Will Beacham

 Head of the judging panel 
Deputy Editor, ICIS Chemical Business

Will Beacham is Deputy Editor of ICIS Chemical Business, the weekly e-magazine which provides a digest of important industry news and trends. Will has worked in editorial roles for ICIS since 2000 and hosts the weekly ICIS Think Tank podcast on European and global chemical industry trends. He has chaired the ICIS Innovation Awards judging panel since 2019.

Denis Bortzmeyer 

Deputy R&D Director, ARKEMA

After completing a PhD dedicated to the mechanics of granular materials, Denis Bortzmeyer pursued a career in R&D within the chemical industry, working with Rhône-Poulenc, Rhodia, Atochem, and then Arkema, a French group specializing in advanced materials. In parallel, he contributed to the governance of various scientific entities, including serving on the Board of Directors of the Institut de Chimie de Lyon, as Chairman of the Strategic Council of the Institut Carnot "Energies du Futur," and as Chairman of the R&D Group of the European Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai.

From 2012 to 2020 he worked in China to build and develop a Research Center in Shanghai and, more broadly, to develop Arkema's R&D activities in Asia. He returned to France in 2020 to coordinate Arkema’s Open Innovation policy and its relations with startups. Since May 2021, he has been Deputy R&D Director.

Adrian Higson

 Managing Director, NNFCC

Adrian Higson is NNFCC's Managing Director. He is also NNFCC’s Lead Consultant for Biobased products. He is a chartered chemist with over 20 years’ research and consulting experience within the chemical and biobased products industry. Whether a market analysis, sustainability appraisal or a business options study, Adrian takes a ‘solutions based’ approach to each study; working with the client to ensure the right questions are asked and ensuring project outputs are aligned with client expectations and desired outcomes.

Alessia Ielo

Global Sustainable Solutions Manager BES , Brenntag 

Alessia Ielo is the Global Sustainable Solutions Manager BES at Brenntag, where she leads CO2e management initiatives, including the TÜV-certified CO2Xplorer tools that advance cradle-to-gate carbon footprint assessments and simplify Scope 3 emissions reporting. With a strong background in logistics, operations, and indirect procurement, Alessia integrates her expertise to optimize supply chains and promote sustainable innovation.

Actively engaging with leading industry players, Alessia collaborates on advancing CO2e management topics. She also drives training programs on CO2e management and general sustainability topics, empowering stakeholders with the knowledge to integrate sustainability into business decisions.

Recently invited by a renowned university as a speaker for a master’s program on digitalization and digital transformation, Alessia is committed to knowledge-sharing and fostering innovation.

A dynamic and passionate individual, Alessia enjoys sports, continuous learning, and spending time surrounded by nature and animals.
 

Dr Daniel Witthaut

Executive Director Innovation, Cefic

Daniel Witthaut joined Cefic in September 2021 as a secondee from Evonik and is assuming the role of  Executive Director Innovation. 
Daniel has 24 years of professional experience with Evonik incl. several Leadership functions in the area of Innovation, New Business Development, Controlling and Strategy. He has worked in different areas of the chemical industry and lived in the USA, Singapore and China. 

Daniel holds a PhD in Organic Chemistry from the University of Münster (Germany) and a Master of Business Administration of the University of Chicago. 

Ashley Byford-Bates 

Chief Content Officer, ICIS Product Management 

Ashley joined ICIS in 2016 after spending three years at Reuters, leading Product and Strategy. He is a problem solver and mentor, with a passion for Product and innovation with over 20 years working supporting digital and data transformation within the business intelligence space.

He is a keen photographer and loves cycling and paddle boarding. Ashley is also a former member of the Territorial Army. What gets him out of bed every morning? Usually, one of his four children demanding breakfast.
 

Lars Kissau

President Net Zero Accelerator, BASF 

Lars has extensive global experience in chemical businesses as well as driving sustainability and transformation initiatives across a large, complex enterprise. He is strongly motivated to enable teams and companies to achieve long-term, sustainable growth. Before his current role as the President of the Net Zero Accelerator Division at BASF SE in Ludwigshafen, Germany, Lars has held various impactful positions within BASF, in Europe, China and Singapore. In his earlier roles, he was instrumental in advancing growth in Asia through large scale investments, reshaping the portfolio through driving major M&A transactions from inception to closing, restructuring underperforming businesses and spearheading initiatives towards using non-fossil raw materials and renewable energy sources.