Skills and experience

Anton is a public policy & public affairs professional with a record of success spanning the public & private sector across Asia & the Middle East.

Prior to joining Polymateria, Anton led advocacy and policy for an online marketplace for short-term and longterm experiences. He also advised Governments and Government-linked companies across ASEAN & the Middle East to design and develop national policies in the areas of digitisation, sustainability and industrialisation.

Anton also played a pivotal role in the growth of the Middle East’s largest airline, steering it towards environmental leadership. He also championed the entry of a U.S.-based e-hailing company into the region and worked with policymakers to shape policies that supported the development of innovative urban ecosystems across the region.

A former global nomad, Anton lives in Malaysia from where he is actively involved in shaping policies for Malaysia and ASEAN member countries.

Skills and experience

Nicole completed her MSci in chemistry at the University of Bristol with a final year project involving the use of iron oxide nanoparticles to remove trace amounts heavy metal ions from aquatic environments. She enjoys cooking and loves to try out new recipes to impress others with.  In her spare time Nicole also enjoys reading and going for long walks.

Skills and experience

Paul Barker has joined Polymateria as Technical Director, supporting the evaluation and development of new applications utilising Polymateria’s technology. He is passionate about expanding the use of new and novel technologies, especially if they contribute to global sustainability and environmental safety.

Paul joined us from Innovia Films where he had a long, nearly 30-year tenure. During this period Paul held a number of technical and commercial roles, with his final position being Global Technical Services and Application Development Manager. This role overseen management of product quality and suitability as well as having strong links with the R&D team to provide direction and support throughout the development of new products. In addition, Paul also product managed Innovias’ portfolio of security films destined for banknote printing and circulation.

Paul studied Chemistry as his first degree and subsequently achieved a MSC in Analytical Chemistry and more recently completed an MBA at the University of Strathclyde focussing on Successful Innovation Strategies.

Skills and experience

Marco is based in Almaty, Kazakhstan and joined Polymateria as Head of Policy & Public Affairs for Eastern Europe & Central Asia in November 2023. Prior to his current assignment he was responsible for Regional Development & Government Affairs in Turkey & Central Asia at Siemens Energy. During his 12 years at Siemens, Marco has driven technology & innovation projects around digitalization, sustainability, and green energy.

Skills and experience

Chloe joined Polymateria in 2017.

She has a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Business and Retail from Manchester University.

Chloe has several years experience in operations, management and implementing strategies for risk management. Previously she held  EA roles at Cadogan Estates, The Financial Times and the Walpole Luxury Trade Body.

Chloe has completed a number of Raleigh international charity projects and the Duke of Edinburgh Gold award. She has LAMDA Public speaking grades 1,2,3.

Skills and experience

Joey graduated in Chemistry and MBA from The Chinese University of Hong Kong and material engineering and nanotechnology master’s degree in The City University of Hong Kong. She has been working at R&D and Innovation industry for over 18 years, expertise in green technologies development, project management, fund raising and technology commercialisation.

Skills and experience

With 22 years of experience in fashion, Mapet brings a unique blend of trend research, creative leadership, and user experience (UX) design to her role as Art Director at Polymateria. This diverse background allows her to bridge the gap between aesthetics and usability, crafting experiences that are both visually captivating and user-centric.

As Polymateria’s Art Director, she finds innovative ways to translate complex stories into visually engaging experiences that resonate with consumers and align perfectly with our brand identity.

Please makes sure she fits in alphabetically like everyone else.

Skills and experience

Alessandro has spent 25 years in the Chemical industry in technical and commercial roles with premium players such as Milliken Chemicals and Clariant. In the last 10 years he has been committed to the strategic approach of combining aesthetic, functionality and performance of plastic packaging with a paramount attention to innovation and sustainability; in his last position, he was the Global Head of Market Segment Packaging with Avient Corporation.

In his current role, he is responsible for leading the introduction of Polymateria’s biotransformation technology to brand owners and major players in the plastic industry.

“I believe that sustainability will be the most disruptive change in the entire industry for the next 30 years and Polymateria is creating the foundations to be an important part of the solution for a smart use of plastics” – Alessandro Dulli

Skills and experience

Saikat’s experience includes working with a waste management company where he was involved in the preparation of EIA reports as a QCI-NABET accredited Functional Area Expert (FAE). As deputy technical manager for the NABL-accredited microbiology lab, he managed assignments for analysis, audits, ILC and PT programs, and documentation of QMS and SOPs. He is also an internal auditor for the Laboratory Management System ISO/IEC 17025: 2017 as per NABL requirements.

Saikat earned his doctorate from CSIR—National Environmental Engineering Research Institute in Microbiology. Since his tenure he has presented and published a number of research articles and book chapters in both national and international journals. He has a PGD in Environmental Law and Policy from the National Law University in Delhi and a PG in Microbiology from Nagpur University.

Skills and experience

Julia has recently completed a MChem Chemistry Integrated Master’s at The University of Edinburgh, including an Erasmus Master’s year abroad to Universidad de Alicante (Spain) for her research project.

Her previous academic work focused on combining microextraction techniques with inductively coupled plasma (ICP) based analyses techniques for accurate and precise measurements of ultra-trace toxic metals in marine water samples. The interface between environmental and sustainable chemistry with analytical chemistry has always been of interest for her, which she had the opportunity to begin to explore in her master’s project.

Outside of academia, Julia has keen interests in the arts: she plays Spanish and Jazz guitar, enjoys illustrating and painting, and always takes her analogue film cameras on her travels. Additionally, she was the Secretary and President at The University of Edinburgh Art Society for three years.

Skills and experience

Salma began working at Polymateria on a temporary basis in March 2022, while finishing her final year of university. After graduating with a BSc with hons in forensic science from UWL, she transferred to a more permanent role. At University she completed a research project on Bayesian network probability combining evidence and case linkage. During her studies, she learnt and practiced on a weekly basis how to use scientific applications and methodologies, such as infrared spectroscopy, to determine the composition of a piece of evidence. Using the Headspace application, she evaluated whether the evidence collected at the crime scene was liquid (blood) or solid (fibres). In her spare time, she enjoys reading and she is a huge football fan (not Spurs).

Skills and experience

Gidon graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs with a concentration in Security Policy from The George Washington University and holds a Master in International Studies and Diplomacy from SOAS, University of London.

He has experience across government, political campaigns, think tanks, and the start-up world working in support of initiatives to advance an environmentally sustainable and equitable future, improve energy security, and secure and develop American supply chains. This includes an internship at the White House supporting staff in the Office of Public Engagement and the National Security Council, where he assisted in organising the opening event of the US-Africa Summit and coordinated President Obama’s meeting with the late President Shimon Peres.

Gidon’s background includes Managing Director at Bidversity, a technology start-up that drove more than $10mm in government contracting dollars to small businesses owned by women, minorities and veterans. Before this, he served as Chief of Staff for SAFE Commanding Heights, a think tank focused on energy security, the future of transportation, and securing a global electric vehicle and battery supply chain. In this role, he supported various projects, leading the development of new initiatives and offering program insights. While there he authored Fostering Economic Opportunity through Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Technology, examining how AVs hold significant potential to open wider economic opportunities for low-income households. He has also hosted salons on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the Global Climate Action Summit, and at Royal Caribbean HQ. Gidon also oversaw SAFE’s Energy Security Leadership Council, liaising regularly with Fortune 500 executives and retired 4-Star US military leaders, and leading them on a week-long tour in the Middle East.

Skills and experience

Yvonne has over 10 years of experience as an assistant in the exhibition and service industry. She enjoys working in a team environment and supporting colleagues at all levels. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, especially Asian food. Being new to London, Yvonne likes visiting museums and other cultural and historical sites in the UK.

Skills and experience

Alexander recently graduated from Maastricht University (Netherlands) with a MSc in Biobased Materials. His Master’s had a significant focus on polymers and options for their sustainability and provided him with experience of various techniques including GPC, rheology, DSC and TGA. His Master’s thesis involved testing of polyurea-acrylate coatings made via a route that avoids the toxic components present in conventional polyurea synthesis routes and incorporates biobased components. Outside of academia he enjoys climbing and running.

Skills and experience

Rocio recently graduated with a degree in Chemical engineering at Imperial College London where she had the opportunity to engage in the operation of chemical plants, work in the lab or learn how to design reactors, cooling systems, and separation systems, developing specific skill sets that are applicable to many fields.

In her first summer internship she worked with the main natural gas transport company of Spain where she conducted a technical and cost analysis to study the different possibilities to transport hydrogen, including both forms of liquid and compressed hydrogen and focussed on the chemical form of the storage using molecules such as toluene. In summer 2021 , Rocio was given the opportunity to start the project she has continued this year at Polymateria with Gavin,  focussed on different methods to study the degradation of polypropylene using Raman Spectroscopy finding interesting correlations to other analytical techniques that helping with the understanding of the different degradation pathways. In her spare time Rocio loves sport. She has been fencing since she was 10 years of age, competing at both national level (in Spain and the UK) and international level for many years.

Skills and experience

Deepti Gupta works as the Head for Growth & Partnerships, based out of India. She has substantial experience in working with global companies in guiding and facilitating them in their India Strategy plans and has worked with Senior Government officials in assisting them with valuable Industry inputs for policy making

 Prior to Polymateria, Deepti worked as Assistant Vice President at Invest India, Ministry of Commerce. She lead the Chemicals & Petrochemicals sector and ASEAN region at Invest India. She has also worked with Ernst & Young and Satin Credit Care Network Ltd.

Deepti holds a B.com (hons) degree from University of Delhi and MBA from IIM, Shillong with an onsite executive Leadership Course in Inclusive Finance from Harvard business School, Boston.

Skills and experience

Gavin oversees the development and applications of different testing methodologies and how new techniques can be applied to improve our scientific understanding. In addition, he liaises with the commercial team to support the adaptation of Biotransformation additives. Gavin also oversees the smooth running of the lab, ensuring instrumentation is calibrated, providing training and experience to technicians on new techniques as they are developed. With a background in polymer science, Gavin is also responsible for ensuring that testing and analysis is conducted correctly and to translate the science to the commercial team.

Gavin attended the University of St Andrews in Scotland, where he obtained a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry with Catalysis and then carried out a PhD on Synthesis and Testing of Novel Biodegradable Surfactants; this research was partly industry funded. After finishing his PhD, Gavin moved to the Vrije Universiteit – Brussels, to the Physical Chemistry and Polymer Science group where he worked on several individual and collaborative projects. Gavin was brought in to try and create a polymer synthesis platform for new projects within the department which excelled at many aspects of polymer analysis such as rheology and calorimetry, in return Gavin was able to broaden his understanding of polymer properties and analysis. In 2016, he returned to the UK and has brought his experience and understanding of polymer chemistry and analysis to Polymateria, where he is working on new techniques for studying the degradation of plastics as well as developing a new range of additives that will more effectively lead to a controlled breakdown and biodegradation of traditionally non-biodegradable materials.

Skills and experience

Florence oversees the management of various R&D projects dedicated to the design, development and testing of plastics containing Biotransformation technology. Additionally, she manages the network of external third-party laboratories for the independent certification of Polymateria’s technology. She also handles Polymateria’s portfolio of external funding application and awards.

Florence graduated from the INP-ENSIACET engineering school in Toulouse, France before carrying out a PhD on developing novel methodologies for the chemoenzymatic synthesis of sesquiterpenes at Cardiff university. She developed expertise at the interface between chemistry, biology and engineering and brought her experience in chemistry and understanding of biochemistry to Polymateria to develop cutting edge techniques to study the biodegradation of plastics containing Polymateria technology.

Skills and experience

Adesh Jalatkar is a Polymer Engineering graduate from the Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai. During the course of his B.Tech, he worked on a few research projects on plastic waste management under the guidance of his professors. Thereafter he got the opportunity to work under professionals at Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. on the topic “Stabilization of Post-Consumer Resins” and “Compatibility of Plastic Blends”. He has also gained knowledge on business development of liquid and solid masterbatches.

At Polymateria, he supports testing and trials at industrial level, align brands and converters across geographies based on technical, regulatory and marketing parameters. His role is to lead and manage senior (VP+) working level relationships with Polymateria’s biggest global opportunities, procure meetings and sales leads.

Skills and experience

Arjun recently completed his MSc from Queen Mary University Of London studying Forensic Medical Sciences. Whilst at studying he had the opportunity to work with faculty staff as a Laboratory Assistant, which mostly entailed assisting other students or professors with various projects, assessments, and experiments. His experience includes use high-end equipment such as High-Performance Liquid Chromatography, Gas Chromatographic Mass Spectrometry and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. The main target analytes he has worked with include trace amounts of Ammonium Nitrate (Peroxide-based compounds) and controlled drug samples (such as Codeine and Hydro-codeine).

Skills and experience

Claresta holds a Bachelor in Business (Marketing) from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University).

Prior to joining Polymateria, Claresta was Executive Assistant to the Group Chief Operating Officer of an integrated asset manager, headquartered in Singapore.

Having had several years of experience as a cabin crew with Singapore Airlines, Claresta prides herself on delivering exceptional service in her EA roles.

She is currently based in Singapore.

Skills and experience

Inaya recently graduated from University College London (UCL) with a BSc in Biological Sciences. Whilst studying she gained an insight into the interconnectedness of different biological disciplines, which fed into her interest of using science to understand and solve environmental and sustainability issues. Outside of academia she enjoys reading and travelling.

Skills and experience

Denis has 18+ years experience across commercial and international business development.

Prior to joining Polymateria Denis was Global Key Account Manager at Essentra with a special focus on sustainable and eco products and was located in Hungary, Budapest.

Before Essentra, Denis was developing and managing sales of plastic packaging of various multinational companies at ALPLA in Russia and CIS countries.

Denis has university degree in commerce and enjoys hiking and outdoor activities. He is based in Hungary.

Skills and experience

Subodh graduated and majored in Plastic Technology and has a post graduate diploma in Marketing. Prior to this role, he worked for BASF India, Mitsui chemicals India, and also of Mitsui Chemicals Asia Pacific, Singapore. Subodh has developed several products of Mitsui Chemicals related to packaging industries in India, SEA, MEA & Oceania market. He has a wealth of experience of working with all stake holders in the packaging value chain and also with machine makers. He has also led and executed many new projects in his 16 years of professional career.

Skills and experience

Faith completed her Integrated Master’s degree in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Leeds. In her role at Polymateria, Faith supports the testing and development of our technology in our laboratories. She is passionate about the complexities, commonalities and functionality found in biochemical research and utilises her knowledge to facilitate a comprehensive understanding and analysis of the biochemical processes found in the biodegradation of plastics.

Skills and experience

Ensuring all new products meet technical, commercial and production parameters. Managing external testing providers and liaising with customers to draft product specifications, reports and testing documentation. Developing innovative new products, with better sustainability features and performance, and commercialisation of these in collaboration with commercial partners and customers.

Skills and experience

Ian has 20 years’ experience as a laboratory manager and joins us following 5 years at the Francis Crick Institute as a Senior Laboratory Operations Assistant. Prior to this, he spent 15 years at Cancer Research UK as a Lab Aide Supervisor.

Ian has a HND in Business and Finance from London South Bank University and has his Prince 2 for Project Management qualification.

In his spare time, Ian’s interests are movies, a generational family Mario Kart competition, and since the lockdown he has tried to do something every other Thursday, whether it’s visiting friends or a new place to see or trying to cook something new.

Skills and experience

Maria is the PR and Campaign Manager at Polymateria, bringing 17 years of expertise in buying, product design, and trend research. With a BA in Design and buying, she has a well-rounded skill set developed in the fast-paced fashion industry.

Maria’s focus is on creating impactful ideas and experiences and building influential connections with media and any needle moving connections.

Understanding trends and consumer behaviour, she develops campaigns and sets like the “Seeing is believing” experience, and consumer persona profiles that resonate with future consumers.

In her role, Maria proactively engages with press, media, and customers also sourcing and collaborating with compatible influencers to amplify Polymateria’s message and drive brand growth. She has an outcome-focused approach and can do attitude. She is also one of the team members that works on key messaging for brand collateral.

Skills and experience

Liepa Olsauskaite is a globally recognised marketer, campaigner, and social impact activist. Liepa kickstarted her career in the FMCG sector where she successfully introduced new products to French, Japanese, and Korean markets, built global marketing campaigns for prestigious wine brands, managed strategic partnerships with up and coming designers, major celebrities, influencers, sports teams across Europe and APAC.

Driven by a passion for positive change, Liepa made a significant career transition from the food and beverage sector to the circular economy. She pursued a degree in Social Innovation at the UN University and was selected for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation Circular Pioneer Program. Actively engaged with the World Economic Forum, Liepa uses her expertise to drive grassroots projects in Asia, focusing on single-use plastic alternatives and legislation to support the Clean Air Act.

In her current role at Polymateria, Liepa combines her global perspective and deep commitment to sustainability to inspire a movement that addresses one of the most critical challenges our planet faces today. With her extensive work experience across four continents and seven countries, Liepa is making a significant impact on a global scale.

Skills and experience

Neha is dynamic Techno-Commercial professional with more than 9 years of experience in Technical Services, Sales & Marketing and New Business Development, focused in Polymer Industry.

Neha started her career as a Technical Services & Marketing Manager in packaging sector (Flexible & Rigid Packaging) with leading Polyolefin manufacturer ‘Reliance Industries Limited’.

Later she worked as a Technical Marketing Manager in Evonik, and was responsible for New Applications/ Market development of Various High Performance Polymers.

She was previously with BASF as a Sales &Technical Marketing Manager of Polyethylene Wax & Additives of Fuel/Lubricants. She was responsible for managing various Global/Local key accounts, distributors, also providing technical support to various customers on need basis.

Skills and experience

Charlotte is a purpose-driven business support professional joining Polymateria as Executive Assistant to Leadership Team. With experience working in commercial and third-sector organisations, both in the UK and internationally, and a first-class degree in Politics and International Relations, she brings a unique skill set and tenacious energy to the team.

Charlotte has a positive attitude and collaborative spirit to her work; she is always willing to go above and beyond to support her colleagues. Charlotte is dedicated to ensuring that our leadership team is able to operate at peak efficiency, always looking for ways to streamline processes and optimise workflows, and supporting them in driving our mission forward.

Outside of work, Charlotte can be found wild swimming, experimenting with new recipes and attempting to keep abreast with the latest developments in AI.

Skills and experience

Tara has 5 years of experience in brand marketing strategies, producing events, telling brand stories, curating campaigns and managing influencer marketing activities. Tara has worked with over 50 brands and 200 influencers. She is excited to be a part of the solution that tackles plastic pollution. She graduated with a degree in visual communication.

Skills and experience

Veronica is our Commercial Logistics Manager, she joined Polymateria in October 2019 to ensure that our testing, manufacturing, and distribution can scale and handle the demands of our growing business. With a background in Business Administration and Finance, she brings great experience from Akzo Nobel where she worked as a Logistics Export Specialist leading a small team and Newport Industries, a Global Distribution of Chemicals and Raw Materials where she worked as a Logistics Coordinator and Supply Chain. Responsible for coordinating air/ocean imports and arranged for timely delivery of cargo to customers.  Provided customer service related to international accounts. Negotiation and procurement of goods and services, Freight cost reduction by 25%. Veronica boosted all logistics procedures making them more viable than before. Committed to identifying and implementing continuous improvements in the Supply Chain.  Able to assist each vendor individually even in the most challenging scenarios. Veronica is passionate about yoga and a strong believer in the power of positive thinking.

Skills and experience

Giovanni received his BSc and MSc in Materials Science from the University of Padova, Italy. He worked as a composite materials R&D specialist in the cycling industry for almost two years before obtaining his PhD from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) on graphene‐based polymer nanocomposites. In 2018, he became the Polymer Research Manager for Nanoforce Technology Ltd., a QMUL subsidiary focused on technology transfer to the industry. In November 2021, he took on a second position at QMUL as an R&D project lead for the Business of Fashion, Textiles and Technology programme to develop more sustainable, circular and intelligent wearables for the fashion and textile industry.

Skills and experience

Jovis See is based in Singapore and works as Head of Sales for the Southeast Asia region. He has more than 10 years of customer facing commercial experience in Multi-National Corporations where he is responsible for servicing global key accounts, business development, overall sales & distributor management duties. During his time at Henkel Industrial division, he supported customers from various industries in seeking new innovative solutions in addressing numerous assembly, packaging and manufacturing challenges. He was awarded Henkel top “Rookie” sales award in 2018 in recognition of his efforts. He is passionate in harnessing technologies to tackle environmental pollution issues and hopes to make a positive contribution in the global sustainability movement.

He holds B.Sc.(Chemistry) from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore and MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School, United Kingdom. In his free time, he enjoys traveling, trying out new sports and spending time with family & friends.

Skills and experience

Mixa joined Polymateria in early 2020, she is a ACCA qualified accountant and has a varied range of book-keeping, financial accounting, management accounting, finance business partnering and financial planning and analysis (FP&A) experience in the Professional Services sector (National Economic Research Associates NERA), Food and Drink sector (Tetley Tea), Telecommunications Start-up (Celona Technologies) and Banking Payments Software Sector (ACI Worldwide Inc). Mixa is a life-long learner and recently attained a BSC Hons degree in Social Sciences and MBA with the Open University.

Skills and experience

Jack has a BS in business administration after graduating from Babson college in 2018. Before Joining Polymateria, Jack was working as analyst for the global real estate development firm, Chelsfield. During his time at both Babson and Chelsfield he has developed a diverse skill set in finance and marketing.

Jack has strong interpersonal skills and hence oversees business development here at Polymateria since joining in October 2019. He handles the growth of new clients and sustaining their interest in Polymateria by working on their commercial progress and their marketing requirements. Jack is always looking for new opportunity on how to expand Polymateria’s reach.

Skills and experience

Sophie Stromback has a strong scientific background having studied Biology BSc and Environmental Technology MSc at Imperial College. After her studies she remained in London where she worked firstly in energy governance and more recently with an analytics company focusing on workplace productivity, where her role was based on customer pipeline.

Skills and experience

John joins us with 10 years of sales and commercial experience, with a focus on the packaging and transportation market. Prior to joining Polymateria, he served as Account Manager at Avient China, providing tailor made colour and additives solutions to packaging molders of key personal care and beverage brands and major resin producers.

Before Avient China, John was part of the sales team at EMS Chemie Suzhou for coating and additives applications, and AkzoNobel for beverage can coating business.

John is based in Shanghai, and lives in Suzhou with his family. He has a strong passion and sense of ownership in his role, and believes that focusing on customer centricity, makes the biggest difference.

Skills and experience

Taobo is based in Shanghai and has more than 15 years of sales and commercial experience in multi-national companies across Europe and China. Taobo previously spent 8.5 years in Amcor Flexibles Greater China, latterly as business development director and General manager of Amcor Technology (Chengdu) Ltd, leading new product and new business mode development in new business sectors including smart packaging, E-commerce packaging, total solution with packaging machine partners and more.

Taobo was also actively engaged in various circular economy and sustainability related activities with value chain partners in China’s packaging industry, petrochemical companies, E-commerce giants: Alibaba Cainiao, Meituan, JD, and various consumer brands. Taobo is a sports enthusiast and strong believer of innovation and technology.