Robert van de Kerkhof
CEO, ReHubs

Robert van de Kerkhof is the founder of PEPPER-i2, a Swiss-based impact advisory firm. Drawing upon over 25 years experience in the fiber industry, Robert is a recognised leader in sustainability, circularity, investments and decarbonization. Robert currently serves as interim CEO of ReHubs, President of the Austrian Fiber Institute, and Board Member at Global Fashion Agenda. With a B.Sc. in Aeronautical Engineering and an MBA in International Management, Robert brings a strong technical and strategic foundation to his work. He has held senior leadership roles at TenCate, DuPont, and INVISTA, with broad career experience spanning sales, marketing, R&D, quality, supply chain, and branding.

Gianluca Pandolfo
EU Head of Business Development, Reju

Gianluca Pandolfo is Head of Business EMEA at Reju, where he is responsible for building strategic partnerships and accelerating the adoption of textile-to-textile recycling solutions across Europe. With a background in leading international outdoor and lifestyle businesses, he brings deep expertise in go-to-market strategy and sustainable business models.

Kathleen Rademan
VP, Commercial Strategy, Circ

Kathleen Rademan is a seasoned leader with a diverse career shaped by a commitment to driving meaningful, systems-level change. She began her career in investment banking at Standard Bank in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she built a strong foundation in finance and strategic analysis. Motivated to broaden her impact and address complex global challenges, she earned her MBA from INSEAD. Following business school, Kathleen joined Fastned, a leading European e-mobility charging infrastructure company, where she led commercial growth and strategy initiatives, successfully expanding the business into five new markets. She then brought her expertise to Fashion for Good, serving as Director of Innovation for nearly five years. In this role, she worked closely with major global retailers and brands to implement and scale sustainable innovations, accelerating industry adoption of more responsible production models.

Today, Kathleen serves as VP, Commercial Strategy at Circ. In this role, she leads strategic commercial initiatives that support Circ’s growth and scaling ambitions, helping translate breakthrough textile-to-textile recycling technology into impactful partnerships and market adoption across the global fashion ecosystem. 

Helio Moreira
..Textile House

Helio Moreira is an executive leader specializing in corporate sustainability, ESG strategy, and circular economy transformation, with over a decade of experience guiding complex organizations through regulatory change, operational scale-up, and sustainable value creation. As Head of Sorting & Recycling of TEXTILE house, he drives strategic sourcing, traceability systems, and circular compliance across multi-country operations in Europe and global markets. A founding member of Circular Textiles Slovakia (SZOPROT), Helio actively contributes to shaping textiles’ EPR implementation, ESG impact attribution, and industry-wide traceability standards, helping organizations build resilient, future-ready business models.

Jessica Franken
Vice President, Government & External Affairs, SMART

Jessica Franken is SMART’s vice president of government and external affairs, advocating for the global reuse and recycled textile industry on issues spanning sustainability, circularity and trade. With 25 years of government relations experience, she has worked extensively across the textile ecosystem, including long relationships with both the recycled textile and nonwoven segments and additional clients in healthcare packaging, pharmaceutical printing and emerging technology.

At SMART, Jessica shapes policy on textile circularity, reuse and recycling infrastructure, EPR and international environmental frameworks. She has secured successful policy outcomes and compromises on virtually every issue she has worked on, reflecting a strong track record of results.

Jessica represents the industry before Congress, state legislatures, federal agencies and international bodies. A frequent conference speaker and media resource, she has authored more than 150 policy articles and numerous formal submissions. She also serves as president of The Franken Group, LLC, a government affairs and strategic advocacy firm.

Bianca Mannini
Trade & Environment Policy Officer, Bureau of International Recycling (BIR)

Bianca Mannini is Trade & Environment Policy Officer at the Bureau of International Recycling (BIR), the global federation of the recycling industry. She represents the industry in key international forums, contributing to policy frameworks related to the trade, reuse, and recycling of textiles. Prior to joining BIR, she worked with international organizations, NGOs, and industry stakeholders on plastic pollution, circular economy approaches, and policy advocacy. Bianca holds an MSc in Environment and Resource Management from Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and an MA in International Relations from Leiden University.

Alan Wheeler
CEO, Textile Recycling Association

Alan Wheeler is Chief Executive of the Textile Recycling Association (UK), representing collectors, sorters and recyclers across the global textile reuse and recycling value chain. He works closely with the UK Government, Parliament and European institutions on circular economy policy, trade rules and Extended Producer Responsibility for textiles. His work has regularly taken him into the corridors of power, including meetings with ministers in Westminster and Brussels. He has even stepped inside 10 Downing Street, where he met the then Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

Alan also serves on the board of Recycling Europe’s Textiles Division and is active within the Bureau of International Recycling, promoting practical, market-based solutions for textile reuse and recycling worldwide.

Ekaterina Stoyanova
Senior Policy Advisor, Recycling Europe

Ekaterina is Senior Policy Advisor at Recycling Europe and is primarily responsible for the Textiles Branch. She brings substantial expertise in EU law and policymaking, specializing in sustainability and product policies, customs, and international trade.

Since obtaining her university degrees in European Law from Maastricht (2015) and Amsterdam (2017), Ekaterina has been working in EU affairs in Brussels.