Jan Vangeel started his career as a health and safety consultant for different large companies with a high-risk profile in oil and gas, automotive and port sectors. He joined BESIX in 2009 and spent nearly 10 years in various operational HSE positions, going from HSE manager for the Flanders region of BESIX to QHSE manager for the business unit Europe, driving awareness and accountability for OHS performance and system throughout the organisation. In 2018, he took the role of QHSE manager of training and communication for BESIX Group worldwide. In this role he designs and develops programs that centre around cultural and behavioural change.

Christian Polivka is a director with SAP SE. He is an innovation evangelist and futurist in environment, health and safety. In EHS solution management, Christian is responsible for the go-to-market and overall strategy. Christian comes with 20 years’ EHS domain expertise. Prior to his career at SAP, Christian was employed at an EHS business consultancy where he faced the EHS challenges of the manufacturing industry on a daily basis. It was during that time that he developed a passion for how technology could dramatically support environment and safety practitioners. Today, Christian draws on nearly two decades of EHS experience to drive continuous innovation in support of EHS practitioners. Christian holds an MBA from the University of Glasgow and a bachelor’s in environmental engineering from the University of Cooperative Education in Karlsruhe.

At the age of 46, Nuno Marques Peiriço is the director of OHS performance at Veolia, the company that he has been working at for the last 18 years, first in Portugal and lately in the company HQ in Paris. With a multidisciplinary pathway of more than 20 years of management in areas such as sustainability, human resources, OHS, quality and environment, in multicultural and international environments, he has developed an expertise in driving behavioural change and culture transformation programs aligned with performance, accountability, business development and sustainability of organisations. Nuno holds a master’s degree in technological chemistry from the University of Lisbon and a master’s degree in sustainable management from Imperial College London. In addition, after a certification as global executive coach at HEC Paris, Nuno acts as an internal coach at Veolia, accompanying managers on their career pathway.

James Pomeroy is the group HSES director for Lloyd’s Register, a global technical and business services organisation. James is responsible for advocating and delivering high standards, thought leadership and best practices in health, safety, environmental and security management across LR’s global operations. With 25 years of experience, James has extensive experience in designing and implementing successful behaviour change within organisations and embracing a positive approach. He has considerable experience in enhancing human performance and safety culture through behavioural intervention. He is known for his insights into strategic directions that im- prove effectiveness and outcomes. People and culture change has been a consistent theme in James’ career. An engineer by training, James has been involved in leading and transforming global HSES programmes in a variety of sectors, including upstream oil and gas, aviation, mining and heavy manufacturing. James holds an MSc in HSE management, an LLM in environmental law and an MBA. He is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), a Chartered Member of the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment (IEMA) and a Chartered Environmental practitioner.

Eduardo Blanco-Munoz is the global HSE and industrial risks director of Lisi Aerospace, a global manufacturer of aircrafts’ fasteners and structural components, operating 20 plants in 10 countries. His career started as QHSE manager at Akzo Nobel Chemicals France, in charge of a Seveso upper tier site and the French distribution business. He then served as environmental manager of Essilor’s European Rx activities (23 plants over 12 countries). Later he joined Alstom Power as QEHS and continuous improvement manager for the hydro division in Europe, responsible for projects tendered and managed from 12 locations in eight countries and executed in five continents. In parallel to his professional activities, Eduardo teaches BBS and safety culture at University of Paris 13.

Michael Cooke has held senior HSE positions in various industries ranging from pharmaceuticals, chemicals, inks and coatings to engineering. In these roles he has led the business to world-class performance against industry peers when benchmarked against all industries. Michael has also held senior positions outside of HSE – as business leader for a pharma division and strategy, mergers and acquisition director for EMEA/Asia regions. Currently, Michael heads HSE and sustainability for ABB globally, based at their Zurich HQ. In this role, Michael balances the various functional activities from site and people security, corporate responsibility and human rights, HSE and links this to a clear and effective sustainability strategy.

Dermot Reddy is a professional engineer and a specialist with MSD’s global safety and environment team. Dermot is currently responsible for providing EHS guidance and leadership to MSD Ireland’s Carlow facility. MSD Carlow is a state-of-the-art sterile fill-finish facility responsible for producing a number of MSD’s key immunotherapy-based oncology treatments and vaccines and is a strategic site in the company portfolio. Prior to joining MSD, Dermot spent over 10 years with Byrne Ó Cléirigh, a multidisciplinary firm of professional engineers and management consultants. During this time, Dermot undertook a wide range of assignments in the areas of energy, risk management and environmental compliance for both private and public sector clients. Dermot’s sectors of experience included: pharmaceutical, medical device, energy (supply and end-use), waste and brewing & distillation. Dermot is a Chartered Engineer, holds an honour’s degree in mechanical engineering from UCD Dublin and an honour’s master’s degree in project management from the UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business.

Wael El Kordy has spent more than 20 years in HSE management and process safety in oil and gas businesses’ chain at upstream and downstream operations as well as projects. He is currently based in Paris after joining Anotech Energy in mid- 2019 in the role of operational HSE senior consultant. Previously, Wael worked for three major oil and gas companies, namely BG Group, BP International and Saudi Aramco, moving internationally between North Africa, UK, Middle East and Europe. Wael is a chemical engineer holding BSc and MSc degrees in process safety and loss prevention (PSLP) from the University of Sheffield, UK. He also holds an executive diploma in management, specialised in contractors HSE performance management, from the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), London, UK.