Eduardo Ferlauto is also head of sustainability at Lojas Renner. He graduated in mechanical engineering from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUC-RS) and has a master’s in manufacturing processes from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and an MBA in business management from Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV). Throughout his career, Eduardo has accumulated over 15 years of experience in large companies in the automotive, metallurgical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical and retail sectors.
Xandra Weinbeck works for the Netherlands' national promotional institute, which boasts an investment capital of around €2 billion. In her work, she aims to accelerate transitions towards a carbon-neutral economy, bio-based and circular solutions, deeptech innovations, agrifood advancements and life sciences. The approach includes direct investments in pioneering companies, as well as the development of financial instruments and market growth strategies. Business development at Invest-NL focuses on creating the necessary financial tools for industry scaling and fostering market demand. With over 20 years of experience in the chemical and semiconductor industries, Xandra holds an MSc in chemical engineering and an MBA.
Roberto Waack is a board member, entrepreneur and sustainability leader. He co-founded key environmental initiatives and has a background in pharma, forestry and governance. He is a columnist for Estadão Economia. Waack holds a degree in biology and a master’s in business administration (with a concentration in New Institutional Economics) from the University of São Paulo.
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Afke van Rijn
Directorate-General for the Environment and International Affairs
Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, The Netherlands
Since February 2023, Afke van Rijn is responsible for the circular economy, waste management, environmental protection, air quality and climate adaptation policy, as well as bilateral, director-general for COVID-19 at the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. Prior to this she was director of the Media and Creative Industries Department, and deputy director-general and coordinating director for Equal Opportunities in Education at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Van Rijn studied computer engineering at Delft University of Technology. She is married and has two children.
Luis Tejado was born in 1969 in Mexico, is an industrial engineer from Universidad Panamericana and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. His career spans finance and strategy at P&G, BCG and Time Warner before shifting to sustainable agriculture. He has led large-scale forestry (Proteak), palm oil (Prolade), organic bananas and coconut operations (Tabascoco). Passionate about circular economy solutions, he specialises in biochar, regenerative agriculture, alternative energies and irrigation efficiency. A strong advocate for waste circularity, he integrates sustainability into agribusiness models, enhancing productivity while reducing environmental impact.
Pavan works for a global leader in impact data and analytics, harnessing the power of impact economics, technology and AI to uncover a business's full value contribution to the world. A scientist by education, a banker by profession and an environmental economist by passion, he previously led the UN’s Green Economy Initiative and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) study. His groundbreaking work has been recognised through several awards including the Blue Planet Prize (2016), the Tyler Prize (2020) and the EAERE European Practitioner Achievement Award in Applying Environmental Economics (2024).
Luisa joined the foundation in 2015 to establish the Latin American office. She has been advancing the circular economy and sustainability transitions for over 15 years, specialising in regenerative systems, circular design and nature-positive solutions, with a particular focus on the role of the Global South in the circular economy transition. Her work bridges policy, innovation and collaboration to align economic growth with ecological restoration and societal benefits. Previously, she worked as a sustainability strategist and trusted advisor to businesses and governments. She holds a master’s in sustainable development, an academic degree in environmental management and a bachelor’s in communication.
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Tatiana Prazeres
Secretary of Foreign Trade
Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services (MDIC), Brazil
With over 20 years of experience in trade, Tatiana Prazeres has worked in government, the private sector, international organisations and academia in Brasilia, São Paulo, Geneva and Beijing. She was a senior advisor to the director-general of the World Trade Organization in Geneva between 2013-2018. While living in China in 2019-2021, she was a senior fellow at the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE). In 2022, she was the head director of the Department of Trade and International Relations at the Federation of Industries of São Paulo (FIESP). A career government official, she holds a PhD in international relations and a master’s in law. In 2014, she was recognised as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
Luciana Pellegrino is the first woman to take over the presidency of WPO, a 58-year-old institution that represents the packaging industry with members in 64 different countries. She aims to expand WPO’s activities and relevance for the global packaging industry. Her vision is to raise the voice of packaging at strategic global forums and foster packaging’s positive impact in modern life. Pellegrino has worked in the Brazilian packaging industry for over 27 years and has been general manager of the Brazilian Packaging Association (ABRE) since 2002. She has been awarded academic credentials from Mackenzie University, Brazil; the Illinois Institute of Technology, USA; and Instituto Brasileiro de Governança Corporativa (IBGC) in Brazil.
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Tim Forslund
Senior Lead, International Programmes
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund
Tim works with Sitra’s international projects, and he spends most of his time with the European Union Circular Economy Resource Centre and its Policy Lab. Almost anything circular is close to his heart, including a multitude of international circular economy initiatives – not least in the Global South – road maps, policy design and implementation, circular bioeconomy business models, development, trade and EU policy. Before joining Sitra, Tim worked at the Embassy of Sweden in Beijing and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. He studied the circular economy, environmental management and policy and languages in Stockholm, Lund, Montreal, Rock Island and Beijing.
