World Printers Summit

Almut Reichart is a senior scientist at the German Environment Agency responsible for pulp and paper environmental issues including sector recommendations for Germany and Europe. She chairs the German working group “Best Available Techniques for Pulp and Paper Industry” and manages research for best available techniques, or unwanted substances, in the life cycle of paper products.

As secretary general of Intergraf, the European Federation for Print and Digital Communication, and of the World Print & Communication Forum, Beatrice has expert knowledge of the graphical industries sector. Together with her Intergraf team Beatrice works on European policies affecting the printing industry and ensures that the graphic industry’s voice is heard at EU level. She works on the development of ISO Standards, organises large international conferences and exhibitions for the security printing industry and contributes to the certification for security printers. She studied Business administration as well as European Studies and International Management in Germany and France. Beatrice is German and has worked and lived in France, Germany, the US and Belgium.

Erik Ohls worked for several years for UPM before his retirement. He graduated from Helsinki Technical University, Paper Technology. Worked in the Finnish paper industry in Finland and abroad. He was mostly involved in technical issues of customer services and global technical marketing. Activities includes memberships in customer organisations in North America and Europe.

Jean-François Robert, Technical Director for the paper-cardboard and glass sectors at Citeo — the French Producer Responsibility Organization dedicated to paper and packaging. Within the Ecodesign team, his mission is to steer R&D and co-ordinate eco-modulation to these products to encourage companies to adopt the best eco-design practices.

Martin Gercke is the vice president technical sales at Stora Enso. He is responsible for the global technical customer service team in the Paper Division of Stora Enso since 2012. Program director for Stora Enso Print & Paper Academies since 2015. Background in paper engineering and degree in logistics management. Member of OPHAL board.

Managing editor of over 20 international cross industry projects for Web Offset Champion Group, PrintCity, icmPrint, and OPHAL. Entered the industry as an apprentice printer in the UK, followed by 20 years

Andreas Schaffner (CH/F/1963) has been employed by Tamedia AG since the end of 2009 and is responsible for the Publishing Services division. In this function, he is responsible for the three printing centers in Bern, Lausanne and Zurich, the Publishing Logistics division and Reader Market Services.

Ruud was born in the Netherlands in 1960, and can look back on more than 30 years of experience in the paper business. Holding a Master in Business Administration, Ruud entered the paper industry in 1984, initially working in the sales and exports department for KNP (Royal Dutch Paper mills).

Within KNP, Ruud had several positions and changed responsibilities and location several times.

From 1999 up to the end of 2001, Ruud worked for Burgo, as their MD for the Benelux markets, with a location in Brussels.

In 2001, Ruud was hired by UPM, appointed Sales Director Fine Papers for the German market, with location Dörpen in Germany. He has held several managerial positions within UPM.

In June 2021 UPM Communication Papers established a new organisational structure, replacing the Strategic Business Units News & Retail and Magazines, Merchant & Office by two new organisations, Sales and Operations. In this new organisation Ruud is responsible for the Global Sales Organisation.

Ruud is married and has two daughters.

Ms Ahola is the Senior Vice President, Operations at UPM Communication Papers and WAN-IFRA Printers’ Forum Board member. Anu Ahola joined UPM in 2007 and she has been responsible for strategy creation and implementation processes, Paper Business Group’s strategy and energy development as well as News and Retail SBU. Prior to joining UPM she worked for Nokia and Pöyry.  Anu Ahola has a Master’s degree in Technology from Helsinki University of Technology, and MBA from Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration.

Dr. Klemens Berktold has been Managing Director for the printing business at Funke Mediengruppe since 2011. In this function, he is responsible, among other things, for Funke’s own newspaper printing plants in Hagen, Braunschweig and Erfurt as well as the outsourcing of printing services.

He is born in Munich and is educated in printing technologies. He has recently joined ECO3 and has previous worked for Agfa for 32 years. His roles within the Agfa have been such as: Product specialist PostScript, Product manager DACH CtF/CtP, Manager local DACH support Manager Agfa Consult DACH, Manager DACH marketing PrePress, Sales manager NP Europe Central, Sales manager NP Europe, Business manager Mobile Publishing ww. Currently he is Marketing Manager Newspaper ww located in Antwerp/Belgium. Rainer is married and has 2 children. He enjoys alpine climbing, Badminton, arts & painting.

Founder of the Ecograf consultancy. A specialist in carbon footprint evaluation of printed matter, he is implementing ClimateCalc in Europe and develops tools to allow print buyers to assess the carbon footprint

Thierry Leboucq is an information and communication technology engineer. After 15 years of managing IT projects, he created Greenspector to give sense to his professional activities by crossing IT skills with environmental values. ‘How to Save the Digital Planet’ has been the main driver of Greenspector during the last decade to develop measurement solutions in multiple R&D projects and to create evaluation methodology for the carbon and environmental impacts of over 50 customers. Thierry is one the most active French experts in labeling green digital services and a regular contributor to scientific publications, books, conferences and Green IT associations on this topic.

Carsten Boeg manages the CSR and environment department of GRAKOM (Danish Association for Graphic Communication and Media). He is also president of ClimateCalc, the alliance between several European graphic federations to provide standardised carbon calculation tools. Carsten has over 30 years of experience in sustainability, the circular economy, energy efficiency and environmental product evaluation in the printing sector. He has been project leader and an expert in projects such as the review of eco labelling criteria, LCA, energy management, benchmarking development and environmental training. Carsten holds a master’s degree in Social and Technological science from the University of Roskilde in Denmark.

Gerd Bergmann has worked as a newspaper journalist and has a degree in industrial engineering from the Hochschule der Medien (Stuttgart/Germany). After 14 years and various positions in the printing industry, he joined Deutscher Drucker Verlagsgesellschaft in 2002 and in 2006 he was appointed Deputy Editor-in-Chief. He has long-standing expertise in offset and gravure printing segment of the industry. In 2019, when Deutscher Drucker Verlag was integrated into the parent company Ebner Media Group,  Gerd Bergmann also assumed responsibility for the overall Content Management of the business unit Print.

Paul Huybrechts, born 1960 in Belgium. He has a masters degree in metallurgical engineering. Paul has more than 20 years experience as production manager, plant manager and business unit manager 

Thomas Isaksen is the CEO of the Den Danske Presses Faellesindkøbs-Forening, Procurement Association of the Danish Press, Denmark. The Procurement Association, known by the acronym DDPFF, is a non-profit company. It handles a volume of about 65,000 tonnes of newsprint a year, and covers nearly 100% of the Danish market. Thomas Isaksen is a board member of the WAN-IFRA World Printers Forum. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics, an MBA and a Master’s Degree in Negotiation.

Peter Coleman has spent a lifetime in journalism and news media, having trained on a UK daily before being appointed editor of a regional weekly in North Kent when he was just 21. There, he led the modernization of printing facilities introducing state-of-the art photo composition equipment and a new web-offset press, acquiring and launching additional titles and building a substantial contract printing business. After recruiting and marrying an Australian journalist, he moved with his family to Melbourne and then Brisbane, becoming an industry observer and commentator through a trade press editorship. He launched GX Report in 1998, morphing the predominantly printing masthead to its present global multi platform news media focus as GXpress.net. Married and living in Queensland, he is currently visiting the UK under an extended government exemption.

Mary L. Van Meter is founder and publisher of the newspaper trade publication named Newspapers & Technology (News & Tech, at newsandtech.com). Van Meter started in the publication in 1987 with a mission to offer insight, analysis and coverage of the latest technology innovations for newspaper operations.

Prior to News & Tech, Van Meter worked as Regional Bureau Manager for United Press International. She has lectured at numerous industry events and holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Business Administration from Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant. MI.

Mr. Garrido is the Managing Director at Corporacion Bermont, located in Madrid. Spain’s leading Newspaper Contract Printing Company with 7 printing plants across mainland Spain, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. He is educated as an Economist. Currently he is the chairman of the World Printers Forum Board (WPF) at WAN-IFRA and Board member of the manroland Users Group (MRUG). Previously he worked for KPMG and El Economista magazine.

Peyrègne took up duties as Chief Executive Officer of the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) on 1 October 2012. Prior to joining WAN-IFRA, since the end of 2008 he worked in the office of the French minister of Culture and Communication where he was responsible for newspapers and new media as well as the “états généraux de la presse écrite,” the French government’s response to the economic difficulties facing the newspaper industry. From 2004 to 2008 he was head of development at Edipresse Publications SA in Lausanne, with responsibility for reader studies and marketing research.

Stefanie Eichiner loves paper – and the forest. As a forestry intern she harvested, planted, and cared for trees in Bavaria, Germany. As a forest scientist she studied sustainable resource use at Yale, Munich and Bogor. With a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from Cornell University, she taught sustainability topics at universities in the U.S. and Germany. At UPM Communication Papers she’s reading the signs of the times in professional networks, syncing production and sustainability within the company, and doing away with prejudices in the public debate about paper and sustainability. Her current role at UPM is Senior Manager Sustainability.

Thomas Staebler is Sales Manager at ClimatePartner. After more than 15 years of experience in the print management industry in Europe, he is keen to show companies a way in which everyone can be successful in climate protection.