive’s talent for leading and growing a global lifestyle brand. Long before sustainability became an inspiring way of life, in 2004 it was Gwen’s vision to create a premium, eco-friendly laundry and home cleaning brand – The Laundress. Without external funding, through Gwen’s tenacity and leadership, The Laundress grew via multi-channel distribution and was acquired by Unilever.
Gwen spearheads brand creation, including branding and product design, product development, and production. Whether customers are doing their laundry, cleaning their homes, or organizing their belongings, she is obsessed with identifying new and innovative ways to improve their experience of home keeping. Gwen continues to focus on product innovation and sustainability while also being a voice in thought leadership, entrepreneurship and female empowerment.
Sourabh Sharma is head of digital marketing at FIG or out, a digital marketing and PR company that works across various verticals including tech, fashion, beauty and lifestyle. He is a seasoned marketer with a background in brand management, creative direction, digital marketing, social media and management consulting, having worked with multinationals and small businesses to deliver high impact growth. He also has a lifestyle portal 3FS Lifestyle, alongside a travel platform and an apparel brand. He has been published in the NY Times, Allure, GCI Magazine, Quirks, Yahoo!, and more, and has been keynote at conferences and a judge at brand competitions. Sharma has undergraduate engineering and business degrees and MBA from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania and the Rotterdam School of Management.
Monica Becker is Director of Beauty, Personal Care and Household Products at Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute. The Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute is a non-profit organization created to bring about a large scale transformation in the way we make things. Our mission is to provide a continuous improvement quality standard to guide product manufacturers and designers in making safe and healthy things for our world.
Bridget Croke leads external affairs including investor partnerships, industry partnerships, communications and special projects at the Closed Loop Partners. Bridget has spent the last 20 years building movements to help drive a more sustainable economy – from the local food movement to the circular economy. This work has included a national campaign to improve quality of life with less consumption; building and executing campaign tools to move consumers to Buy Fresh, Buy Local; a start up turned growth company incentivizing consumers to recycle right and Purpose, a consultancy and incubator leveraging the tools of movement building to solve global challenges.
Sarah Paiji Yoo is CEO and Co-Founder of Blueland, which is reimagining cleaning products to eliminate single-use plastic packaging. Sarah is a serial retail entrepreneur passionate about sustainability and innovation. Prior to Blueland, she was a Partner at LAUNCH, a leading startup studio, and launched and operated several consumer brands including M.Gemi, Rockets of Awesome and Follain. She was previously co-founder and CEO of Snapette, the largest mobile platform for local fashion shopping, which was sold to leading e-commerce platform Pricegrabber in 2013. Sarah most recently was featured on this season's Shark Tank and has contributed to The Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, Forbes, Time, InStyle and Glamour. She attended Harvard College and Harvard Business School and currently lives in New York City with her 3-year-old son Noah and husband Ken.
Steve is VP of Business Development at NXTLEVVEL Biochem - a commercial scale manufacturer of next generation biomass derived chemicals, with world leading technology in bio-solvents based on levulinic acid. Steve has been involved in the specialty chemicals industry for over 30 years. During his career he has held leadership positions in Business Management, Technology Management, International Sales Development, Application Engineering, and Product Development.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Management from Wichita State University.
Steve didn’t expect to become known as a malodor guy coming to P&G in 1999 with a Master of Science degree. in pulp and paper science, but he’s now spent more than 16 years studying the sources and chemistry of malodor, fragrance chemistry, olfaction, indoor air quality and sensory methodologies. Steve leads formula development for P&G’s Air Care portfolio, holds numerous patents, and has been part of many successful (and some unsuccessful) market launches.
Steve is an active member of ASTM, helping to develop methods related to sensory science and candle safety, and is on the Board of Directors of the National Candle Association. Steve grew up in Michigan and received a B.S. in chemical engineering from Michigan Technological University before receiving that M.S. from the Institute of Paper Science (now Georgia Tech). He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with his wife Jen, two adolescent children, and two stinky cats.
Scott Jaynes is an R&D Applications Manager at Croda, Inc. in Edison, New Jersey, where he is responsible for new product development and technical service for household and I&I cleaning markets in North America. Prior to joining Croda, Scott held R&D positions at BASF, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, and Unilever. He received a Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Dartmouth College.
David Simnick is the Managing Partner of Impact Driven Brands, parent company of the mission-driven personal care brand, Soapbox, and the delicious condiment company, Bushwick Kitchen.
Soapbox’s mission is to empower consumers to change the world through everyday, quality purchases. Soapbox sells a full range of personal care products each with a mission to provide soap to those in need with every purchase. Soapbox is sold in Meijer, on Amazon, Rite Aid, Sally Beauty, Walgreens, Wegmans, Giant, Grove.co, Boxed.com, Winn-Dixie, Stop & Shops, H-E-B and many other stores across the United States and beyond.
Bushwick Kitchen handmakes delicious sauces, honeys, and srirachas in small-batches in Bushwick, New York. Their award-winning products can be found in retailers across the country, such as Walmart, Sur La Table, Food52, Niemen Marcus, and Amazon. During limited engagements, select Bushwick Kitchen items donate all of their proceeds to charitable causes proving that giving back can be delicious.
David has worked or consulted for USAID, the U.S. Army, Michelle Rhee, U.S. Senate, and also was a Teach for America (TFA) educator in Northern Philadelphia. As an Eagle Scout, David loves the outdoors, volunteering, and working with budding entrepreneurs. He received his undergraduate degree from American University in 3 years and then dropped out of a masters program at The University of Pennsylvania to start Soapbox.
Josh Winters is a Research Analyst at Euromonitor International specializing in consumer markets.
Detailed Biography Coming Soon!
Mary has served as a Scientific Communications leader at P&G for over 20 years, working in the Fabric, Home, Skin and Health Care categories. She also has extensive experience in new drug development studying women’s sexual health issues and diseases such as osteoporosis, diabetes and atherosclerosis.
Mary has presented at numerous conferences and been quoted extensively in media outlets including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She has peer-reviewed publications in the fields of fabric, air and skin care and diabetes research. She has co-edited two supplements in the British Journal of Dermatology and co-authored a book chapter on cosmetic anti-aging ingredients.
Mary is a graduate of the University of Dayton and received Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in biology. She lives in Middletown, Ohio, with her husband.
Mat Franken (39), Founder and CEO of Aunt Fannie’s, is improving the health of indoor microbiomes like homes and offices with evolutionary-adapted cleaning and pest solutions from whole, food-based ingredients. Born out of a years-long journey to understand and resolve his family’s mysterious and life-threatening medical conditions, Mat founded Aunt Fannie's in 2013 and has since led the company to raise more than $5 million in funds and distribution in more than 1,250 retailers throughout the United States and Canada.
After graduating from the University of Florida in 2000, his expertise led him to produce a top-tier private wealth management practice, serving a selective clientele of C-level entrepreneurs and corporate executives. Mat sold his PWM partnership in April 2013 to fully pursue his business interests, including Aunt Fannie's, through his holding company Dr. E. Brown Enterprises. Over the years Mat joined in many volunteer opportunities including CCLA, University of Florida Alumni Association and NEXT High School.
Today Mat is an avid public speaker and continually in pursuit of educating and re-enlightening consumers to what our ancestors understood: that a chemical-filled, hyper-sanitized home destroys the beneficial, human-friendly microorganisms our homes and families need for health.
Speaker Bio Coming Soon!
Casper Holst Algren is Head of Marketing & Business Development at Novozymes North America. As an experienced global leader with a passion for biotechnology, life science and sustainability, he has a demonstrated ability to deliver high impact in various roles within Marketing, Sales, Supply Chain Management and Sourcing. Casper received a Master degree from Copenhagen Business School, academy profession in biotechnology and executive leadership education from INSEAD.
Christoph Krumm is the co-founder and CEO of Sironix Renewables, where he works to develop new greener, safer, and more effective ingredients for cleaning products like laundry detergents. He was recently selected as an American Institute of Chemical Engineers Top 35 Under 35 for innovation, and has earned over $4.5M in grant funds and partnerships to help commercialize Sironix Renewables’ new eco-friendly cleaning product ingredients. Christoph earned his PhD from the University of Minnesota and bachelors from the University of Washington, both in chemical engineering.
Lauren Simonelli is a Co-Founder of ThreeMain, a Boston-based subscription cleaning products company aiming to reduce household plastic consumption and reshape the future of sustainability. At ThreeMain, Lauren is focused on product innovation, supply chain management, and customer satisfaction. Prior to ThreeMain, Lauren was a founding member leading product development of an Ad-Tech startup, later acquired by a global giant in the HR-Tech space. In her personal life, Lauren enjoys all facets of exercise, healthy living, and traveling the world.
Jacob is responsible for managing Cradle to Cradle Certified™ assessments for a portfolio of clients including furniture, building materials, architectural glass, textiles and fragrances. He holds a B.S. in Biology from Christopher Newport University and an M.S. in Environmental Science from American University. In his work, Jacob strives to create effective change and advocate for the consumer through the lens of material health and product development. He has traveled domestically and internationally to conduct site visits and collaborate with clients to improve sustainability metrics.
Paul F. DeCusati is the Regional Purchasing Director for Croda Inc. He and his staff are responsible for procurement of materials used in production at Croda’s sites in North America.
Stuart Landesberg is the Co-Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative, the leading digital-first brand & ecommerce platform for natural home and personal care products. Stu has long been passionate about sustainability. He began building the company that became Grove in 2012 (first under the ePantry name), when he saw how far too few families really had access to healthy,sustainable home products through traditional retail channels. Grove, which was established in2016 and is a certified B Corp,now serves hundreds of thousands of households in the U.S.every month and has raised more than $200 million in total capital. In 2020 alone, the innovations Grove is driving in cleaning products will cumulatively save over 1,000,000 pounds of plastic and fund the planting of more than 200,000 trees in the U.S. Stu was previously with TPG Growth, where he was involved in more than $400 million in consumer and technology investments. Stu and his wife, Caitlin live in San Francisco with their two children and dog, and spend as much time outside as possible.
Wesley Spindler is a Business Strategy & Sustainability Director within Accenture and co-author of The Circular Economy Handbook. She acts as Accenture’s Circular Economy Lead, delivering circular economy programs around the globe with partners and companies across industries, bringing to bear strong expertise in purposeful business, technology and innovation. She was Program Director of The Circulars, the world’s premier circular economy award program, which ran for 5 years in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, and will be re-launching as an Innovation Accelerator program in the autumn of this year.
