Welcoming our new Group leadership members
Join us in welcoming Thea Corwin Bristøl, Ivan Ferrini and Uwe Schulze to the Company’s management team!
We are excited to welcome Thea Corwin Bristøl, Ivan Ferrini and Uwe Schulze to our Group Leadership Team.
Thea is the Group’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer and was previously the Director of Brand for Elopak. Thea brings a wealth of experience having spent a decade in Wilhelmsen Group, holding a variety of positions. She also worked at the IT company, Evry as a chief consultant, before leading the establishment of the Tietoevry brand. Thea graduated from the University of Technology Sydney (Australia) with a bachelor’s degree in Business and holds a master’s degree in International Political Economy from Warwick University (United Kingdom).
Ivan is the Group’s Executive Vice President for Packaging and Procurement. He has enjoyed a fascinating career managing the operations of international large-scale corporations and has worked across a diverse range of industries including consumer goods and manufacturing. Before he joined Elopak, Ivan was Head of Global Operations at multinational lighting organization Signify. He holds a master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Florence (Italy).
Uwe is the Group’s Executive Vice President for Product and Development and Chief Technology Officer. He is highly skilled in developing innovative and sustainable products both in the specialty chemicals and paper industry. Uwe previously served as Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation at the Felix Schoeller Group. Prior to this, he held several managing positions at Synthomer plc. He holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Bayreuth (Germany).
We spoke to Thea, Ivan and Uwe to learn more about their background and hear why they’re excited to be joining the Elopak management team.
What appealed to you in taking up this role and what makes you excited to be joining the Elopak team?
Thea: I see Elopak as a hidden gem with a massive potential. It is a good company that sells good products, where brand, marketing and communications can play a significant role in letting us shine even brighter. It is exactly this potential that motivated me for the role.
Ivan: Three things above all: the products, the people and the challenge. The products are reaching so many consumers on a daily basis and have an important role in society, which makes me very proud. The people I met conveyed energy, deep industry knowledge and a genuine sense of care. Finally, the challenge for the future is super exciting and a great opportunity to contribute to making the planet a better place for generations to come.
Uwe: In my last role, I was responsible for product development for five very different business areas. Personally, I found the area of fiber-based packaging the most exciting at the time, because this was where the potential for product innovation was the highest. For the first time in my career, I have the opportunity to be involved in the development of a product that is on our breakfast table every morning and that I can study in detail every time I go shopping.
What particular experience will you bring to the Elopak management team?
Thea: Careerwise, I am a product of large, complex, global and technology-based companies with transformation agendas. Through the years, I have worked within the areas of strategy, business development and the strategic side of marketing and communications. Hence, I bring experience in setting direction and enabling change internally and externally.
Ivan: I’ve had the privilege to work in organizations recognized for their advancements in manufacturing and supply chain management and have played an active role in these transformations in diverse international settings. Hence, I feel operational excellence, digitization and change management are part of my DNA. I also have experience in scaling up new business ventures, alongside the core business of the company.
Uwe: Since 2014 my role has been to lead the research and development department, first at a specialty chemicals company and later at a company in the paper industry. Before that I held business-focused roles, where I had direct responsibility for some key accounts. These experiences are very important to me today when it comes to product development. At management level, I believe it is crucial to be able to put yourself in the shoes of your colleagues in order to develop the best solution for the company together.
Thea, what aspects of the Elopak brand do you think resonate the most with consumers and why?
I believe that a natural packaging solution with strong sustainability qualities appeals to consumers as they want to make responsible choices in a world that focuses more and more on what we leave behind for future generations.
Ivan, what are the key manufacturing challenges facing the packaging sector going forward?
The drive for sustainability (and related regulatory landscape) affects every area of the value chain and will continue to have a big impact on both Elopak and our suppliers’ manufacturing processes. Everything from energy and equipment efficiency, emissions and waste reduction, new materials and technology developments are being affected.
Other key challenges come from consumer behavior shifts and geopolitical dynamics that in the end create increased complexity and demand volatility. I believe that we can only partially control those factors and, to be successful, we will need to find new ways of being agile in operations, with support of timely market intelligence.
What do you think makes Elopak a leader in sustainability?
Thea: It is both the product side and the company side of course, as well as a mentality of doing the ‘right thing’.
Ivan: The ambition and the courage to do things differently and to push the technical boundaries
Uwe: First of all, Elopak provides a product that consumers already consider to be more sustainable than many other packaging solutions. Nevertheless, it is our task to make this product a little more sustainable every day. One of our main goals is to further reduce or even to completely eliminate the non-fiber-based part of the carton. In my first few weeks at Elopak, I have already met many great experts who have shown me exciting ideas and possible product solutions. The task now is to work on these projects in a timely manner in cooperation with all the departments involved and to successfully establish the new products on the market.
Uwe, how does your background in chemistry inform how you approach product development?
Even if my role is different from that of a technical expert, it is still important for me to be able to intelligibly exchange ideas with the experts in my team. This includes asking the right questions and acting as a sparring partner to bounce ideas off. A scientific education is of course extremely helpful for this.
Last but not least, I myself worked as a product developer for many years and therefore understand the daily challenges of my team members.
What is the best piece of career advice you have ever received?
Thea: I’m not sure if there is one specific piece of advice that stands out, but ‘plan your work and work your plan’ has been important for ways of working and achieving results.
Ivan: Take care of your P.I.E. (Performance, Image, Exposure). Performance is the entry level ticket: focus on what needs to be true to deliver on your commitments
Uwe: “You learn more by listening than by talking”. Those with whom I have already had the opportunity to talk in person will have noticed that I often find it difficult to adhere to this rule myself. Nevertheless, I always try to remember this because I am convinced that the best solutions are the result of teamwork.
What is the last book you read or podcast you listened to?
Thea: The last book was ‘All the lights we cannot see’ by Anthony Doerr which is set around survival of the second world war. It gives an important reminder of consciousness regarding the society we want to build for the future.
Ivan: Recently I’ve read ‘Competing in the Age of AI’ by Inasiti and Lakhani, ‘The Culture Map by E. Meyer, and ‘The Storyteller’, an autobiography by Dave Grohl. I’ve also read ‘The Little Prince’ a few times with my children.
Uwe: The last book I read is called “Führung, die prägt!” (Leadership That Has an Impact) by Hendrik Böttcher, Selma Fehrmann and Christian Reinhardt. I was able to draw a lot of benefit from this book for my daily work and I am absolutely convinced that a significant part of an employee’s attitude towards the company is influenced by the leadership style of their manager.
We are highly pleased to welcome Thea, Ivan and Uwe to our pack – welcome!