Joona Kotilainen is a serial entrepreneur from Finland and the co-founder of a circular economy start-up tackling the global problem of underutilised wood waste. Joona has a background in innovation and technology management and is now the marketing director of the company. His business views revolve around brand building, communications and marketing, which are key in getting sustainable solutions to the market. He co-founded the company in 2023 with his master carpenter brother Miikka Kotilainen, who has become known in Finland as an innovative thinker and circular economy-based wood user.
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Soumyajit (Jeet) Kar
Lead, Policy and Sustainable Trade
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Jeet Kar leads sustainable trade and global plastics policy at the World Economic Forum, also coordinating the WEF's role as an observer to the discussions around an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. He has previously held positions at the United Nations and the OECD, working on sustainable trade policies and development cooperation. Jeet holds a master's in economics from Sciences Po Paris, and speaks English, French and Spanish.
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Kari Herlevi
Programme Director, Circular Economy
Sitra, the Finnish Innovation Fund
Kari leads a team of circular economy experts responsible for Sitra’s internationally funded projects such as EU CERC, PSLifestyles and WCEF. His team aims to launch new impactful international initiatives in the circular economy also in the future. Prior to joining Sitra in 2015, Kari led Business Finland’s green growth programme related to the circular economy, with a funding volume of over 100 million euros. He has also worked on cleantech in Silicon Valley, California, and his long experience on sustainability issues also covers topics related to business strategies and internationalisation. Kari is keen to hear more about new collaboration opportunities internationally.
Prior to her election as president of Finland, Tarja Halonen served as Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Minister of Justice and Minister for Foreign Affairs. During her career, she has paid close attention to issues of human rights, democracy, civil society, gender equality and sustainable development. Among other duties, she is currently a member of the UN’s Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation and UNCCD Land Ambassador, as well asa member of the Board of Directors of the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra.
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.
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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.
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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.
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Kai Lindow
Director Digital Engineering
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft
Kai Lindow is an expert in sustainable digital technologies. For over a decade, he has been developing systemic solutions to make products and processes more efficient and resource-saving. After studying mechanical engineering in Berlin and Stockholm, he completed his PhD on the topic of knowledge-based development of sustainable products at Technische Universität (TU) Berlin. As a post-doctoral researcher at TU Berlin, he led numerous research projects at the interface between mechanical engineering and information technology. He then became head of the Information and Process Control department at the Fraunhofer-Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology (IPK) in Berlin. His work today focuses on digital ecosystems, sustainable digital twins, smart product-service systems and the industrial metaverse.
Jacco is an experienced innovation manager with more than 12 years’ experience in the circular economy, leading teams on topics such as finance, the built environment and business strategy. Through these efforts, he has been advisor to more than 50 organisations and coalitions. In addition, Jacco is a recognised expert on circular economy performance measurement and reporting, advising on and helping to develop various industry standards such as the Circular Transition Indicators (CTI), CSRD (ESRS E5), the Global Circularity Protocol, BREEAM, the IRIS+ indicators and the GRI 306 standard.
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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.
