Maria Kiefer-Polz

Maria Kiefer-Polz is running together with her father and sister the family owned business ehp European-Hardwood Production GmbH that produces hardwood lumber and top layers for the industry world wide.

After graduating from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Maria worked in Marketing for a flooring company in Germany. Several internships in Asia during her studies and the constant collaboration in the family business formed her decision to join the family business in 2010. Since 2019 Maria is part of EOS as EOS Vice President representing the Hardwood Sawmill Industry.

Ad Wesselink

Ad has been working with tropical hardwood from a young age and has built up his international wood reputation within renowned tropical timber companies. Now still active in the world of timber trade, including as being President of the ETTF and Chairman of the Board at the Dutch Timber Federation VVNH.

Sampsa J. Auvinen

Moderator

Sampsa Auvinen is a woodworking industry professional with 30 years of experience in Europe and Globally.
Currently Sampsa Auvinen is a Board Professional and is the Chairman and Board Member is several companies operating in Finland, Baltic States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Ghana, Sierra Leone and the United States.
Sampsa Auvinen is the Chairman of the Board of the European Confederation of the Woodworking Industry (CEI Bois) and a Guest Lecturer at the Stockholm School of Economics, Riga.

Christoph M. Schneider

Christoph M. Schneider is Managing Director of Economica, a scientific research company specialized on economic studies and models. Previously he was Chief Economist and worked as Director for economic, trade and innovation policy and was the business location expert at the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, as well as Chairman of the Austrian Economic and Social Council of the Austrian Social Partnership. Born in Vancouver, Canada, Mr. Schneider graduated from the University of British Columbia with Honours in agricultural economics. His studies took him to the Karl-Franzens-University in Graz, Austria, and then on to the Vienna University of Economics and Business. After receiving his PhD there for a thesis on research and development management, he joined the Economic Transition and Integration Project at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and worked with a group of renown economists to better facilitate the change from planned to market economies in central and eastern Europe. He has published or been co-author of many articles and books.

Silvio Schüler

Silvio Schüler is head of the Department for Forest Growth, Silviculture and Genetics at the Austrian Research Centre for Forests (BFW) in Vienna since 2017. He and his team are responsible for developing strategies for sustainable forest management in Austria with regard to climate change. Silvio coordinated several national and international projects on the utilization of forest genetic resources to adapt forests to climate change as well as on quantifying future forest ecosystem services. This includes studies on drought resistance in conifers, on the potential of assisted migration to improve productivity and forest resilience. Silvio serves as member of the scientific advisory board of the German Thünen Institute and the Nature Conservation Group BIOSA. He is also engaged in supporting forest practitioners and policy makers in developing guidelines and policies for climate resilient forests.

Michael S. Snow

Michael S. Snow has been the Executive Director of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) since 1999, where he oversees the Council's promotional programs around the globe, and manages AHEC's overseas offices and staff in Europe, Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Dubai, India Hong Kong and China. Previously, he served as AHEC's Program Manager for Europe, China and Japan.

Mr. Snow holds a Master's Degree in International Economics from the George Washington University, and a BA in Developmental Economics from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining AHEC, Michael served as a Consultant on international education and travel programs for the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Associates, and spent several years in Seville, Spain teaching economics courses in English and Spanish for the University of Wisconsin System.

Jean-Christophe Claudon

Statistical Assistant at the International Tropical Timber Organization for 18 years. Jean-Christophe Claudon is in charge of collecting statistical data on primary and secondary wood products through the Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire. The Joint Forest Sector Questionnaire is the cornerstone of statistical collection on forest wood products. It has been elaborated by four international organizations (ITTO, FAO, UNECE and Eurostat) and is sent to 192 countries in the world. The data reported through the JFSQ is then analyzed and published through the Biennial Review and Assessment of the World Timber Situation (https://www.itto.int/annual_review/).

Harald Mauser

Master and PhD studies in forestry at the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna.
CEO of the private company Umweltdata Ltd., dealing with aerial photo interpretation and remote sensing. Senior researcher in remote sensing at the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research. Director of the Austrian Federal Research and Training Centre for Forests, Natural Hazards and Landscape. EU Affairs officer of the Austrian Forest-based Sector Cooperation Platform.
Since February 2013, he represents the European Forest Institute in Brussels as Liaison Officer.

Silvia Melegari

Silvia Melegari was appointed Joint Secretary for the European Confederation of the Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois) and of the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry (EOS) on the 14th September, 2020. Since 2015 Mrs Melegari has been working for EOS and advocating for the interest of the European mechanical wood industries. From the beginning of 2023, Mrs Melegari has been also appointed member of the FAO Advisory Committee on Sustainable Forest-based Industries (ACSFI). Having concluded her studies at the Law University in Modena with a final specialisation in political relations between States and Catholic Church, Mrs Melegari went on to obtain also an University Master’s Degree in Advanced European Studies at the European College of Parma. Previously, Mrs Melegari worked for the European Panel Federation (EPF), where she was holding the position of Environment & Research Adviser. Overall, she has an extensive experience in the promotion of wood as environmental and sustainable material and in European affairs & correlated advocacy actions.

Christian Hansmann

Christian Hansmann is area manager of the research area Wood Materials Technologies at the Competence centre for wood composites and wood chemistry (Wood K plus) located in Tulln an der Donau since 2013. He and his team are focusing on the development of new bio-based materials, various wood technology processes and the characterisation of wood and wood-based materials and their use in sustainable building and furniture. Christian coordinates numerous national and international research projects in this field and provides a platform for cooperation between university research and industrial development. His personal thematic focus is on the hydrothermal treatment and functionalization of wood as well as the processing of solid wood, with a particular focus on hardwoods. Christian is also active in teaching in these areas at BOKU University and is involved in various platforms such as woodPoP, the European Wood Policy Platform, or the trend scouting workshops of the Austrian Wood Industry Association.

Hermann Pretzl

Since the year 2008 COO of the company „TEAM 7 Natürlich Wohnen GmbH“, the solid wood furniture manufacturer from Austria and the company Natur Holz Technik, their own sawmill in Hungary.
He has been working for TEAM 7 since 1989. During these years he implemented several research projects with Wood K plus (Linz) and BOKU (Vienna).

Thomas Krenke

Thomas Krenke is a distinguished expert in sustainable lightweight construction, currently serving as Scientific Leader at the scientific research institute W.E.I.Z. Forschungs & Entwicklungs gGmbH. His academic journey began at the Technical University of Dresden, where he pursued a degree in Process Engineering from 2006 to 2011, specializing in wood and fibre materials.
In 2012, Thomas embarked on doctoral studies at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, specifically at the Institute of Wood Technology and Renewable Resources. He completed his doctorate (Dr. rer. techn.) in wood technology in 2017.
Thomas's professional career started at Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH, where he worked as a Junior Researcher from 2012 to 2017, focusing on solid wood and wood composites. He was then promoted to Senior Researcher, continuing his work in the same field until 2019.
Since 2019, Thomas has been working on sustainable lightweight construction projects at the W.E.I.Z. Forschungs & Entwicklungs gGmbH, combining his extensive knowledge and experience in wood technology to drive innovative research and development in this critical area.

James XU

President of National Hardwood Council of STTA (Shanghai Timber Trade Association).
Founder: The "We Wood Joy" National Furniture Design Competition Series.

Chairman and CEO,
Shanghai ZQ Technology Co. Ltd., a platform company managing raw materials, furniture designing, production and on-line sales.

Franz-Xaver Kraft

Franz-Xaver Kraft has been working for GD Holz Service GmbH, a subsidiary of the German Timber. Trade Federation (GD Holz), since 2018. He advises federation members and external companies on the implementation of EUTR and EUDR. He is currently developing a digital due diligence system for the EUDR.
Franz holds a Master's degree in International Management of Forest Industries and a Bachelor's degree in Forest Engineering.

Isabelle Brose

Isabelle Brose is the FEP – European Parquet Federation – Managing Director. She started in this position in 2018. Previously she worked for CEI-Bois – the European woodworking Industries Confederation - as Sustainability and Economic Affairs Manager, and for EPF - the European wood-based Panels Federation - as Economic Advisor. Isabelle Brose holds a Master in Economics and a DEC in Philosophy, both from the University of Namur.

Simon Lux

Simon Lux is holding a Master’s degree from the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna. Following his graduation, he gained international experience in the field before returning to Austria. Presently, Simon Lux serves as a researcher at Holzforschung Austria, where he focuses on a project exploring the use of regional hardwood resources in the construction sector. Concurrently, he is pursuing a PhD at BOKU, Vienna, about "Strip-like Laminations for Use in Structural Wood Products." His work bridges innovative research with practical applications, advancing the use of sustainable materials in construction.

Xenia Marx

Xenia Marx is the programme manager for business marketing at the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Together with a dedicated task force, she leads product and market development for FSC’s solutions responding to EUDR. With a background in strategy and marketing, Xenia is focused on driving innovation and market engagement to facilitate compliance and advance forest stewardship.

Johannes Konnerth

Prof. Dr. Johannes Konnerth, Institute for Wood Technology and Renewable Resources, BOKU – University.
At BOKU University since 2004, deputy head of the institute, since 2020 full professor for Wood Technology, habilitation in the field of Wood Materials Science, key researcher at the Kompetenzzentrum Holz GmbH - Wood K plus in the area of advanced bonding technologies.

Research focus:

Resource-efficient wood materials and processing technologies
Functional and bio-based wood adhesives
Functional surfaces

Relevant activities in industry at Tecnoform SpA, Italy: Lightweight furniture for caravans and motorhomes and TTM Massivholz, Heiligenkreuz, Austria (today Abalon Hardwood) hardwood sawmill.

Benoit Jobbé-Duval

Benoît Jobbé-Duval has many years' experience of research and development in tropical environments, in Cambodia, Guatemala, Mexico, and above all in Africa, with eight years spent in the field between Gabon and Côte d'Ivoire. Throughout these years, he worked with CIRAD's sustainable crops unit, in particular on natural rubber, in both agro-industrial and smallholder environments.
Benoit then worked for 13 years in the timber industry in Spain, before joining the ATIBT in 2016.
ATIBT's activities have mainly involved certification support, market support, vocational training and the management of a wide range of field projects in Central Africa and, more recently, Central America.
Strengthening the ATIBT and creating strong synergies between its members is a priority for him.

Hubert Inhaizer

Fifteen years of experience in sustainable forest management. He worked at FAO focusing on forest policy projects, before joining the EFI where he led projects connected to EU policy instruments. In 2020 he started with PEFC covering the sustainable forest management and the assessment of the national and regional PEFC systems. Hubert was leading PEFC’s work on EUDR alignment at sustainable forest management level by coordinating the work of the technical working groups and tack forces, which were developing the modification proposals for the PEFC ST 1003 Sustainable Forest Management – Requirements.