Patrick CHILD is currently Deputy Director-General in DG Environment at the European Commission with particular responsibility for the EU’s zero pollution strategy, chemicals legislation, urban agenda, research and innovation for environment and communication. He is also the Mission manager for the Climate-Neutral and Smart Cities Mission, which aims to reach 100 climate-neutral cities by 2030.

From 2016-2021, he was Deputy Director-General in DG Research and Innovation (R&I) at the European Commission. As member of the Board of DG R&I, he followed in particular research and innovation in clean energy and climate technologies as well as the R&I dimension of the post-COVID recovery and resilience strategy and Horizon Europe mission on Cancer. His international roles included Commission representative and chair of the steering committee of Mission Innovation (a coalition of 24 countries and the EC working to accelerate global clean energy innovation) and lead co-chair of the Group of Earth Observations (GEO).

Until April 2016, Patrick Child was Managing Director of the European External Service with responsibility for administration and finance, covering human resources policy, security and the budget. Before he took up this post in 2011, he was director in the EC External Relations Directorate-General in the responsible for managing the network of Commission delegations. He has previously served as head of cabinet for External Relations Commissioners Benita Ferrero-Waldner and Chris Patten.

With a background in the UK Finance Ministry, he joined the European Commission in 1994, where he started in the Economic and Monetary affairs Directorate General before becoming Commission press spokesman for economic and monetary union from 1995-1999. Mr Child studied mathematics at Cambridge University.

Nobuaki Mori has been Chairman and CEO of AGC Chemicals Europe since 2022 and leads the company’s performance chemical products business.

Established in 1907 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, AGC Inc. is a global materials and solutions provider with a business portfolio spanning chemicals, glass, automotive, electronics, life sciences and ceramics. Part of the global AGC Group, AGC Chemicals is a world-leading manufacturer of fluoropolymers and fluoroelastomers, which are used across a wide range of sectors including hydrogen, aerospace and semiconductors.

An organic chemistry expert, Nobuaki began his career as a researcher at Asahi Glass Co., Ltd. (now AGC Inc.) in 1995. Nobuaki’s research focussed on intermediates and ingredients for pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. He played a key role in developing Tafluprost, a glaucoma drug launched in 2007 and sold in over 60 countries.

Prior to his current role, Nobuaki held various leadership positions in R&D, sales, marketing, and factory management across Japan and the U.S. Most recently, he was involved in driving AGC’s small molecule business within the life sciences branch of the company.

Kristin Schreiber leads the Directorate Ecosystems I: Chemicals, Food, Retail, and Health in DG GROW, the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. From 2015 until 2021 she was Director for SME policy and the COSME Programme and still keeps a keen interest in SMEs. 

She is an active Member of the management board of the European Chemical Agency (ECHA), the Innovative Health Initiative Joint Undertaking Governing Board (IHI JU), the Circular Bio-Based Europe Joint Undertaking Governing Board (CBE JU) and the Global Health Joint Undertaking Governing Board (EDCTP3).

Kristin Schreiber held positions in various Commission services, including Head of Cabinet of Employment Commissioner Vladimir Špidla and Deputy Head of Cabinet of Internal Market Commissioner Michel Barnier. 

Kristin studied Economics, International Relations and European Law. She graduated with honours from L’Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and holds a Master’s degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury and the College of Europe in Bruges.

Steven Van de Broeck is Executive Director Product Stewardship at Cefic.

He leads the Product Stewardship team of Cefic overseeing the implementation and development of EU Chemicals regulations and policies.

Steven joined Cefic in 2015. He has more than 20 years of experience on environmental and chemicals policy. Prior to joining Cefic he was active as consultant and policy advisor at the Belgian chemical association.

Steven holds an MSc in chemical engineering and several post graduates in environmental and safety management.

Julian is a member of the Emissions Reduction team at ClientEarth, working on harmful chemicals.

He focuses on advocacy, targeted at the improvement and reform of the EU chemicals regulation REACH. Tackling chemicals in product legislation, e.g. in connection with ecodesign, is another of Julian’s topics.

Julian also provides legal expertise to EDC Free Europe, a coalition of NGOs working for the appropriate control of endocrine disruptors.

With more than 12 years of experience in research, writing legal opinions to advance chemicals policy, and developing solutions for more sustainable chemicals management in collaboration with industry and stakeholders, Julian knows his “REACH” – and how companies tick.

Julian graduated from Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences and received his PhD with honours from the University of Kassel, Germany, on the regulation of nanomaterials in REACH – using legal methods and insights from behavioural sciences.

Charles Wijnker (1972) is Director of Environment and Safety at RIVM, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

Charles Wijnker studied Economics at Maastricht University. He started his career at De Nederlandsche Bank and the Ministry of Finance. Here he was, among other things, Head of Department Financial Markets. From 2014 to 2017 he worked as Director of Labor Market and Socio-Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment. And from 2017 to 2021 Charles was Deputy Director-General of Public Health and Director of Nutrition, Health Protection and Prevention at the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport. In the last year at the ministry he was acting Director-General of Public Health.