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Speakers
01
Chief Services Officer & Product Manager Wood, Fedustria
Filip De Jaeger
Filip De Jaeger is Chief Services Officer and Product Manager Wood at Fedustria, the Belgian Federation of Textile, Wood and Furniture Industries. In this role, he is responsible for services provided to member companies and follows relevant dossiers at European level.
Prior to joining Fedustria, Filip worked for its predecessor, Febelhout, and served as Secretary General of several European wood-related associations, including more than 15 years with CEI-Bois and EOS.
Filip has a long-standing connection with the International Hardwood Conference, having supported the organisation of the very first edition of what has since grown from a European into an international conference.
Maria Kiefer-Polz
Maria Kiefer-Polz manages ehp European-Hardwood Production GmbH in Austria together with her father. The family-owned company produces hardwood lumber and top layers and supplies customers worldwide.
After graduating from the Vienna University of Economics and Business, Maria started her career in Germany, working in marketing for a flooring company. During her studies, she completed several internships in Asia, gaining her first experience with international markets and business.
In 2010, Maria joined ehp. Today, she is mainly responsible for international sales and market development, working closely with customers and partners in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Since 2019, Maria has been active within EOS and serves as EOS Vice-President Hardwood, representing the European hardwood sawmill industry.
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Managing Director European-Hardwood Production GmbH | EOS Vice-President Hardwood
03
President, ETTF | Honorary Chairman, VVNH
Ad Wesselink
Ad Wesselink has extensive experience in the international timber trade, with a particular focus on tropical hardwood. Throughout his career, he has built a strong international network and held senior positions within several leading timber companies.
Alongside his professional activities, Ad serves as President of the European Timber Trade Federation (ETTF). He is also Honorary Chairman of the Dutch Timber Trade Federation (VVNH), where he held various board positions for nearly four decades.
Katja De Vos
Katja De Vos is Manager MarCom & Public Affairs at Fedustria, the Belgian federation representing the textile, wood, furniture and design industries. With more than 25 years of experience in strategic communications, she leads the federation’s internal and external communications, sector campaigns, industry promotion and stakeholder engagement.
Katja holds a Master’s degree in Communication Sciences from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), complemented by a specialisation in Corporate Communications. She began her career as Communications Manager at Febelhout, the Belgian wood industry federation, which later merged with textile federation Febeltex to form Fedustria.
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Manager MarCom & Public Affairs, Fedustria
05
FrenchTimber
Jean-François Guilbert
Jean-François Guilbert has extensive experience in the international promotion of French timber products. After two years with the Fédération Nationale du Bois, he spent 25 years at the helm of FrenchTimber, promoting processed wood products, including hardwood and softwood sawn timber, on export markets.
His work covers economic intelligence, communication, international market access and support for timber companies. Over the years, he has contributed to more than 150 international trade fairs and business missions, as well as numerous presentations and conferences.
Jean-François is a graduate of ESSEC in International Business and of the École de Guerre Économique.
Bart Muys
Bart Muys is a full professor of forest ecology and management at the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences of KU Leuven (Belgium).
His research focuses on the role of tree diversity for forest ecosystem functioning under climate change, on restoration ecology of dryland forests, and on sustainability evaluation of forests and bioenergy systems. He contributed to several science to policy reports of European Forest Institute (EFI) addressing the biodiversity, climate mitigation, water and bioenergy nexus, e.g. as lead author of the Science to Policy report on Forest Biodiversity in Europe (2022).
He is chair of the scientific advisory board of the European Forest Institute (EFI) and of the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance (CBA). He features in Reuters’ hot list of most influential climate scientists. Being a botany aficionado, he advocates more biodiversity literacy among forest professionals and larger public. Bart Muys holds a master degree in agricultural engineering (forestry) and a PhD in forest ecology from the University of Ghent.
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Full professor of forest ecology and management at the Universitu of Leuven
07
Sales Director, DUCERF Group
Florence Perrucaud
Florence Perrucaud is Sales Director at DUCERF Group, where she specialises in the international sales of primary and secondary processed hardwood products, with oak accounting for approximately 80% of the product range. She also leads the French sales teams serving domestic manufacturers and distributors.
With more than 36 years of experience at DUCERF Group, primarily in export markets, Florence has played an active role in the Group’s international expansion and development.
Alongside her role at DUCERF Group, Florence has served as President of FrenchTimber for the past nine years. In this capacity, she regularly shares her expertise on international markets and contributes to initiatives that strengthen the visibility and reach of French timber products abroad.
Florence holds a degree from the Lyon School of Management, with a specialisation in International Business.
Roland Feit
Roland Feit is Executive Director of Sales at ABALON HARDWOOD, where he coordinates production and the global commercialisation of the company’s sustainable European timber products from its mills in Austria and Germany. ABALON HARDWOOD is one of Europe’s larger hardwood sawmills, with a particular focus on beech lumber.
Roland has been part of ABALON since the company was founded in 2005 and has spent his entire professional career in the hardwood industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Forestry from the University of Freiburg.
Alongside his professional activities, he heads a local forest owners’ association and has been involved in developing innovative concepts supporting the ecological and economic development of private forest ownership.
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Executive Director of Sales, ABALON HARDWOOD
09
Executive Director, American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC)
Michael S. Snow
Michael S. Snow has been Executive Director of the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC) since 1999. In this role, he oversees AHEC’s promotional programmes worldwide and manages its international offices and staff across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and the Americas. Previously, he served as AHEC’s Programme Manager for Europe, China and Japan.
Michael holds a Master’s degree in International Economics from George Washington University and a BA in Developmental Economics from the University of Wisconsin. Before joining AHEC, he worked as a consultant on international education and travel programmes for the National Geographic Society and Smithsonian Associates, and taught economics in Seville, Spain.
David Holvoet
David Holvoet is a Belgian entrepreneur and owner of a group of companies active in timber, wood products, international trade and industrial investments. After moving to China in 1997, he built his career around connecting European and Asian markets and has spent nearly three decades working in the timber industry.
Throughout his career, David has worked with forest owners, sawmills, traders and manufacturers across the hardwood value chain. Living and working between Europe and Asia has given him first-hand insight into the evolution of Asian demand, trade flows and market dynamics.
Today, he remains actively involved in the hardwood trade, developing long-term partnerships between European timber suppliers and Asian markets.
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Entrepreneur – International Timber & Wood Products
11
Executive Director, Timber Industry Development Division of the Forestry Commission, Ghana
Dr. Richard Gyimah
For the past 32 years, Richard has worked with the Forestry Commission in the areas of technical forestry training, forest planning, and administration, forest auditing for sustainable forest management practices as well as international policies for effective forest governance.
In the recent past, he led the FLEGT-VPA Legality Verification at the Timber Validation Department of the Forestry Commission.
He currently provides strategic direction for the development of the timber industry in Ghana especially in the area resilience timber supply chain management, industrial standards, timber industry retooling for efficiency and product diversification. In addition, he has contributed to research and also, active in teaching in the area of biodiversity conservation and environmental management at the University of Ghana.
Eli Prins
Eli Prins is a Forest & Value Chain Adviser at Probos in Wageningen, the Netherlands, specialising in sustainable timber supply chains, sustainable forest management certification and Lesser Known Timber Species (LKTS).
He works with forest managers, traders, end-users, NGOs and policymakers on projects aimed at stimulating sustainable forest management worldwide. His work includes the ASP Cameroon project, which focuses on promoting trade in sustainably sourced Lesser Known Timber Species, and Thémis, a timber market survey conducted with European timber trade federations and their members to measure the share of sustainably sourced timber traded each year.
Eli holds MSc degrees in Forest & Nature Conservation from Wageningen University and Strategic Entrepreneurship from Erasmus University.
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Forest & Value Chain Adviser, Probos
13
Founder and Managing Director, Durable Wood Products Inc. and DuraVilla Homes
Rafeek Khan
Rafeek Khan is a Guyanese entrepreneur and Founder and Managing Director of Durable Wood Products Inc. and DuraVilla Homes. With more than 25 years of experience in the timber sector, he specialises in timber processing, modular construction and scalable manufacturing systems.
Alongside his business activities, Rafeek serves as President of the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association. He previously served as Vice-Chair of the Private Sector Commission and has worked with government bodies and industry stakeholders to support the development of Guyana’s manufacturing sector.
His expertise also covers forestry, mining, agriculture and agro-processing, as well as international trade with markets in the Caribbean, the United States, the Pacific Islands and the Middle East.
Sampsa Auvinen
Sampsa Auvinen is a woodworking industry professional with more than 30 years of executive and board-level experience across Europe and international markets. He currently serves as Chairman and Board Member of several companies in Finland, the Baltic States, France, Hungary and Belgium.
Among these roles, Sampsa is Chairman of Fordaq SA, a leading digital platform for the global timber industry. The company’s portfolio includes the Fordaq online marketplace, Neural Grader and Tally Express.
Sampsa also serves as Chairman of the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), Honorary President of the European Organisation of the Sawmill Industry (EOS), and Guest Lecturer at the Stockholm School of Economics in Riga.
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Chairman, CEI-Bois and Fordaq SA
15
Chairman, FEP – European Parquet Federation
Lorenzo Onofri
Lorenzo Onofri is an Italian entrepreneur and industry leader with more than 30 years of experience in the wood flooring and parquet sector. A graduate in Business and Economics from the University of Pavia, he began his career with the family-owned company Stile Pavimenti Legno.
Since the late 1990s, Lorenzo has focused on sales and international business development, helping Stile expand into key markets in Asia and North America. He became General Sales Manager in 2006 and President of Stile Società Cooperativa in 2016.
Alongside his business career, Lorenzo has held several positions within the Italian and European wood industry. He served as President of the Italian Wood Flooring Manufacturers Group and joined the General Council of FederlegnoArredo in 2018. Since 2021, he has served as Chairman of FEP – European Parquet Federation, representing the European parquet industry at institutional and international level. He is also part of the leadership of EdilegnoArredo – FederlegnoArredo.
Alessandra Tracogna
Alessandra Tracogna is a Partner and Senior Market Expert at CSIL, with extensive consulting experience supporting SMEs and large companies in the development of marketing strategies, as well as public institutions and trade associations in the design of sector development policies and initiatives.
Since joining CSIL in 2000, she has developed strong expertise in value chain analysis, competitiveness assessment, market analysis and forecasting, with a particular focus on the wood and furniture industries.
Alessandra holds a degree in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University in Milan.
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CSIL Partner, Senior Market Expert
17
Policy Officer, CEI-Bois
Claudiu Sonda
Claudiu Sonda is Policy Officer at the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois), where he focuses on EU policy and regulatory developments affecting the woodworking sector, particularly in the areas of sustainability and construction.
His work covers key EU initiatives shaping the use of timber in the built environment, alongside broader policy developments related to affordable and sustainable housing, the bioeconomy, circularity, climate policy and industrial competitiveness.
Claudiu represents the European woodworking industries in discussions with EU institutions and stakeholders, assesses the impact of regulatory developments on the sector, and contributes to the development of industry positions and advocacy priorities.
Imke De Windt
Imke De Windt is a wood scientist with more than 20 years of experience in research and innovation, specialising in durability and material performance.
She currently works at WOOD.BE and previously developed her expertise at Woodlab, Ghent University, with a particular focus on biological degradation, moisture dynamics and wood preservation.
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Wood Scientist, WOOD.BE
19
Researcher, ENFORCE | Royal Museum for Central Africa
Michael Monnoye
Michael Monnoye works at the Centre of Expertise for Forensic Wood Research (ENFORCE) at the Royal Museum for Central Africa (RMCA), Belgium.
He combines expertise in wood anatomy and chemical fingerprinting to provide scientifically validated wood identification services for solid wood, plywood, particleboard, fibreboard, charcoal and more. For this, he relies on the enormous wood collection (81000+ specimens of 13000+ species) housed at the Service for Wood Biology at the RMCA. These identification facilities are regularly called upon by the Belgian customs, the FPS Environment, timber importers and retailers. Through this work, Michael is dedicated to providing tools needed to ensure sustainable forest management and the protection of biodiversity worldwide.