Learn about sustainability topics from expert speakers
Ahmet ÖKSÜZ
İTHİB
İTHİB
Ahmet ÖKSÜZ
Chairman of Board
Ahmet Öksüz was born in Kahramanmaraş in 1970. Ahmet ÖKSÜZ, who is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Kipaş Holding, completed his high school in Istanbul Kabataş High School and his university education in the Mechanical Engineering Department of Yıldız Technical University. ÖKSÜZ, who completed his master's education at Florida University in 1993, started his business life in Kipaş Holding, which operates in many fields, especially textiles.
Between 1999-2018, he served as the "Member of the Board of Directors and Vice Chairman" at ITHIB. He served as the “Head of the Garment Sector Council” at TOBB. He represented our country as a Board Member of Euratex European Textile Federation between 2008-2018.
In the ITHIB General Assembly held in 2018, he was elected as the Chairman of the Board of Directors to serve in the 2018-2022 period. ÖKSÜZ, who is a member of Fenerbahçe Sports Club and 1907 Association, speaks English and German.
Amit GAUTAM
TEXTILE GENESIS
TEXTILE GENESIS
Amit GAUTAM
Founder & CEO at TextileGenesis™
Mr. Gautam is the CEO & founder of TextileGenesisTM – a pioneering fiber-to-retail traceability platform, enabled by blockchain, for the fashion and textile supply chain. TextileGenesis invented FibercoinsTM – a digital twin of the sustainable textile material (e.g., organic cotton, recycled polyester) that can be likened to a fingerprint, ensuring unique digital identity for the material that is sustainably produced. The traceability system is being rolled out globally with the leading fashion brands across suppliers in 20+ countries and three languages. Mr. Gautam is a thought-leader in the field of transparency & traceability, and a regular speaker at the global fashion and technology conferences. Prior to starting TextileGenesisTM, Mr. Gautam was the executive vice president for the global fashion business at Lenzing – a global innovation leader in sustainable materials from Austria. Mr. Gautam led global sales, marketing, and commercialization of new innovations for the textile business (1.5 billion euros). Prior to Lenzing, Mr. Gautam was Associate Partner at McKinsey and Principal at Booz & Company, with international management experience spanning Europe, US and Asia. He holds MBAfromCarnegieMellonUniversity(CMU)USA, and Bachelor ofTechnologyfrom IIT Bombay. Mr. Gautam is passionate about creative uses of technology, enjoys hiking, and a regular practitioner of yoga and meditation
Andreas STREUBIG
HUGO BOSS
HUGO BOSS
Andreas STREUBIG
Svp - Global Corporate Responsibility & Public Affairs
Andreas Streubig began his professional career when joining the Otta Group in 1994. After seueral positions, inter alia in the internal management consultancy and as the head of the Group's import management, he assumed responsibility far the Otta Group's sustainability management in 2007. Far ten years, he and his team deueloped the strategic sustainability management of the Hamburg-based family business and rolled aut the corresponding programs in the Group. in 2014, the systematic sustainability management approach 'impACT', which has since been deueloped, was awarded the CSR Prize of the German gouernment.
in October 2017, Andreas Streubig took ouer as Director Global Sustainability at HUGO BOSS in Metzingen and has been responsible far the further deuelopment and implementation of ali sustainability actiuities at HUGO BOSS euer since. in his current role as Senior Vice President Global Corporate Responsibility & Public affairs, he in addition is alsa steering the Corporate Citizenship engagement of HUGO BOSS and ouersees the company's Public Affairs Management.
Ouer the years he has serued in seueral roles asa sustainability consultant, and far not-for-profit organizations like Social Accountability lnternational (SAi) and Textile Exchange (TE). Currently he is actiue as member of the certification committee at 'Erfolg mit Anstand' of the Club of Hamburg Foundation.
Ari MÄKI
AMBASSADOR of FINLAND to TÜRKİYE
AMBASSADOR of FINLAND to TÜRKİYE
Ari MÄKI
Ambassador Mäki started his diplomatic career in 1996 as Attaché at the Unit for bilateral development cooperation at the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs. He was appointed as Second Secretary, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Finland in Teheran in 2017. He worked as First Secretary, Deputy Permanent Delegate to the UNESCO between 2000-2003 and then at different positions at the Finnish Foreign Ministry until his posting as Ambassador of Finland to Afghanistan (2013-2015). After serving as Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Ministry, Ambassador Mäki took his position as the Ambassador of Finland to Türkiye in 2019. Ambassador Mäki has a Master’s degree in Political Sciences from the University of Turku (majoring political history) and has been decorated as Knight First Class, Order of the Lion of Finland in 2011.
Ambassador Mäki speaks Finnish, Swedish, English, Spanish, German, French, Italian, Farsi and has conversation-level command of Turkish
Arnoud PASSENIER
DUTCH MINISTRY OF I&W MANAGEMENT & DENIM DEAL
DUTCH MINISTRY OF I&W MANAGEMENT & DENIM DEAL
Arnoud PASSENIER
Strategic Advisor on Circular Economy Ministry of Infrastructure & Water Management,Environment Directorate,International Affairs
Arnoud Passenier (60) is strategic advisor circular economy at the International Department of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in The Netherlands. He has a master’s degree in Political Sciences, International Relations. Arnoud has a long track record in shaping the circular economy on the national, European and global level, focusing on innovation, bringing together stakeholders in and between material value chains (rare (earth) metals, phosphorus, plastics and textiles). Arnoud was the architect of the National Covenant on the Circular Economy (January 2017), the Plastics Pact NL (2019), the European Plastics Pact (March 2020) and the Denim Deal (October 2020). On the global level, he focuses his efforts in building strong CE-networks and projects with stakeholders to create impactful value chain collaboration, bilaterally as well as in the context of international conferences (WCEF, G20, OECD, Climate COP) and multi-stakeholder platforms (PACE, WEF, GFANZ).
Aslı PASİNLİ
WWF-TURKEY
WWF-TURKEY
Aslı PASİNLİ
General Manager of WWF-Turkey
Aslı Pasinli has been the General Manager of WWF-Turkey (World Wildlife Fund) since 2017 and between 2020-22 was also a member of the Board of Directors for WWF-Mediterranean Program Offices to which 7 countries are affiliated. She graduated from Boğaziçi University with an undergraduate degree on Economics. She also has a master’s degree from the University of Illinois and MBA degrees from the U.S. Pasinli started her career in the Coca-Cola Company headquarters in Atlanta and she worked in the offices of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, İstanbul and Vienna for 6 years. Between the years of 2003-2016, she was a partner in charge of the “Soul Group” restaurants, which she founded. Pasinli also initiated the “Green Restaurant” program in Turkey, which aims at reducing the carbon footprint that food and drink industry causes, and issues certificates to restaurants. She has also served as vice president for Sustainability at Turkish Restaurant & Entertainment Association.
Atakan KORU
AKSA
AKSA
Atakan KORU
Marketing Manager
Atakan Koru was born in Ipsala, Edirne in 1986. He started his education in where he was born and completed his primary school there. For his high school, he got the chance to study at Istanbul Atatürk Science High school, and finished the high school in 2004. Koru, who planned to shape his future with the excitement and enthusiasm he had for distinctness and awareness, decided to continue his education at Istanbul Technical University; a university which would create a solid path for him in this direction. Atakan Koru started his education at Department of Management Engineering at İTÜ, one of the most deep-rooted universities of Türkiye with its history of 250 years and he laid the foundations of the path he dreamed of walking in his business life here.
In 2009, Koru completed the education he had started at İTÜ, and in 2010 he began to work at Aksa, one of the most deep-rooted industrial enterprises of Türkiye. As of 2010, he still continues to work at Aksa, and he took charge in Sales Regional Manager, Sales Manager and Marketing Manager roles respectively. Currently, he continues to work as the Marketing Manager. Koru continued his education while maintaining his career and he achieved one more milestone on the road to his dreams by completing the Executive MBA program at Koç University. Being married since 2017, Koru is also the father of 4-year-old Demir.
Bertan BALÇIK
NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL
NATIONAL COTTON COUNCIL
Bertan BALÇIK
Chairman of the Board of National Cotton Council
He was born in 1968 in Söke. He is a member of the third generation of his family, which started the ginning business in 1949. He has been actively involved in the cotton industry since 1987. Between 2001 and 2013, he served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Söke Commodity Exchange. During his presidency at the exchange, he actively participated in the Agriculture Sector Board and the EU Commission within TOBB. As a representative of Söke Commodity Exchange, he was one of the eight founding members of the National Cotton Council established in 2007. In addition to the ginning business, he is also a partner in a company that sells tractors, harvesters and their service and spare parts. The company is engaged in cotton cultivation and stone fruit production. He still works as a general manager in the ginning factory of which he is a partner.
Bikem KANIK
ORBIT CONSULTING
ORBIT CONSULTING
Bikem KANIK
Executive Board Member
Bikem Kanık has gained experience in many different industries as an economist and finance professional in her career of more than 25 years.
She has worked for and had been a part of many successful initiatives of financial markets in her investment banking career. She has specialized in financial structuring, mergers and venture capital. She has worked in the positions, such as Product Development Manager and Business Development Director in various international risk management consultancy companies. During her career path, she noticed the requirement for Turkey’s risk management services in the area of sustainability so she founded her own consulting company.
She has extensive executive and board level experience in financial restructuring, risk management and sustainability. Gender equality and sustainability are the key topics in her agenda.
Alongside with other duties as Independent Board Member, Advisory Board Member, she is currently acting as an Executive Board Member in Orbit Consulting.
Burak Orhan ARİFİOĞLU
KARACASU
KARACASU
Burak Orhan ARİFİOĞLU
Member of Board
I graduated from the Economics department of Koç University in 2013. I finished my Masters in International Management in 2014. I have certifications on cotton from Texas Tecnic, and on marketing from London School of Economics. Ever since 2014, I have been working in our family company, Karacasu Tekstil. Before eventually becoming the CEO of the company, I roamed around in departments such as sales, business development and finance.
Camila CASTILLO BATATA
SCHEFFER
SCHEFFER
Camila CASTILLO BATATA
Commercial Specialist in Regenerative Agriculture
Camila Castillo is a Commercial Specialist in Regenerative Agriculture at Scheffer, Brazil. She works across several business units to connect Scheffer to the most demanding customers from around the globe. Camila has worked and lived in Brazil, USA, Singapore. She graduated from Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil, and holds a Master’s Degree from Pittsburg State University, USA.
Caroline LEDL
LENZING
LENZING
Caroline LEDL
Head of Product Management Lenzing AG
Caroline joined the Lenzing Group in 2017 and ever since works with passion in the world of fibers. With her attitude to never stand still, she constantly optimizes existing fiber types, listens to market needs and develops new and innovative fiber solutions. In the role of Head of Product Management Caroline can combine the knowledge of her Master’s Degree with her enthusiasm for sustainable fashion.
Christian SCHINDLER
ITMF
ITMF
Christian SCHINDLER
Director General of ITMF
Born in Karlsruhe, Germany, in 1968, Dr. Schindler studied economics at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, from where he graduated in 1994. Between 1995 and 1998 he worked as personal assistant of two Members of Parliament in the German Bundestag, Bonn. In 1998 he joined the Federation of German Wholesale and Foreign Trage (BGA) in Bonn/Berlin as personal assistant and speechwriter of Association's President.
Between 2001 and 2004 he studied at the Institute of Economic Policy at the University of Cologne, Germany, where he wrote his thesis and obtained a doctorate degree in 2004.
Dr. Schindler was appointed Economist of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation on October 1, 2004 and was promoted to the position of Director in 2006. At the Federation's Annual Conference in Dubai, UA, in September 2006 he was nominated and elected Director General as of January 1, 2007.
Denis DRUON
MARMARA HEMP
MARMARA HEMP
Denis DRUON
CEO Marmara Hemp
CEO & founder of THE FLAX COMPANY SAS, a company specialized in Flax and Hemp fibres, based in France close to the flax & hemp production areas, with 28 years of experience in the textile industry.
In partnership with 3 hemp producers and an expert in cottonizing natural fibres, we have developed the first certified sustainable cottonized hemp fibre called MARMARA Hemp, also C2C Certified at the Platinum level with a full LCA approved by Higg and the major textile brands. The Flax Company is established on the 5 continents and sells fibres, fabric and home textile in over 30 countries.
Diederik JANSSEN
UNIFI
UNIFI
Diederik JANSSEN
Director Brand Sales EMEA
Diederik Janssen is Brand Sales Director, EMEA at Unifi, Inc. one of the world's leading innovators in recycled synthetic and performance fibres. Diederik is heading the commercial department of Unifi on the European continent, pushing boundaries to gain ever increasing adoptions by brands, retailers and producers alike. He has a fulfilling 20 years career in textile yarns and fibers sales and “close to customer” development and innovation facilitator.
REPREVE® is the world’s leading brand of recycled performance fiber. Made from recycled plastic bottles and fresh hope, REPREVE® helps you do more with less. Unifi has transformed more than 30 billion plastic bottles into yarns for new apparel, footwear, home goods and other consumer products. Unifi collaborates with many of the world's most influential brands in the sports apparel, fashion, home, automotive and other industries.
REPREVE® is the world’s leading brand of recycled performance fiber. Made from plastic bottles and fresh hope, we help you do more with less.
Doğa GÜRCAN
EKOSİSTEM
EKOSİSTEM
Doğa GÜRCAN
Sales Manager & Managing Partner
He was born in 1987 in Istanbul. After graduating from Istanbul University Environmental Engineering Faculty in 2012, he started to working as a field engineer at Aquamatch while continuing his master's education at Yıldız Technical University. He worked as a site manager in nearly 50 projects including power plants, food and beverage industry, refineries, and iron and steel sectors in Turkey and abroad between 2012 and 2019. He continued his carrees at AO Smith as a sales engineer for a short period of time between 2019-2020. Since 2020, he has been working on wastewater recovery systems as a sales manager and company partner in Ekosistem.
During the eight years he had worked as the site manager, he saw the problems people encounter in reaching clean water during the long period he spent in countries such as Libya, Gulf countries, Egypt, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Myanmar, and Thailand. His interest and commitment in wastewater recovery increased even more after this experience. When he started working in Ekosistem, he integrated advanced treatment systems into the company's deep experience of 30 years in wastewater treatment . Today, he contributes to realizing plants with high recovery performance in wastewater recovery.
Eda TOGAN
SUPERDRY
SUPERDRY
Eda TOGAN
Country Manager, Türkiye and Close Regions
After graduating from Uludağ University, Textile Engineering Faculty, Eda Togan gained vast experience in operations by taking part in different levels of the supply chain.
Continued her career in buying and sourcing offices broadening her experience in supply chain management, product development, implementing/developing quality systems, technological transformation of a supply chain and sustainable sourcing.
Togan has accomplished many successful works and projects in management positions in international companies throughout her career,
While working for Wal-Mart, she worked as a consultant in the "Supply Chain Management" project at Wal-Mart Mexico.
In the following years, she worked in Sri Lanka to set up a supply chain for sourcing activities of the "George" brand of Walmart.
She currently works in the famous British clothing brand Superdry as Country Manager-responsible for Turkey and Close Regions.
Believing in the importance of raising education and social awareness for her country, Eda Togan supports TED (Turkish Education Association) as a volunteer.
She is a member of the LEAD Network Association, and actively works at the Membership Committee. The association was founded in the Netherlands and went worldwide later, and it works on female empowerment in the Retail sector.
She is very responsive on environmental issues therefore she has been concentrating on recycling food waste to do her best to contribute to society, Togan continues her works that increase public awareness on her social media platform called "Dönüştür Gitsin".
Elif ERGU DEMİRAL
GAZETE OKSİJEN
GAZETE OKSİJEN
Elif ERGU DEMİRAL
JOURNALIST
Eylem TEMİZKAN
EREKS-BLUE MATTERS & MOS MOSH
EREKS-BLUE MATTERS & MOS MOSH
Eylem TEMİZKAN
Board Member / Marketing & Business Development
Eylem Temizkan has been a partner of Ereks - Blue Matters Responsible Production Platform for 20 years. She is also a Board Member in charge of Marketing & Business Development. She worked as the sales face of Ereks for many years and has brought the company together with various European brands. In her journey, besides sales, she had a say in all stages of denim production. By looking at each of its customer relations as a partnership, Eylem has made Ereks a part of long-term, trust-based and growing collaborations. Her focus has always been to produce the right product by going over the points where customer and customer need overlap with the capabilities of Ereks and the industry. After defining the ultimate company goal to become “circular,” Ereks was no longer just a denim manufacturer. In 2019 with the new perspective, Ereks founded Blue Matters Responsible Production Platform as a first step to succeed in a “circular value chain.” In parallel to this vision, Eylem has been managing all Sales-Marketing and Product Development units of the company and works for a brighter future
Franziska HÄFELI
RIETER
RIETER
Franziska HÄFELI
Vice President - Head Marketing & Systems
Business Group Machines & Systems
Franziska Haefeli is responsible for marketing & systems in the Business Group Machines and Systems of Rieter, the world’s leading supplier of systems for short-staple fiber spinning based in Winterthur, Switzerland. Franziska holds a Master of Arts in business innovation from the University of St. Gallen and has worked in the field of commercial excellence for industrial companies during her complete professional career. She joined Rieter in 2017 and has since then deep dived into the challenges of spinning short-staple fibers. Today her team is taking care of the product marketing at Rieter on one hand side and on industry trends and new fields to be developed on the other hand, recycling being one of the focus segments. To redefine the boundaries for closing the loop in textile, the Rieter textile technology team is working intensively on optimizing the spinning process for torn fibers and to support track and trace solutions. Franziska is on the board of different organizations and foundations related to textile such as the Swiss textile school STF.
Dr. Gediminas MIKUTIS
HAELIXA
HAELIXA
Dr. Gediminas MIKUTIS
Chief Technology Officer, Haelixa
Gediminas is the Chief Technology Officer and a Board Member of Haelixa. He holds a PhD in chemical engineer from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich), through which he has co-developed the Haelixa technology for supply chain traceability. In 2016 he has co-founded Haelixa, and is responsible for the DNA-based traceability technology development and implementation in consumer good supply chains, with a particular focus on the textile industry. Besides rolling out the traceability solution with a number of sustainable textile manufacturers and brands, he is also an active member on the expert panel of UN/CEFACT, working on projects related to supply chain transparency.
Guilherme SCHEFFER
SCHEFFER
SCHEFFER
Guilherme SCHEFFER
Chief Commercial, Finances & New Bussines
Director and shareholder of Scheffer, Guilherme oversees the commercial, finance, sustainability and new business of the company and is responsible for Scheffer financial health and growth. Guilherme is an advocate of regenerative practices and is helping to implement the system in large scale agriculture in Brazil.
Guilherme graduated in Economics, and is member of Rabobank’s Global Counsil of Clients. Also, he served as board member of both the Cotton and the Soy Producers Associations of Mato Grosso State, Brazil.
Halil İbrahim CÜLFÜK
KIPAS TEXTILES
KIPAS TEXTILES
Halil İbrahim CÜLFÜK
Head Of Sustainability
Halil Ibrahim works as Head of Sustainability at Kipas Textiles since 2014. Halil's responsibilities include sustainability developing, implementing strategic plans and to lead environmental and social projects, maintaining an open dialogue with stakeholders, and driving organizational success. He provides strategic advice and guidance to the company to keep them aware of developments within the industry and ensure that the appropriate policies are developed to meet the company's mission and objectives and comply with all relevant statutory and other regulations.
Halit GÜMÜŞER
KIPAS HOLDING
KIPAS HOLDING
Halit GÜMÜŞER
Board of Member
Halit Gümüser was born in 1978 in Kahramanmaras, in the South East of Turkey. After specializing in chemical engineering at Istanbul Technical University, Halit studied at Pace University/Lubin School of Business in New York, USA. Nowadays, Halit divides his time and presence between his hometown Kahramanmaras and in London City, the heart of the fashion industry, together with his family. Halit is working closely with the sales and marketing team of Kipas Textiles to engage and understand the needs of our industry.
After establishing the New York branch of Kipaş Textiles between 2000-2002, Halit became the Managing Director and Board Member of Kipas Holding. Halit's responsibilities include developing and implementing strategic plans and company policies, maintaining an open dialogue with stakeholders, and driving organizational success. He provides strategic advice and guidance to the chair and other board members to keep them aware of developments within the industry and ensure that the appropriate policies are developed to meet the company's mission and objectives and comply with all relevant statutory and other regulations.
Jean HEGEDUS
The LYCRA COMPANY
The LYCRA COMPANY
Jean HEGEDUS
Director Of Sustainability
Jean Hegedus is currently the Sustainability Director for The LYCRA Company. Ms. Hegedus has over 35 years of experience in the textile industry, working first with The DuPont Company, and then INVISTA, before moving to The LYCRA Company in 2019. Over the course of her career she has held a variety of positions in public affairs, marketing, licensing and branding. She began working in the denim segment in 2007, bringing several important innovations to market, including LYCRA® XFIT, LYCRA® dualFX®, LYCRA® BEAUTY, and LYCRA® EcoMade technologies. It was also her work within the denim segment that heightened her awareness of the need for more sustainable solutions, and in July of 2019 she was appointed Sustainability Director for The LYCRA Company.
Ms. Hegedus has a Master’s Degree in Communications from the University of Delaware. She currently resides in New Jersey with her husband, and her dog Leo, whom she adopted (or who adopted her) from Hawaii. When not working on sustainability, she enjoys spending time with her family, travelling, hiking, swimming, and doing a variety of volunteer efforts for her church.
Leon PİÇON
EPIC COTTON
EPIC COTTON
Leon PİÇON
Leon started his career on cotton business in 1999 by joining Orta Anadolu, a leading denim manufacturer based in Kayseri – Turkey, until he established his own company Epic Cotton in 2022, acting as consultant on cotton sustainability and cotton trading.
Leon has been serving on the boards of several local and international organisations working in the field of cotton and textiles, including National Cotton Board of Turkey (UPK), Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), Good Cotton Practices Association (IPUD) and International Cotton Association (ICA).
Leyla ERTUR
H&M GROUP
H&M GROUP
Leyla ERTUR
Head of Sustainability, H&M group
Leyla Ertur was appointed Head of Sustainability at H&M Group in January 2021. At this point, she also became a member of the company’s executive management team. In her role, Leyla is responsible to drive and implement sustainability throughout the H&M Group together with a global team of more than 250 people.
Having joined the company in 2000, Leyla has worked in multiple continents, leading teams across a variety of areas including HR, Production and Global Supply Chain Management. She has worked extensively in production countries where we operate such as Bangladesh, China and Hong Kong and most recently has held a duel position as Regional Country Manager Production Europe, and Head of Global Quality Strategy and Compliance.
Lukas PUENDER
RETRACED
RETRACED
Lukas PUENDER
CEO & Co-Founder
Lukas Puender co-founded his own sustainable shoe brand CANO together with Philipp Mayer during his master's studies in 2016. After he completed his M.Sc. in Business Administration at WHU in the summer of 2017, the two of them repeatedly encountered the challenge of complex supply chains and missing transparency in the fashion industry through their shoe brand and tried to find a solution. In the Summer of 2018, they decided to solve the problem not only for CANO but for the entire fashion industry and brought their third co-founder, technology savvy Peter Merkert, on board to work together on a solution for sustainable supply chain management and transparency for fashion and textile companies. This is how retraced was born.
Madison WRIGHT
PENTATONIC® & HEY FASHION!
PENTATONIC® & HEY FASHION!
Madison WRIGHT
Circular Economy Strategist
Madison Wright is the Circular Economy Strategist at Pentatonic. She previously held positions at the World Health Organization and the International Air Transport Association. In her role at Pentatonic, she leads both engineering and research teams and delivers key innovations for Pentatonic’s top-tier corporate partners. She also leads research for Hey Fashion which is funded by the Eileen Fisher Foundation (a not-for-profit organization). Madison holds a Master's degree from Lund University in Environmental Management and Policy and a BA from the University of Washington. Madison also sits on a focus group for the University of Washington Continuing Education Sustainability course.
Martin STENFORS
RENEWCELL
RENEWCELL
Martin STENFORS
COO
Martin has more than 25 years of experience within sourcing and supply chain both as a management consultant and in operational positions. He is now making sure that Renewcell is scaling up feedstock sourcing to match the increased production capacity in the company. By 2025 Renewcell will annually produce 250.000 metric tonnes of dissolving pulp from post consumer and post industrial textile waste and will be sourcing equally large amounts of textile waste feedstock.
Mohsin SAJID
ENDRIME®
ENDRIME®
Mohsin SAJID
Owner & Creative Director - Endrime® And Denim History
Mohsin Sajid is a highly accomplished denim specialist, denim historian an educator. With more than 20 year’s experience working with a number world’s leading international denim brands and mills.
Mohsin has a keen interest in raising the next generation of denim designers reflecting in his role as MA denim lecturer at The Royal College of Art, and BA denim lecturer at Ravensbourne University London.
Mohsin together with his wife Sadia Rafique they both run consultancy company ENDRIME® and their Denim History educational platform where they teach denim making masterclasses & historical denim lectures each year. Mohsin is at the helm of guiding the next generation of responsible denim designers.
Nicolas Prophte
PVH CORP.
PVH CORP.
Nicolas Prophte
VP Sourcing, Production, Innovation Denim - Tommy Hilfiger
Denim advocate, driven by a purpose to transform an industry to become more responsible towards our planet and communities.
The recent worldwide disruptions amplified the necessity for any brand or business to lead even more at strategic level mixed with pragmatism and operational excellence.
The global challenges as climate change and the impact on our life urge the importance of real collaboration and alignment between industry and brands in our Fashion industry.
We will try to outline key strategic priorities around Circular Model and innovative mindset to be implemented in our textile supply chain.
Ömür SUNER
TEXTILE EXCHANGE
TEXTILE EXCHANGE
Ömür SUNER
Textile Exchange Ambassador, EMENA & Central Asia
Ömür Suner is the Textile Exchange Ambassador for EMENA and Central Asia. She is supporting to develop and implement a Climate+ based industry road map for sustainable cotton and other fiber crops, incorporating ambitious direction-of travel goals. Prior to joining Textile Exchange, Ömür worked at global industrial sewing threads manufacturer Coats plc, for 12 years sitting in various departments e.g. export customer service and global marketing promoting sustainable products and services.
Petra SCHWEIGER
ACCELERATING CIRCULARITY
ACCELERATING CIRCULARITY
Petra SCHWEIGER
Director, Europe
Petra Schweiger is the Project Director of Accelerating Circularity for the region of Europe. Accelerating Circularity is a nonprofit organization with the mission to create circular systems for textile-to-textile recycling of post-consumer spent textiles to turn these waste streams into mainstream raw materials. Through their pre-competitive work, the team of Accelerating Circularity coordinates and facilitates among numerous value chain stakeholders to build new supply chains and business models.
Petra has held leadership roles with European and global retail and fashion brands across China, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong for the past 20 years. During her career from quality control to product development to sourcing and buying she has experienced the industry’s impacts first-hand which made her focus on sustainability and circularity early on. She now passes on her in-depth knowledge and expertise to clients across the world. Petra exemplifies a holistic and collaborative approach in delivering transformational solutions. She now lives in Austria.
Petri ALAVA
INFINITED FIBER COMPANY
INFINITED FIBER COMPANY
Petri ALAVA
CEO and Co-Founder of Infinited Fiber Company
Petri Alava is a passionate business developer and strategist with more than 15 years of CEO experience in both the B2B and B2C environments. He has held board positions in several companies from well-established corporations to innovative startups. Petri is an expert in waste management who was pioneering circular initiatives before the concept was widely understood, and prior to Infinited Fiber Company, he was CEO of the leading European horticulture group Kekkilä.
Petri founded Infinited Fiber Company in 2016 together with research professor Ali Harlin to commercialize a breakthrough technology that enables cellulose-rich waste streams – like discarded textiles, used cardboard, or even wheat and rice straw – to be regenerated into premium-quality textile fibers with the natural look and feel of cotton. The technology enables 100% fiber-to-fiber regeneration and offers a true, circular alternative to conventional textiles that rely on limited virgin resources. Leading fashion and nonwovens brands endorse the circular fiber – Infinna™ – and the technology has earned numerous awards and accolades, including being selected a 2021 Global Cleantech 100 Company and The Europas 2020 Hottest Sustainability Tech Startup.
Sami ASLANHAN
KONTROLMATİK TECHNOLOGIES
KONTROLMATİK TECHNOLOGIES
Sami ASLANHAN
Chairman of the Board
Born in 1982 in Pütürge/Malatya, Sami Aslanhan graduated from Marmara University Electronics and Communications Teaching Department in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree. He attended the MBA Essentials program at the London School of Economics in 2017, and had to leave the program due to his workload. He worked in corporate companies such as Mercedes Benz Türk, TEAK, Formel and REED. Between 2000-2007, he worked as Project Engineer and Project Manager in electricity, etc. industries and projects such as power plants, refineries, natural gas pipelines, smart cities, both in Turkey and abroad. He has
studies in algorithm development, embedded systems, power systems engineering and fuel cells. In 2008, he laid the foundations of Kontrolmatik Teknoloji Enerji ve Mühendislik A.Ş. and became one of the founding partners. He has been serving as the Chairman of the Board of Directors since 2008.
Seçil YILDIZ
DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT BANK OF TÜRKİYE
DEVELOPMENT AND INVESTMENT BANK OF TÜRKİYE
Seçil YILDIZ
Executive Vice President
After graduating from Boğaziçi University, Department of Business Administration, Mrs. Yildiz began her career at the Industrial Development Bank of Turkey in 1998. She held various managerial positions at Bayerische Hypo-und Vereinsbank AG, UniCredit Invesment Securities and ING Bank where she assumed wide variety of investment banking roles. Mrs. Yildiz joined to the Development and Investment Bank of Türkiye in 2019 as the Executive Vice President, responsible from Investment Banking, Project Evaluation, Corporate Communications and Sustainability and Environmental Social Impact Management. Mrs. Yildiz is also chair of Development Asset Leasing Companies and board member of Turkey Securitization Company and Development Venture Capital Portfolio Management Company.
Sevgin SİCİM
C&A
C&A
Sevgin SİCİM
Global Sourcing, Denim Fabric Manager
Sevgin Sicim has been in the fashion and apparel industry more than 25 years. She has a bachelor degree in Textile Engineering and studied also Circular Economy and Sustainability Strategies.
She is originally from Turkey, lived and worked in the Istanbul until moved to the Belgium in 2000 to continue her career in the Development team at Levi Strauss Europe. She has joined to C&A Europe as Denim Fabric Manager in 2015 and still live in the Belgium.
C&A is one of the leading retail brand in the global apparel market and aim to normalize sustainable apparel by making it more accessible to everyone. Sevgin SICIM has been bringing C&A stance on sustainability to the denim. She has been awarded to be in the 2020 Rivet 50 which is an annual index of the most influential people globally driving the denim innovation, sustainability.
Dr.Shahriare MAHMOOD
SPINNOVA
SPINNOVA
Dr.Shahriare MAHMOOD
Chief Sustainability Officer
Dr. Shahriare Mahmood is a sustainabilityenthusiast, researcher and professional in fashion industry. He has become a sustainability leader in textile-apparel industry through the relevant technical expertise and professional experience over two decades in almost all stages of textile-apparel value chain operations. Simultaneously, he was involved in research to contribute further to academic arena with the intention to enrich the substantive sustainable aspects. He has a deep expertise in process optimization as a Chemical Engineer aiming on environmental sustainability. He is the proponent for product sustainability as a part of the total sustainability. Circular economy is of his particular interest and he is intend to encash his expertise for integrating the concept in the textile-apparel supply chain. Nevertheless, his enthusiasm towards total sustainability allows him to work beyond his area of responsibility. He has served voluntarily in several international organizations in advisory role, e.g. amfori. He is well acquainted about the growing concern on environmental pollution and social compliance, fashion industry remains in focus globally. And therefore, he has the vision to carry on the critical work both in industry and in academies.
Shannon MERCER
FIBRETRACE®
FIBRETRACE®
Shannon MERCER
Chief Executive Officer at FibreTrace®
Shannon is the Chief Executive Officer at FibreTrace® (advanced traceability technology), and General Manager of Good Earth Cotton® (Earth’s first climate positive, traceable cotton). Shannon describes his career as fulfilling, with 15 years experience in executive leadership roles throughout manufacturing, retail, construction and agriculture. Shannon’s core skill is to develop and execute tactical growth strategies and identify new business models. Possessing a leadership style that is agile and customer focused, he is centred on business structural improvements, innovation and continual enhancement and passion for the teams he works within. With FibreTrace® technologies, Shannon saw an entire industry being problem solved. The fashion and textile industry now has a chance to show full, data-driven transparency in the supply chain, which is the first technology of its kind to offer this type of revolution. His vision is to have FibreTrace technologies be the transparent solution for any man-made and natural fibre. As consumers demand more transparency our solution becomes more important for brands to nominate FibreTrace as the ingredient to providing them the tools they need to market the brands sustainability journey and allow CEO’s the tool to fully commit and report on their EPL targets.
Stefan HUTTER
SÄNTIS TEXTILES
SÄNTIS TEXTILES
Stefan HUTTER
Owner Säntis Textiles Swiss origin, studied textile engineering in Germany; married with one daughter Annabelle who is also participating at the Sustainable Talks. I went to Asia in the early nineties for Rieter Machine Works Ltd. Sales Director Rieter for Asia Pacific. From 2000 four years International Sales Director with Hualon Corporation Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam. Started Saentis Textiles Pte Ltd Sourcing company in Singapore 2005. Focus on technical and homefurnishing fabrics sourcing from China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Pakistan and Turkey. Approx. 120 staff and production of 10mio m2 per month. Started to work with recycled polyester in 2010 and in 2016 with recycled cotton. Developed the world’s first 100% recycled cotton yarns, fabrics. Mechanical recycling system which will be built in the near future by Temsan of Turkiye in license.
Sultan TEPE
ITHIB
ITHIB
Sultan TEPE
Textile and Raw Materials Sector Board - Sustainability Committee Chairman
Born in 1966 Niğde, Sultan Tepe graduated from METU Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering. She started her business life in 1990 and has been working as the chairman of the board of Tepar Textile Company since 1995, which operates in the production of qualified and functional yarns for technical textiles.
Some studies related to Air textured /Fancy yarns production and developments within the protocol of collaboration of İstanbul Technical University with the consultancy of Prof. Dr. Ali DEMİR.
Industrial visit to Barmag in Remscheid-Germany related to filament production and texturing machinery manufacturing.
Member of Board İstanbul Chamber of Industry (İSO)
Member of TOBB Women Enterpriser Board
Member of Board Textile and Raw Materials Exporters Associations (ITHIB)
Textile and Raw Materials Sector Board – Textile Sector Sustainability Committee Chairman
Süleyman KOCASERT
SAXCELL
SAXCELL
Süleyman KOCASERT
Executive Board Member & Marketing Director
Süleman Kocasert was born in Buldan, Denizli in 1971. He is married and he has 3 children. His main hobby is sports activities. He worked as marketing director, CEO and general manager for a long time. He established his own company Modeco in 1999 and exports home textile products to various countries of the World.
Şükran BAYÇURA
GOOD COTTON PRACTICES (IPUD)
GOOD COTTON PRACTICES (IPUD)
Şükran BAYÇURA
Good Cotton Practices Association (İPUD) General Manager
After Bayçura's education in Istanbul University Faculty of Political Sciences and Concordia University Civil Society Development, Bayçura worked in the field of corporate social responsibility in national and international non-governmental organizations operating in various fields and in the private sector. Bayçura has been working as General Manager at IPUD since 2013.