ICIS Innovation Awards 2026

Become a judge

Use your expertise to identify groundbreaking solutions that drive progress and sustainability by joining us as a judge for the ICIS Innovation Awards 2026. Take this opportunity to play a pivotal role in recognising the pioneers who are shaping the future of our industry.

Entries for the ICIS Innovation Awards are judged by a specially chosen panel of leading industry experts, all with a keen interest in innovation. They are looking for innovative projects that solve problems and provide solutions for companies, their customers and society at large, as well as benefiting the environment and progressing sustainability.

Energy CategoryJudges

Bill Farren-Price

Head of the Gas Research Programme, Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

Bill Farren-Price is Head of the Gas Research Programme and a Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies. Until early 2023, he was the director of macro oil and gas intelligence at Enverus, a leading US oil and gas data analytics firm. Bill has reported and researched the global energy industry and markets for more than 30 years, for the past 19 years in research and advisory. Before joining Enverus, he founded and managed consultancy Petroleum Policy Intelligence, which was acquired by Enverus in 2018. From 2007-10, he led oil research at Medley Global Advisors. He was an energy journalist from 1993 to 2007, including as editor of the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) in Cyprus.

Francesca Morra

Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer

Francesca Morra leads the Italian Energy & Infrastructure practice at Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. With two decades of experience, she advises Italian and international energy companies, project developers and investment funds on complex transactions across the energy, renewables and infrastructure sectors, including conventional power, oil and gas, energy efficiency, electric mobility and large scale infrastructure.

Her practice covers M&A, project development, industry contracts and regulatory and competition law matters, including FDI and ESG related issues. Francesca is consistently recognised by leading legal directories and is a regular speaker at industry conferences.

Olivia Higgs

Partner , Clifford Chance

Olivia Higgs is a partner at global law firm, Clifford Chance, advising leading international energy companies and other corporate clients on complex, cross border transactions. She has experience supporting clients across the energy value chain, including upstream and downstream oil and gas, power generation, energy infrastructure, and the energy transition.

Olivia focuses on strategic M&A, joint ventures and other corporate matters, helping clients navigate regulatory, commercial and execution issues in fast evolving markets. She works closely with multidisciplinary teams to deliver tailored solutions on large scale and high profile projects.

Chemical CategoryJudges

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 - Sustainability, Brenntag Group

Alessia Ielo is part of Group Sustainability at Brenntag, where she leads the development of CO₂e management solutions, including CO2Xplorer, a platform enabling product carbon footprint calculations and Scope 3 transparency across chemical supply chains. The tool is based on a TÜV Rheinland-certified methodology aligned with ISO 14067:2018.

She focuses on translating sustainability into scalable business solutions by integrating emissions data into procurement, sales, and supply chain processes. Alessia has also developed an internal methodology to address circular products, ensuring consistent treatment of circularity within CO₂e assessments.

She actively collaborates with industry partners and contributes to advancing practical, data-driven decarbonization in the chemical sector.

Dr Daniel Witthaut

Vice President and Head of Networks, Evonik - Research, Development and Innovation

Dr. Daniel Witthaut is Vice President and Head of Networks at Evonik´s Research, Development and Innovation department. Daniel brings 25 years of experience in the chemical industry, having held multiple leadership roles in innovation, new business development—particularly in bringing sustainable chemical products to market—strategy, and advocacy in different areas of the chemical industry. A native of Germany, he has spent more than a decade living and working abroad in countries including the United States, Singapore, China, and Belgium. This international working experience has shaped his strong commitment to fostering collaboration among industry leaders, policymakers, academia, and society to develop and implement innovative solutions to today’s most pressing challenges.

In his previous role as Cefic’s Executive Director for Innovation, he worked more than 4 years closely with representatives of the European policy makers and the chemical industry on various policy topics related to Innovation in the chemical industry.

Dr. Witthaut holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Münster (summa cum laude) and an MBA from the University of Chicago (High Honors).

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

Dr Lars Kissau, General Manager, Asia at Samsara Eco

Dr Lars Kissau is General Manager Asia at Samsara Eco. He brings over 20 years of global experience in the chemical industry across Europe, China and Singapore, having held a series of senior leadership roles at BASF, most recently serving as President of the Net Zero Accelerator division. Throughout his career he has been instrumental in advancing growth in Asia through large-scale investments, driving major M&A transactions, and spearheading the transition to non-fossil raw materials and renewable energy sources.