Brett Henkel has been instrumental in growing Svante's business since he established the company in his garage in 2007. His unwavering optimism, shaped by his background in mechanical engineering and expertise in gas separation, brings a unique perspective to Svante’s executive team as Co-Founder & Senior Vice President of Business Development. 

Clay joined International Paper in 1992 as a process engineer at the Natchez, Miss., Mill. Over the course of his career, Clay has held several manufacturing, engineering, technical and commercial leadership positions with increasing responsibility. In 2012, Clay was named an officer of the company and in 2019, he was elected senior vice president. In 2023, he was named senior vice president, GCF + IP Asia, and is responsible for leading IP’s global absorbent, specialty and market pulp business.

In addition to his leadership role in GCF, Clay serves on the board of Seeding Success, a Memphis “cradle to career” partnership for children. He previously served on the board of directors for The National Council for Air and Stream Improvement, Inc. (NCASI), the National Paper Trade Association and AF&PA printing, writing and pulp sectors, as well as the Memphis Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Clay earned a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana State University and completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. He and his wife Cheryl live in Eads, Tenn., and have three sons, Benjamin (26), Bradley (22) and Will (18).

Doug Mills brings more than 40 years of experience to his work at the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, in marine, road, rail and air modes of transportation.
Doug joined the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority in 2000, serving in the Statistics, Shore Operations, Supply Chain and Trade Development departments of the Port, where he currently holds the position of Senior Account Representative for Bulk, Breakbulk and Export Container cargo sectors. Cargo commodities in Doug’s portfolio include coal, potash, grain, sulphur, forest products, steel, project cargos, and liquid bulk products.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Doug holds a Bachelors Degree in Business and Liberal Arts from Simon Fraser University, as well as a Diploma in Marketing Management Technology and Transportation Distribution Management from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

Emanuele began his career as a commercial assistant and marketing manager for a large European paper and packaging producer. Now head of our Brussels office, he oversees our coverage of the European markets for graphic papers, consumer packaging and pulp, and manages the services provided to PPPC’s European-based members. Emanuele also holds the title of Director General of the European Association of Graphic Paper Producers and is a former Chairman of PRIMA. Emanuele graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Turin in Italy.

Haidong Weng was appointed Head of Marketing Strategy for Xiamen C&D Paper & Pulp in 2011. In this role, he is responsible for shaping the company’s strategy by identifying future industry trends and maintaining relationships with industry partners, as well as overseeing mergers and acquisitions affairs. He began his career at C&D Group in 1993 and has over 25 years of experience in commodity trading. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences including London, Shanghai and International Pulp Week. Haidong Weng has a Graduate Diploma in Economic Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Xiamen University in China.

Joaquín is Numera’s Chief Economist and heads the firm’s Macro Research practice. He is responsible for Numera’s macro product offering, including timely research on the world economy and strategy publications on all major asset classes (DM + EM equities and FICC). In addition, he designs and oversees the implementation of Numera’s econometric models for forecasting, portfolio construction and quantitative research. He also presents frequently on the global economy and financial markets.

His research primarily focuses on the impact of macro shocks on asset prices, and on the design and evaluation of probability forecast models. Joaquín holds a Master’s degree in Economics from University College London (UCL), and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from McGill University.

Kashif Amin serves as the Managing Director of Ekman Middle East FZE, a key regional office of Ekman & Co AB, Sweden. Based in the United Arab Emirates, Responsible for the Pulp and Paper markets in key Middle East Markets. He has been at the forefront of the pulp and paper industry in Middle East since 2009, bringing more then 15 years of in-depth knowledge and experience to his role.

Holding an MBA with a specialization in Marketing, Kashif's expertise is rooted in strategic planning, market analysis, and customer relationship management. He has started his carrier in the In Industry as a Pulp Trader in 1991.

He is particularly renowned for his understanding of the Southeast Asia and Middle East markets. He has presented at major regional conferences and seminars focused on the Middle East Pulp and Paper Industry. His presentations cover a wide range of topics including market trends, sustainability initiatives, technological advancements, and regulatory frameworks.

Under his leadership since 2009, Ekman Middle East FZE continues to enhance its local presence and extend its global reach, providing invaluable market intelligence and support to clients in many countries. His strategic vision focuses on maximizing operational efficiencies and sustainability in the forest products market, ensuring Ekman Middle East remains a trusted and indispensable partner in the industry.

Kate works in sustainability, biodiversity conservation, climate action and policy.  She started her career as a wildlife biologist and has spent 20 years working in the fields of species at risk recovery, sustainable resource development and more recently on Climate Change mitigation and adaptation. In addition to FPAC, she has held roles with the forest industry, municipal government, as well as being the principal at an environmental consulting firm. 

Kate is responsible for working with FPAC members, partners, and governments to advance environmental and climate leadership files, as well as evidence-based federal policy. Kate is a member of the National Nature Advisory Committee, the National Adaptation Strategy (NAS) Strong and Resilient Economies Roundtable and a Canadian FireSmart Advisory Committee member.

Kevin Mason is the Managing Director of ERA Forest Products Research. ERA is a BC-based independent firm which provides economic and investment research on the forest-product industry to clients in North America, South America, Europe and Asia. The firm’s clients include leading forest-products companies and governments, as well as a wide variety of institutional investors managing both equity and debt.

Starting his career in finance, Mr. Mason progressed through various banking positions. In 1997, he joined ERA and proceeded to attain the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. His focus at ERA Forest Products Research has been to enhance and expand the company’s analysis of global industry dynamics and to provide investment coverage on various companies and forest-product commodities for the firm’s diverse client base.

Kevin holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of British Columbia, has been a CFA charterholder since 2001, and is a member of the Vancouver Society of Financial Analysts.

As General Manager of PPPC China Office, Li is responsible for growing the client base in China and assisting the analysts and economists with coverage of the Asian markets. Li has a background in forest engineering, having earned a BSc. and MSc. from Northeast Forestry University in China. She also holds a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from Auburn University in the US.

Marcus Hellberg, Sales Director at SCA Pulp, boasts a distinguished career in the pulp and paper industry. Formerly based in Milano, he brought a Scandinavian perspective to the vibrant Italian market. With decades of service in the industry, Marcus has demonstrated adeptness in navigating the intricacies of the pulp and paper sector, including both marketing & communication, as well as strategic sales leadership. His commitment to client satisfaction and market insights have solidified his reputation in the industry. Marcus, also a private forest owner and dedicated hunter, seamlessly combines his Swedish roots with an international flair, offering a dynamic approach and broad expertise

Mathieu Wener works as an Economist for Numera’s Macro Research practice. He is responsible for analyzing the latest developments in the world economy and financial markets. Mathieu contributes actively to Numera’s various economics research publications, including monthly forecast reports and thematic research pieces. His primary focus is on business cycle dynamics across developed and emerging markets.

In addition, Mathieu conducts extensive analysis on global manufacturing and consumer staples, in support of Numera’s sectoral research coverage. He joined Numera upon completion of a Master’s degree in Economics at the University of Toronto.

Mr Brandrud, a forester by education, started his shipbrokering career in 1998 with Maersk in Oslo Norway, shipping containers to and from Norway,.

In 2001 he joined R.S Platou Shipbrokers in Oslo and their forestry department, serving  their international forestry clients like Rayonier, Internation Paper, Weyerhaeuser, Fibria, Forestal del Sur etc

In 2008 he joined SSY (Simpson, Spence & Young) setting up their forestry department, dedicated to forestry clients in pulp & paper trade, logs and biomass

In 2022 he set up Affinity Shipbrokers (Canda) Ltd together with Affinity Shipping in London.  Building on existing clients and develop new trades for Affinity group.

Tomas Wiklund has been responsible for UPM’s global Pulp Sales since joining the company in 2010.
In this time, UPM has established solid positions in the Chinese and European markets with own local sales and service organisations present – and are now expanding to North America with the same business model.
Having served global forest product companies in different positions in Sweden, Germany and the UK before joining UPM, he moved to Shanghai, China in 2021 where he is currently based.
Tomas holds an EMBA from Aalto University, Helsinki.

Yogesh Agarwal, 60, a Mechanical Engineer with Advance Management from Harvard Business School, started his career in Automobile Sector. He then moved to White goods industry before moving to Paper Industry.

He joined No. 1 Paper company in India - Ballarpur Industries Limited, in 1999, for heading the Paper business (Sales & Marketing) function and soon moved to head the entire Paper business, responsible for EBITDA and ROCE for the business. He is also responsible for the turnaround of the Paper Business of the Company.

His strength lies in bringing together and building charged teams of high potential-high performing people. Truly an outdoor person, he attributes his success to his intellectual curiosity & ability to apply the same in new set of circumstances, hard work and passion.

He has also been a keynote speaker in various international forums like PPPC, RISI, Harvard Business School, FPTA etc.

He has served as President of Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) from January, 2013 to January, 2015.

His vision and pragmatism has helped BGPPL to become a successful company in India and abroad.

Zhai Yujia, working at SHFE Commodity Department II, is in charge of researching and developing the pulp futures. After years of research and experience accumulation, Mr. Zhai masters deep knowledge of Paper & Pulp industrial Chain.