Speakers

Michel Baumgartner, Secretary General, EUROPUR & EURO-MOULDERS

Michel studied Political Sciences and European Law at Sciences Po Strasbourg (France). He spent most of his professional career representing trade associations of various industries in Brussels, notably in the construction equipment and automotive supply chain. He became Secretary General of EUROPUR and EURO-MOULDERS in 2013 and since then manages both organizations and coordinates their activities in the fields of Product Stewardship, Environment Health and Safety, Sustainability and Market Research. He is the co-author of several reports on the flexible polyurethane foam industry and regularly speaks at conferences and events on behalf of the industry.

Sanjay Verma, Chief Sleep Officer, Jensen Beds

Sanjay Verma likes to think of himself as a sleep evangelist.

He is the Chief Sleep Officer at Jensen Beds of Norway, alongside his role as the Sleep Coach for the Swedish Summer and Winter Olympic teams since 2020.

With an MBA in marketing, a Ph.D. in strategic management, and a background in design, he has over fifteen years of sales, marketing, NPD, and new business development experience in the global premium bed and mattress industry.

Sanjay gives keynote speeches and conducts sleep lectures, workshops, and coaching for corporations and organizations mainly in Europe.

He lives in Linköping, Sweden, and in his free time, he likes to hike, listen to music, or play cricket (he grew up in India).

Julien Heusser, CTO, SIMALFA / ALFA Klebstoffe

Julien Heusser graduated as a chemical engineer in 2008. His longstanding experience in the construction sector and the automotive industry, as well as in the foam converting industry, have made him a renowned expert in researching and developing sustainable adhesive technologies. Julien Heusser has been Head of R&D; at ALFA Klebstoffe AG since 2018. He is pursuing his goal of developing sustainable adhesives together with his team, researching innovative adhesive technologies and highlighting new trends and solutions as a speaker at sector events.

Philipp Propst, Project Manager, Polyurethanes, IAL Consultants

Philipp’s studies combined work experience with an extensive company-funded education program, which included a three-year course at a chemistry school in Graz, Austria, practical experience in various fields, tailored polyurethane courses and an internal education system focused on organic chemistry. Philipp also spent four years at Cytec (now Allnex), working in the research and development of water-based polyurethane resins.

After moving to the UK, Philipp gained further work experience in the Prestige Fine Fragrance Department at Procter and Gamble, focusing on reformulation and odour evaluation. After 2.5 years, and some experience at a pharmaceutical company, Philipp joined certification and testing company SGS as a REACH Project Coordinator, managing the REACH program for a big retailer in the UK.

Philipp joined IAL as an Analyst in 2016 and has worked on various market reports, including SPF/OCF, PUDs, TPU and thermal insulation, and has also been heavily involved in our flagship reports PU EMEA, PU APAC, and PU Americas. He has also worked extensively on single-client studies focusing on polyurethanes and thermal insulation. He is now in the role of Project Manager.

James Elliot, Business Development Manager, Argus Media

James Elliott is the Business Development Manager for chemicals at Argus Media. Mr. Elliott is based in London. His responsibilities in this role include representing Argus in the chemical industry, providing customers with insight on chemical markets as well as wider strategic issues, and aiding clients in indexing on Argus chemical prices. Mr. Elliott has a decade of experience in the chemical industry. Before joining Argus in August 2021, Mr. Elliott covered various chemical markets across the inorganics, aromatics and polyurethane value chains at IHS Markit. He holds a Master of Chemistry degree from University College London.

Tobias Kirchhoff, Founder & CEO, Variowell Development

Tobias is Founder & CEO of Variowell Development GmbH. Variowell is based in Germany and has offices in the USA and Singapore. Variowell is performing science-based research as well as product development and manufacturing of components for the mattress and furniture industry. Customers are large mattress manufacturers around the world, like Casper Sleep in the US. Variowell is a regular exhibitor at CES, Las Vegas and long-standing CTA member.

Before founding Variowell, Tobias worked in a family-owned company manufacturing high-class duvets and comforters filled with natural materials like Cashmere or Silk sold globally. This company was successfully exited to investors in 2006.

Tobias is member within the Consumer Technology Association (CTA) in the working group “standardization of Sleeptech”, co-chairing it with Charlotte Chen from Philips since 2019. Members of this group are sleep- scientists from Harvard, Stanford or Charite and experts from companies like Apple or Google.

Tobias received the CTA Technology Leadership Award in September 2022 for his work around Sleeptech. Furthermore, Tobias is chairing the Sleeptech committee of the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), USA. He created the NSF-Sleeptech Award and is member of the jury awarding sleep-focused companies with this prestigious award annually.

Tobias enjoys travelling, is a seasoned Volleyball player and has three children.

Nithin Poddar, MD, Nowofill - Ginni Spectra Pvt. Ltd.

Julie Walker, Technical and Manufacturing Manager, The Vita Group

Julie Walker, Technical and Manufacturing Manager at The Vita Group has been a leading member of the project teams that have delivered a range of flagship achievements for the business during the last 30 years.

Julie’s knowledge of the foam industry is unsurpassed. Julie’s background in polymer science coupled with her sharp business acumen means she helps the business be at the vanguard of innovation, helping to develop products that will meet evolving needs within the foam industry. Julie also holds membership of National Bed Federation (NBF) and sits on the NBF quality and standards committee; this places her as an instrumental voice of development in the UK for the bedding industry.

Julie has also played a pivotal role in helping Vita reach its sustainability goals and was a leading influence in the development of the bedding Innovation Centre, which is located at The Vita Group’s Middleton headquarters. The Innovation Centre has changed the way in which we can work with clients. Julie and her team can now extend the research carried out in the industry and can help the business to stay at the forefront of development.

Magdalena Filcek, OWNER / Creator, VINCI POWER NAP

Magdalena Filcek - interdisciplinary scientist and researcher, neuroarchitecture and sleep specialist, designer, architect of interiors, artist, inventor, visionary, hot air balloon pilot, honorary NASA employee, innovator of many patented projects, including: Balonodrom Project©, Vinci Power Nap® technology system and many more.

Winner of the First Prize and the Grand Prix 2002 of the President of the Republic of Poland for the best diploma project in Poland, many other awards, distinctions and recognitions from the global institutions: NASA JPL, United Nations, UNFCCC, UNICEF, Ministers of: Art and Culture, Environment, Health and Prevention, Defence and Aviation, Polish and American Army, Air Force, Top 500 Innovators, prof. P. Zimbardo from Stanford University, etc.

Her revolutionary interdisciplinary projects, created by combining science, art and passion for aviation, are global - supporting people and the environment, are carried out by the largest companies, together with her revolutionary scientific interdisciplinary discoveries, published in the best publications such as Springer Nature, have the power to change the world for the better - helping to find solutions to the greatest problems of our civilization.

In research and design, she focuses on the key areas influencing: health, sleep, environment, education, innovation, aviation, space missions, by conducting scientific and research works brings global progress to improve the living conditions of people on Earth and in Space.

Her proprietary system Vinci Power Nap® is the first of its kind technology in the world - an innovative idea for wellbeing in organizations, improving quality of sleep and helping reducing the jet lag, helped regenerate more than 500 UN delegates at the COP24 Climate Change Conference in 2018, was also presented with success and at scientific conferences in London, New York, Miami, Warsaw, Dubai, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, etc.

Based on the fast stress reduction and regaining the lost energy of a responsible employee, Vinci Power Nap® is a great tool for: leaders, business managers, scientists, doctors, uniformed services, veterans, travelers, pilots and astronauts before, during and after travel.

The visionary Vinci Power Nap® system can help people on Earth and also for Space travelers in many aspects such as: human-environmental factors, habitation, sleep, physiological behavioral and psychosocial health, human response to space flight, productivity, stress management and resilience crew training for optimal mission performance and safety.

Her purpose is to help improve the health, sleep and well-being of people around the world and beyond

Gaurav Sachdeva, Director, Chemie Products Private Limited

Gaurav Sachdeva is a B.Sc. (Hons) Chemistry graduate from Sri Venkateswara College, Delhi University, India. He has been working in Chemie Products Private Limited since 2008. He is the son of the founder Mr. Ashok K Sachdeva and is working as the Director in the company. He has experience in PU Industry for the past 16 years handling the operations, NPD, Sales and Marketing, etc. During his tenure the company has ventured into Automotive Industry, Liquid Colorants and additives. He has developed a capable team and the company has grown manifolds under his leadership.