Born on July 8, 1947, in Korea

Education

• 1970: International, Economics, Seoul National University
• 2011: Bachelor of Arts, Honorary Doctorate of Business, Administration, Hallym University

Professional Experience

• 1974-1984: Founder & Partner, Youngone Corporation
• since 1984: Chairman/CEO, Youngone Corporation
• since 1992: Cairman/CEO, Youngone Outdoor Corporation
• since 2008: Member of the International Advisory Council, Brookings Institution
• since 2014: Chairman, Korea Federation of Textile Industries

Youngone Corporation is a publicly listed Korea-based company (market cap of US$ 2.2 billion) engaged in the manufacture of a wide range of sports & outdoor clothing, shoes and relative goods. Youngone supplies high-end products to the markets of North America, Europe and Asia (annual consolidated sales excess of US$ 2.0 billion) and owns facilities in Bangladesh, Vietnam, China and El Salvador (hiring over 70,000 local employees). Also the Company distributes its products within Korean domestic market recognized as the top outdoor brand in Korea.

The Korea Federation of Textile Industries (KOFOTI) is the national federation of all textile-related industries, with 27 textile industrial associations. It is a non-profit organization whose main duty is supporting and promoting the development of Korea’s textile industry.

• Chairman, Institute for Global Economics
• Fmr. Chairman, Financial Services Commission
• Fmr. Chairman & CEO, National Pension Service
• Fmr. Ambassador for International Finance, Korea

Dr. Jun served in 2009-2013 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Pension Service (NPS) of Korea, the 7,000 member public organization with US$600 billion fund, one of the world’s largest in terms of total assets under management, and led the NPS to become a global force during his tenure. After serving as Distinguished Professor at Yonsei University's Graduate School of Economics in 2013-2018, he is currently Chairman & CEO, Institute for Global Economics (IGE).

In 2008-2009, Dr. Jun served as Chairman (Minister) of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), the cabinet post in charge of financial policy and supervision, and played a leading role in successfully coping with the global financial crisis erupted in 2008. He was also elected Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Regional Committee of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the first time for a Korean top regulator.

His previous positions include: Korea’s Ambassador for International Finance; Chairman of the Board of POSCO, a global steel group; Chairman of Deloitte Korea; Group Vice Chairman of Woori Financial Holdings; President of the Korea Center for International Finance. After serving as a finance professor at Michigan State University, he worked for the World Bank for more than 14 years in various capacities. At the height of the Asian financial crisis in 1998, he returned home as Special Advisor to Deputy Prime Minister.

Dr. Jun is an author of numerous articles and several books, including Beyond the Crisis (2010). He has been featured in interviews or columns appearing in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, among others, and has been a frequent invited speaker at international conferences such as Davos Forum.

He received his BA in economics from Seoul National University, and MA in economics and MBA and Ph.D in finance from Indiana University. He has completed the Executive Program at Harvard Business School and the AMP from the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania. Among the recent honors and awards received, he is the inaugural recipient of Indiana University’s Distinguished International Alumni Award (2013).

Tae Jin Kang is a professor of Engineering and directs The Nanofibers and Nanocomposites Laboratory at Department of Materials Science and Engineering of Seoul National University. Professor Kang obtained a Ph.D. from North Carolina State University with Phi Kappa Phi Award and B.Sc. from Seoul National University.

He has taught at and served for SNU since his faculty appointment in 1984. During his tenure as Dean of the College of Engineering from 2007 to 2011, he helped design and oversee a significant expansion and renovation of the Engineering College's educational and research facilities, including the state-of-the-art Global Education Center for Engineers emphasized and shaped a curricular focus on inter-disciplinary learning, and contributed to create a vibrant and collegial global student-faculty community. In 2009, Professor Kang successfully launched the National Research Foundation of Korea one of the largest research institutions in Korea – with an initial funding of 2.6 trillion Won – in his capacity as the Chair of the Founding Committee.

Professor Kang has published over 190 research papers in top academic SCI journals, including Journal of Applied Polymer Science, and is on the board of editors of several international journals, including Textile Research Journal, contributing to the advancement of knowledge and international academic collaborations in his fields of expertise. He has also advised many government agencies and departments in Korea, including the Ministry of Knowledge Economy, Ministry of Industry and Energy, and Ministry of Education, Science and Technology. He writes op-eds for leading papers in Korea on higher education as well as the nation’s strategic priorities of the future and receives media coverage for his work, speeches, and professional activities.

Professor Kang has written four books, Korea 4.0, Right Now (2016), Fashion 4.0 (2016), and Korea Agenda 2017 (2017), Surrogate (2020), etc. Professor Kang was awarded Kármán Fellowship at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany in 2015.

Educational background

• 1999 - 2001: Wharton School of Business MBA, Pennsylvania, U.S.A
• 1988 - 1990: Master of Interpretation, Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
• 1984 - 1988: Bachelor of Science in Biology, Ewha Woman’s University

Professional experience

• 2016 - Present: Senior Partner, McKinsey Seoul Office
• 2010 - 2016: Partner, McKinsey Seoul Office
• 2001- 2009: McKinsey New Jersey Office
• 1997- 1999: Associate Professor, Graduate School for Translation and Interpretation Studies, Ewha Woman’s University

Aimee Kim is a Senior Partner with McKinsey & Company. Aimee started her career with McKinsey in the U.S. in 2001 and transferred to Asia in 2009. Aimee is a core leader of McKinsey’s Apparel, Fashion and Luxury practice and has served clients in this industry globally. She has extensive experience in the fashion apparel space across the entire value chain.

She currently is also the Regional Leader for McKinsey’s Marketing & Sales Practice in Asia.

Aimee has presented her perspectives as an industry expert in fashion at various global forums, including WWD Fashion Summit and Conde Nast International Luxury Conference.

Thomas Gries, born in Cologne, Germany, in 1964, studied at the RWTH Aachen University, Germany. He holds a diploma degree in mechanical engineering and economics and a doctorate in mechanical engineering.

From 1995 to 2001, he worked at Lurgi Zimmer AG, Frankfurt am Main, Germany, at the Department of Technologies for Fibres&Textiles in leading positions.

From April 2001 onwards, he is Director of the Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen University. The honoris causa Professorship of Lomonossow University is the most distinguished scientific award of Russia given for his achievement of tailored reinforcements.

The ITA was established in 1934 and is one of the world’s leading research establishments. Its fields of research consist in man-made fibre technology, staple fibre processing, fabric production, technical textiles & composites, medical textiles & biomaterials as well as in smart textiles & joining technologies. With a budget of 15 million € and a staff consisting of 110 scientists, 65 technicians and administration staff and more than 200 graduate researchers ITA is leading in the digitalization of the textile sector as well as textile bio-economy.

Thomas Gries presently is

• Member of National Academy of Technological Science and Engineering acatech
• Member of the working group “Industrial Artificial Intelligence” of the National Platform Industrie4.0
• Member of the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Science
• Member of the scientific advisory committee of the “Zukunftsinitiative Textile NRW (ZiTex)” and other instituutions
• Evaluator DFG (German Research Foundation) as well as of other national and international project funding organisations
• Member of editorial board of several highly ranked scientific journals and conferences

Mr Gilberto Loureiro holds a Master in Physics and Finance and has 10+ years experience in the Textile Industry, working across industrial factories and textile research institutes.

He is Co-Founder & CEO at Smartex.ai, a technology company that raised over $5M+ over the last year and created a unique patented system that uses Artificial Intelligence to eliminate the textile waste and defective production on the knitting industry.

Jag Gill is an MIT alumna and an award-winning innovator in technology, retail supply chains and sustainability.

Jag is the Founder & CEO of SUNDAR, an emerging tech company building the digital supply chain for the modern, responsive and sustainable fashion industry. She is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she was awarded the Legatum Fellowship for her research in emerging markets and technology and was awarded the New York City Economic Development Corporation Venture Fellowship in 2016 for driving innovation in fashion & retail. Sundar was incubated at MIT and is institutionally backed by leading Silicon Valley investors including New Enterprise Associates, one of the largest venture capital funds in the world, and the foundation of Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder, focused on human rights and modern slavery.

Dr Alexei Sinitsa joined Wood Mackenzie in 2018, following more than 20 years experience in the chemicals industry. His industrial career began with Rhône-Poulenc/Rhodia, spanning technical, commercial, executive and consulting roles in the nylon chain, including intermediates, polymers, fibres and downstream applications.

Alexei now leads the European fibres contribution to the Wood Mackenzie monthly Global Fibres Report covering nylon, polyester and other synthetic fibre businesses. He has significant experience across a range of international markets, focusing on West, Central and Eastern European markets in particular.

He graduated in Organic Chemistry with honours from Kiev University, and did his doctoral research with the Institute of Organic Chemistry, NAS Ukraine.

Sh. R D Udeshi is the President, Polyester Chain of Reliance Industries Ltd.

Sh Udeshi is one of the who’s who in the global polyester landscape and has an intricate understanding about the Global & Indian Textile & Polyester Industry. He started his journey with Reliance since 1984 and transformed Reliance Polyester from a humble 10000 MT /Year in 1982 to a phenomenal 3.5 Million MT/ year with a clear focus on value addition. He was also instrumental in creating the largest integrated polyester chain globally, with a base of 14 Million Mt of PX, PTA, MEG & Other Aromatic derivatives & Polyester.

A Cost Accountant by academic qualification, he started his career in Reliance’s earliest business, Filament Yarn, followed by Polyester Fibre and subsequently heading entire Polyester business. Eventually, he took the leadership role in Fibre Intermediates & Aromatics division thus heading the entire Polyester Chain Sector. He is also instrumental in creating the polyester chain platform in Malaysia by acquiring large integrated Polyester & Textile business of Hualon, presently named as Recron Malaysia & the PTA unit of British Petroleum.

Sh Udeshi remains a humble and inspiring leader and is widely recognized as one of the best speakers of the industry.

Sharon Chong joined Sateri International as Vice President, Sustainability in November 2017. She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Group’s sustainability initiatives, with focus on strategising and advancing its sustainability agenda, developing relevant policies and driving stakeholder engagement. She is currently leading the development of Sateri’s Vision 2030 as the company gears up for the next decade.

Before joining the Group, she was Senior Manager, Sustainability, with Wilmar International, Asia’s leading agribusiness group. During her 10 years with Wilmar, she helped the Group turn around and enhance its reputation to become an authoritative and credible voice on industry-related sustainability issues, and be recognised as one of the industry leaders in the arena. In particular, she was instrumental in supporting the adoption and implementation of Wilmar’s No Deforestation, No Peat and No Exploitation Policy when the Group became the world’s first agribusiness group to launch this landmark policy across its entire value chain.

Sharon also led the development and execution of Wilmar’s Sustainability Dashboard and Grievance Procedure, both a first in the industry as well. Other agri-companies subsequently followed its leading, resulting in improved transparency of the agri-supply chains and lower deforestation rate.

Sharon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mass Communications from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Educational Background

• Commerce Graduate
• Marketing Management

Professional Experience

• Since 2011: Director, Kotak Commodities Services Pvt. Ltd.
• Since 1995: Director, Kotak & Co. Pvt. Ltd.
• Since 1994: Director, Kotak Ginning & Pressings Industries
• Since 2000: Director, Asian Machinery & Equipment Pvt. Ltd.
• Since 2005: Executive Committee Member, All India Exporters Chamber
• 2010: Associate Director, International Cotton Association (ICA)
• Since 2005: Vice-President, Bombay Cotton Merchants & Muccadums Association
• Since 2008: Director, Cotton Association of India
• Since 2017: Additional Vice-President Cotton Association of India

Mr Vinay N. Kotak is in cotton business since 1980. He is extensively travelled and made presentations at various international fora including the 65th Planetary Meeting of the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) held in Brazil in 2006, ICA Annual Trade Event held in 2008 and 2018 China Cotton Industry Development Summit held in Herbin (China).

Educational Background

• MBA-The American University in Cairo -1996.
• B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering - Cairo University -1989

Professional Experience

• 2014 – Present: Cotton Egypt Association, Executive Director

Khaled Schuman’s professional background entails 35 years of experience. Upon graduating and gaining the MBA from the American University in Cairo’s reputable school of Business, he explored different fields and gained considerable experience with regard to business development, local and international marketing, sales and exports development, branding, operations management, product development, as well as market development.

Khaled Schuman is currently the Executive Director of Cotton Egypt Association(CEA). During his tenure in CEA, he helped create a robust and credible International Licensing program for the Egyptian Cotton Logo through traceability and total transparency. He has been playing a major role in protecting the Egyptian Cotton name from fraudulent use and in increasing the demand on Egyptian Cotton throughout the supply chain globally and enhanced the relationship and cooperation with reputable US and European Retailers. Furthermore, Schuman played a key role in launching and supporting the Better Cotton initiative in Egypt to help make Egyptian cotton more sustainable for consumers.

Mark Messura serves as Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain Marketing for Cotton Incorporated, where he is responsible for the company’s global marketing and technical support programs with retailers, brands, and manufacturers.

Mr. Messura is a frequent speaker and advisor to the textile industry on issues related to sustainability, responsible sourcing, supply chain strategy, and fiber economics. He is Chairman of the Industry Advisory Board, Textile Apparel and Technology Management Program in the College of Textiles at North Carolina State University where he is also an adjunct associate professor. Mark serves on the Industry Advisory Boards at Mississippi State University, Washington State University, and the University of Idaho.

Prior to joining Cotton Incorporated in 1994, he served as Director of Policy and Programs for the North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, and as Associate Director of the North Carolina Board of Science and Technology. He holds a B.A. from the University of Michigan in Economics and an M.A. in Policy Analysis from Duke University.

Edwin is the CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparel (HKRITA). He is also on Faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. He teaches supply chain operations.

Until April 2010 Edwin was the SVP COO of Walmart Global Procurement. Prior to Walmart Edwin managed a consulting group that worked on supply chain, manufacturing, and product design for NGOs, charities, as well as commercial clients. Prior to this Edwin managed sourcing at Payless Shoesource, Donna Karan International, Country Road Australia, Abercrombie & Fitch and Structure stores.

Edwin has also worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Edwin serves on the Board of Whittier College, USA, and is on the advisory board of multiple social enterprises, and NGOs. Edwin holds multiple IPs for inventions at HKRITA. His projects have won several Global Invention Awards. In 2019 Edwin won the “Innovative Retailer of the Year” for Hong Kong from “Inside Asia” for an experimental retail project. In 2018 & 2019 Edwin was on the Expert Panel of H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award. Edwin is in Debrett’s “100 Most Influential People in Hong Kong”. Edwin was the 2011 recipient of the Production and Operations Management Society’s Excellence in Production and Operations Management Practice Award.

Karl-Hendrik Magnus is a Senior Partner at McKinsey & Company based in Germany, advising clients in apparel and retail.

His areas of expertise include omnichannel retailing, digital transformations in retail, retail supply chain management, apparel sourcing and supply chain management and operating model redesign. He heads up our EMEA Retail Operations work and is co-leading our global Apparel, Fashion & Luxury practice.

Hendrik is passionate about building a more sustainable Fashion industry.

He holds a master degree in business administration and economics of the University of St. Gallen and a PhD in Supply Chain Management of the University of Münster.

• Vice President of China Textile Information Center
• Director of The Office for Social Responsibility of CNTAC

After graduating from Tianjin University, Ms. Yan Yan joined Textile Information Institute (the predecessor of China Textile Information Center). As the deputy director of the China Textile Information Center and the director of the Office for Social Responsibility of China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC), she is in charge of the social responsibility promotion and construction and trading promotion.

With her leadership, the CSC9000T (the first Chinese corporate social responsibility management system at an industrial level) has been greatly promoted in the industry and among stakeholders. She adheres to the innovation orientation, leads the team to explore the responsibility value added solutions suitable for local conditions and industry feature, and strongly promotes sustainability of the supply chain.

Abhishek is Head of Sustainability at Arvind Group and leads various sustainability and innovation projects of the group. He has over ten years of experience within the sustainability consulting domain, and currently devices Arvind’s strategy to reduce the energy, water, carbon & chemical footprint of the organization whilst leading several innovative practices in the apparel industry. Abhishek is also on the Board of ZDHC Foundation and Open Apparel Registry.

Janet holds almost 20 years’ experience in Sustainability and Apparel. With an academic background in environmental science, she started her career as in consultancy. After that, she moved to Solidaridad, where she held a number of different roles. As International Program Manager Sustainable Cotton&Textiles of the Solidaridad Network, she was responsible for high-level projects in the supply chain, as well as initiatives promoting sustainable market development and direct partnerships with brands and retailers. The role included strategy setting, stakeholder engagement and grant management.

End 2015 she took the challenge to set up and lead the Convergence Project. This project became an implementation oriented Program in 2019: the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP). SLCP is a multi-stakeholder initiative, which aims to implement a Converged Assessment Framework that supports stakeholders’ efforts to improve working conditions in global supply chains. Since early 2019, she has been appointed as Executive Director and is leading SLCP’s scaled operation and responsible for setting the strategic direction.

Janet has served several boards and councils. This included Council member of the Better Cotton Initiative and member of the Index Development Council for SAC. Janet is passionate about apparel and understands the complexity within the supply chain and the diversity of people associated with it She is committed to working in the area of business and social and environmental responsibility.

Educational background

• 1994: Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, Lynn University
• 1998: Master of Science in Business Administration, Nova Southeastern University

Professional Experience

• Since 2003: SLCP Lead, Sr. Manager of Systems and Data, Global Sustainability and Foundation, Gap Inc.
• 2000 – 2003: Logistics Analyst, The Sports Authority
• 1994 – 1999: Realty Officer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Actively engaged in the SLCP by serving on the SLCP Council and as Chair of the SLCP Technical Advisory Committee (TAC). With over 17 years of experience in helping drive Gap Inc.’s sustainability efforts across multiple initiatives. Including deep expertise in partnering with suppliers in assessing and remediating factory working conditions. Has played a pivotal role at Gap Inc. in developing and implementing sustainability strategic policies, as well as overseeing social and labor standard data systems and analytic reporting.

Sun Ruizhe, started his career in 1985. He first graduated from university with a bachelor degree of engineering and later received an EMBA degree. He is now a professor-level senior engineer and an expert enjoying special subsidy rewarded by the government.

Mr. Sun is the president of China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), vice chairman of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), board chairman of China Textile Engineering Society, chairman of the Responsible Supply Chain Association (RSCA), CNTAC, and also Director of China Textile & Garment Brand Strategy Promotion Committee.

Pernilla Halldin has an extensive international experience within Public Affairs, Sustainability and Communication. She has worked in Stockholm, Beijing, Hong Kong and Washington DC.

Dr. Ruediger Fox is CEO of Sympatex Technologies, Founder of the GCH-Institute, University Lecturer, Author, experienced Change Leader and Consulting Partner for large M&A and Transformation processes.

Having a Masters in Aerospace Engineering, a Bachelor in Economics and a PhD in Communication Sciences, he serves since multiple decades as CEO of medium and large corporations in Aerospace, Telecom, Textile and Engineering/Innovation. His past successes where he transformed companies in existential crisis into successful market players was rooted in a strong belief in the power of high employee motivation along with a shared corporate soul that recognizes the needs of the larger social and ecological system.

In 2005, he received the “Spirit at Work” award in New York for his human centered restructuring work.

His book about „Bionic Leadership“ was published by Springer in German in 2017 and will be available in English during 2018. Furthermore, he contributed to the new Springer Publication "Handbook of Personal and Organizational Transformation“ by Editor Judi Neal. In 2018, his ideas will be part of a compilation by Springer on the most cutting edge thinkers on Sustainability.

Beside his multiple CEO roles, his various projects ranged from Organizational Development with First Nations in Canada to Right-/Left-Brain Innovation for the NASA, the accompaniment of a 10.000 employees industrial merger in an islamic country and the strategic co-management of a startup for circular land based fish-farming. With Sympatex, he engages to pioneer the accelerated transformation process of the textile industry towards sustainability and "closing the loop".

With a 47 year career in the performance outdoor industry Rick has continually focused on delivering ever better consumer experience and value.

During 23 years of high growth at the Eddie Bauer company he was able to learn by outfitting pioneering expeditionary mountaineers, Arctic exploration and work crews, sled dog racers, elite military, hunters and fishers from walrus to walleye, and dignitaries from Presidents to primary school teachers. Unique for it’s time, EB owned factories, sold direct by catalog and owned retail stores. Technical function was paramount and built-in from fiber up with the help of cold weather physiology researchers. From 1985 Rick was able to open offices in Asia and pioneer the remarkable transition to overseas sourcing, re-establishing the entire source base and supply chains across 40 countries in Europe and the Asian regions.

Rick spent 3 years helping The North Face transition from local to international sourcing and technical innovation. In 1999 he took the ultimate plunge and joined his most esteemed Asian factory partner, Youngone, to focus once again on his passion for product.

The past 21 years of high growth at Youngone Corporation allowed Rick to focus on serving top global performance and outdoor brands to realize their product dreams by focusing on technical innovation in materials, construction, processes and production technology. The work has also allowed for increasing vertical integration always in pursuit of better performance and value for the consumer.

In retrospect, his degree in Zoology from the University of Washington, great love of physics, economics, and the biomedical revolution starting in Seattle in the 70’s was a uniquely well suited grounding for the trajectory of our industry. Of course, his love of the outdoors and family roots in textiles didn’t hurt either.

Rick is a long term member of ASTM, AATCC, ASQC, ASTM and recently the Nonwoven’s Institute at North Carolina State University. Rick has enjoyed guest lecturing in the Univ of California and University of Washington in International Business and Environmental Management.

Educational Background

• 1972: Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt, Textile Engineering, BS
• 1978: Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt, Textile Engineering, MS
• 1985: North Carolina State University, USA, Fiber and Polymer Science, PhD

Professional Experience

• 07/00-Present:Professor, Department of Textile and Apparel, Technology and Management (TATM), Wilson College of Textiles, NCSU
• 01/18-Present: Department Head
• 07/12-06/13: Interim Head and Director for Graduate Programs
• 08/08-06/12: Associate Head and Director for Graduate Programs
• 02/08-08/08: Interim Director for Graduate Programs
• 01/03-08/08: Associate Head and Director for Undergraduate Programs
• 08/94-6/00: Associate Professor, TATM, College of Textiles, NCSU
• 8/94-7/95: Assoc iate Director, Technology Transfer, NCRC
• 04/97-04/00: Adjunct Professor, College of Applied Arts, Helwan University, Cairo, Egypt
• 08/91-07/94: Assistant Professor, TATM, College of Textiles, NCSU
• 05/92-07/94: Associate Director, Technology Transfer, NCRC
• 04/88-07/91: Project Manager, Valdese Textiles, Inc., Valdese, NC, USA
• 02/86-04/88: Research Engineer II, Corporate R & D, Burlington Industries, Greensboro, NC, USA
• 01/80-01/86: Research Assistant, School of Textiles, NCSU
• 04/74-12/79: Instructor, Textile Department, Faculty of Engineering Mansoura University, Mansoura, Egypt
• 10/72-04/74: Instructor, Mathematical and Physical Sciences Department, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

Since joining NC State University, Wilson College of Textiles in 1991, Dr. Seyam established numerous research areas: Structural Mechanics of Woven Fabrics, Carding Dynamics, Needlepunching Process and Products, Direct Garment Manufacturing using Meltblowing and Robotic Technologies, Smart Electrotextile Structures, Computer Simulation and Formation of Nonwovens using Electrostatic Field (electrospinning and flocking), Formation of Nanofibers, Applications of MEMS in Textiles, Static Generation/Dissipation on Polymeric and Textiles’ Surfaces, Modeling of the Hydroentanglement Process, Fiber Reinforced Composites from High Performance Fibers and Sustainable Biodegradable Natural Fibers and Resins, Protection of High Performance Fibers from UV, Jacquard Fabrics on Demand, Seamless Shaped Garments and Medical Textiles, Laminates for Airships, and Non-stop Tying-in Process. The successes of establishing this significant list of research areas is related to the effective leadership and academic coupled with industry experience of Dr. Seyam, recruiting excellent students, involving faculty and industry experts from several disciplines and securing substantial research funds. Dr. Seyam has published numerous peer reviewed journal and conference papers and presented extensively at international conferences, including keynote and invited talks. He authored two user-friendly computer software packages with extensive codes for manufacturing and engineering woven structures for the two of his former industry employers. He is co-inventor of six patents in the areas of cold weather systems, electrotextile structures, airship, and non-stop tying-in process.

• UNIL Lausanne (Switzerland): MBA Master of Science (MSc) in Management
• Bauman Moscow State Technical University, BMSTU (Russia): Mechanical engineering department. Master engineer
• National Polytechnic University of Armenia Faculty of Mechanical science and engineering. Bachelor in mechanical engineering

Currently, since 2005: Founder and Managing director of ISOMATEX SA (Belgium), the global leading producer of enhanced volcanic rock filaments. A company well known as high skilled experts in the exclusive segment of advanced composites materials and being manufacturer of high thermo-mechanical performance fibres as the only and therefore leading firm. Under his leadership, the company achieved impressive growth and international renown.

Previous experience: Joint-Venture in between UK located Furnace and Melting technology company and research centrum in Russia: Technical advisor and supervisor of implementation of newly developed direct induction cold crucible furnaces for radioactive waste neutralisation by capsulation of mineral melt.

Joint-Venture in-between Germany and Russia located companies, Technical advisor and supervisor for launching of a newly developed activity under GMP rules. Engineering, negotiations and final installation works. Technology and Operations Manager of Initial Rentokil Group (Brussels, Belgium). Reorganisation and contribution to the growing of Belgium located expertise-based business unit with modern reception platforms, suitable for receiving the most commonly available tele-communication protocols via PSTN-, IP- or GPRS-communication by working out with truly integrated and custom-made security proposals.

At early stage: Engineering department of a pipeline and Gaz line equipment and providing services company for onshore and offshore applications.

Engineering and production department of one of the leading watch manufacturing companies in Switzerland.

Educational background

• Bachelor of Arts, Sociology, University of Western Ontario, Canada
• Master of Business Administration, Harvard University, USA

Professional experience

• Since 2015: CEO, Helly Hansen AS

Paul Stoneham is CEO of Helly Hansen, a global technical outerwear company spanning the consumer and professional markets based in Oslo, Norway, and Executive Chairman of Musto, the British sailing and outdoor company based in London, England.

Prior to Helly Hansen, Paul was CEO of GHD Group Holdings Ltd, the leading developer, manufacturer and distributor of premium professional hair styling tools under the ghd brand name. His previous roles include President of Global Business Development at Colgate-Palmolive, where he led all global categories, Managing Director (chief executive) of Boots Healthcare International, President of Alberto Culver International and various brand/category management roles in North America and Europe at Procter & Gamble.

As chief executive, Paul has led three businesses across different industries to successful exits by delivering both challenging turnarounds and market leading growth: Boots Healthcare International in 2005, GHD in 2013 and Helly Hansen in 2018.

Paul and his family live in London, England.

Helly Hansen AS

Through insights drawn from living and working in the world’s harshest environments, the company has developed a long list of first-to-market innovations over the past 140 years. Helly Hansen gear is worn and trusted by more than 55,000 professionals globally and can be found on Olympians, National Teams, and at more than 200 ski resorts and mountain guiding operations. Helly Hansen’s outerwear, base layers, sportswear and footwear are sold in more than 40 countries and trusted by outdoor professionals and enthusiasts around the world.

Mr. Xu Yingxin graduated from China Textile University, and currently serves as the Vice President of China National Textile and Apparel Council, Chairman of the Sub-Council of Textile Industry, CCPIT, and Acting Head of China Textile Go Global Union.

Mr. Xu Yingxin has extensive experience in promoting foreign trade, bilateral investment and economic & technological cooperation in China’s textile and apparel industry. Over the past 30 years, he has organized a series of world-renowned brand exhibitions which covers the entire textile industry chain, and worked on the research in the international trade policy and“going global” strategy of Chinese textile industry.

Personal

Born June 19, 1958 in Maracaibo, Venezuela. Raised in Miami, Florida. Residing in San Salvador, El Salvador since 2008. Married, 4 children. Avid reader, world traveler, classic movie buff, golfer, occasional cyclist, and yoga practitioner.

Studies

University of Florida, College of Business Administration. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, concentration in Finance. Gainesville, FL: Diploma 1981

Professional

Capital Bancorp. Miami, FL International and Correspondent Banking Division VP 1981-1988

Soccer Madness. Apparel and footwear catalog, General Manager 1989-1991

Partex Apparel Group. Founder, CEO 1991-2009
Launched private label apparel manufacturing company producing for Mitre Sports, Apex One, Nike, Starter, Under Armour, adidas-Group and other globally known brands. The company enjoyed an excellent reputation for making high value and quality sports and activewear.

Textiles Opico SA de CV. "TexOps" Co-Founder, President 2009-Present
TexOps is the successor company to Partex after merging with Textiles Opico. It is currently producing activewear and performance apparel for major retailers and brands such as Dick's Sporting Goods, Academy Sports + Outdoors, REI, and Kohl’s. The factory employs 1200 and company is well positioned to absorb steady growth over the next few years.

The principals have taken a lead role in corporate social and environmentally responsible manufacturing. Initiatives include an on-site day care center, clinic and pharmacy, yoga classes, English classes, MBA classes onsite; all for the benefit of the employees. Community outreach programs include vocational training for battered single mothers “Garrobo Project”, financial support of local orphanages “Angels of Hope”, sponsorships of Olympic and Pan American Games athletes representing El Salvador.

Associations and Presentations

• Speaker U.S. Department of Commerce and The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative “Building Innovation in Processes and Proactively Developing Products”
• Member of Organizing Committee of the Americas Apparel Producers Network (AAPN) “Textile and Apparel Summit” Honduras November 2018
• Panelist American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) Sourcing Conference Washington, DC April 2018, “Manufacturing Innovation and Technology in the Americas”
• Panelist AAPN “Do More While Reducing Your Price AND Hanging On to Your Employees” Miami, FL May 2017
• Panelist Sourcing Journal Summit “Near Sourcing: How to Enter the Western Hemisphere NYC, October 2016
• Strategic Advisor to Salvadoran Textile and Apparel Association (CAMTEX) April 2016-present
• Panelist AAFA Executive Summit Washington, DC March 2017, “Trade Transformers in the Trump Era”
• Chairman Executive Committee of the AAPN 2016-2108
• President of the AAPN 2014-2016
• Vice President of the AAPN 2013-2014
• Director AAPN 2011- present
• Speaker at Lectra Technology Summit Cestas, France August 2015
• Panelist at Lectra “Made in America Panel Discussion”, NYC March 2104
• Advisory Board Member Univ. of Missouri Textile and Apparel Management TAM March 2013-March 2016
• Speaker and Panelist at AAPN Annual Meeting, Miami, FL. May 2012
• Speaker in "Sourcing Summit of the Americas" Managua, Nicaragua June 2006
• Speaker in Prime Source Forum, Hong Kong March 2006
• Member of the El Salvador Textile and Apparel Strategic and Tactical Task Force 2004-2005
• Member of Organizing Committee of the “Textile and Apparel Summit” El Salvador 2003-2005

President of LF Americas

Jason Kra is President, Li & Fung, overseeing LF Americas, its wholesale and distribution business in the US.

Jason joined Li & Fung in 2012 following the successful acquisition of FRC, a global fashion production company he grew 19 years consecutively after joining in 1993, with offshore offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Korea, and UAE and partnerships with major retailers in the USA and Canada. After joining Li & Fung, he continued to grow the FRC business with solid year-on-year growth and established a strong off-shore presence in Africa.

Jason is a successful entrepreneur and business leader with over 25 years of experience in global supply chains. At the same time, Jason is active on multiple university and charity boards and organizations.

Jason holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in Marketing from American University and is currently doing an Executive Ph.D. program in Business Administration at Florida Atlantic University. In 2019, he graduated from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.