CEO and Management Team

Roberto Villaquiran - Chief Executive Officer

Roberto Villaquiran

Chief Executive Officer

Roberto is a successful leader in the packaging and materials industry with a solid track record of delivering top and bottom-line growth through sales innovation and sustainability and business expansion, as well as improving operational efficiency and M&A.
Roberto has over 30 years of leadership experience at Smurfit Kappa, a world leader in paper-based packaging and FTSE 100 company. He has also had successful tenures as CEO of Canpack Group, a leading manufacturer of beverage cans and glass bottles with global revenues of $3bn+, as well as Logoplaste, manufacturers of economically sustainable rigid plastic packaging. He has operated in Europe, US and Latin America, bringing a truly global perspective to business whilst leveraging the best global talent to deliver strong results for the company.

Roberto holds a BA in Chemical Engineering, and MBA from the Illinois Institute of Technology, as well as an Executive MBA from the London Business School in the UK.
Thomas Kure Jakobsen - President Food Packaging

Thomas Kure Jakobsen

President Food Packaging

With over 20 years’ experience managing global B2B and B2C companies, Thomas has a track record of driving and delivering top and bottom-line growth, through strategic vision, innovation, and engaging leadership.
Thomas joined kp from Amcor Group, where he held the position of Vice President, Snacks and Confectionery, EMEA, Amcor Flexibles. Prior to that, Thomas was with DS Smith Packaging for seven years, where his roles included MD North Europe (UK and Scandinavia). Thomas’s earlier career includes working with the Carlsberg Group from 1997 – 2012 in Country Regional Director and subsequently CEO positions. During his various tenures, he has built worldclass teams and created value through commercial and operational excellence. Thomas holds an MSc in International Business from Copenhagen Business School, supplemented by MBA studies from Melbourne Business School, Australia.
Sofiane Laoussadi - President Pharma, Health & Protection and Durables

Sofiane Laoussadi

President Pharma, Health & Protection and Durables

Sofiane is an experienced global leader, with expertise in steering both commercial and cross-functional teams. He has a record of mobilising change at speed, whilst delivering customer-focused solutions.
Before joining kp, Sofiane held the role of COO at Southern Graphic Systems, where he was pivotal in restructuring and growing the business. Prior to that he was President at Ciox Health, based in Atlanta, before which he spent three years with Honeywell, and 17 years at GE - Capital, Healthcare, Transportation, in various global commercial, operational and P&L leadership roles.

In all his roles, Sofiane has successfully led and delivered significant projects across multiple industries, including Healthcare, Consumer Products, QA/RA & Financial Services, Transportation and Digital.

Sofiane holds an MS Degree, Marketing & Management, (INSEEC, Paris, France) and is a Lean/Six Sigma Master Black Belt.
Frederic Jung - Chief Financial Officer

Frederic Jung

Chief Financial Officer

Frederic is a highly seasoned financial executive with over 30 years’ experience in Europe and in the US. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, waste management and construction sectors in both public and private businesses, including major multinationals, start-ups, turnarounds and rapid growth companies.
He has been Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Northwest Hardwoods Inc. since June 2016. Previously Frederic served as Vice President and CFO of Arizona Chemical from 2008 to 2016 at which time the company was successfully sold to Kraton Polymer. Prior to joining Arizona Chemical, he spent eight years with the $4 billion global producer of specialty chemicals and services Nalco Company (2000 to 2008). He ultimately served as Corporate Controller of Nalco, after being the CFO for Nalco’s EMEA operations, and its Assistant Controller Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A). Prior to joining Nalco he held several positions with Bombardier Aerospace, Waste Management, Inc. and SAE Americas, Inc. He is a graduate of Ecole Supérieure Libre des Sciences Commerciales Appliquées (ESLSCA), Paris, France and holds an MBA from the University of Connecticut, USA. Frederic entered the role of CFO for the kp Group in October 2018.

Linda Kennedy - Chief Human Resources Officer

Linda Kennedy

Chief Human Resources Officer

Before joining Klöckner Pentaplast (kp), Linda spent over 30 years of her career in global Human Resources and Talent Management. She has significant experience across a range of industries and has worked for global organisations across various geographies, including South Africa, South America, Australia, the FSU and Europe.
Most recently, she worked for premier British motoring association the AA and prior to that she held the position of CHRO for SIG plc. Linda speaks several languages including French, German and Spanish and is an Associate of the Institute of Linguists. Having graduated from Napier University in Scotland, Linda has been a Fellow of the CIPD since 2011.
Svetlana Walker - General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Svetlana Walker

General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Svetlana has significant experience in guiding global brands and driving business value. Most recently, she was the Chief Legal Counsel and Corporate Secretary for the EMEA region of the Kimberly-Clark Corporation. Previously, she led Kimberly-Clark’s Baby and Child Care business division in North America and was also Counsel to the Chief Growth Officer.
Svetlana brings with her a broad spectrum of international legal experience in various different jurisdictions, as well as strong experience in commercial transactions, compliance, innovation, risk management, litigation, business development and sustainability.

A native of Ukraine, Svetlana has lived and worked in the United States and the UK. She holds a B.A. in English, Political Science and Philosophy from James Madison University and a Juris Doctorate degree of law from the George Mason School of Law, both in Virginia, U.S.A.
Alan Richards - Chief Operating Officer

Alan Richards

Chief Operating Officer

Alan has more than 30 years of operations experience in international companies at a global scale. He has worked in various industry sectors across many countries and cultures, including USA, Africa and Europe.
Alan has a strong, proven track record in operational leadership and profit and loss (P&L) responsibility, project management and lean thinking in end-to-end supply chain solutions in FMCG manufacturing, branded goods, food, pharma, cosmetics and industrial components. Alan’s previous role was as Vice President Value Chain Optimisation at LEGO, UK, and before that as Group Operations Director at Essentra Plc, UK. He covered several Senior Director roles at Mars Incorporated in different international locations and prior to that had other senior roles in various companies: The Wrigley Company – USA; Wrafton Labs – UK; Swallowfield International Plc – UK; and DeBeers Consolidated Mines – Central Africa. Alan has an MBA from the University of Bath, a PGDip (L) from the University of Exeter, a GCC Mines from the University of Pretoria and a BEng from University of Wales.

Tony Harrison  - Chief Procurement Officer

Tony Harrison

Chief Procurement Officer

Tony has extensive international experience in Procurement, with high spend responsibility. He has been responsible for building Procurement strategies, collaborating across Business Unit and Functional lines with leadership of global teams.
Before joining kp he worked for 14 years in the plastic converting sector as VP Procurement at PACCOR, VP President Global Materials Sourcing at Coveris, and VP Global Sourcing at Global Closure Systems. Prior to that he held several senior Procurement positions at Technicolor-Thomson, SmithKline and Black & Decker. Tony holds a CIPS qualification and a Diploma in Production Control. 
Paul McCombs - Chief Information Officer

Paul McCombs

Chief Information Officer

Paul has 20+ years of leadership experience building IT organizations across a variety of industries and countries. Paul has a solid track record in building business-oriented IT organizations and leadership teams, leading IT/Digital transformation, and creating capabilities that drive business results.
Prior to joining kp, Paul worked as Global CIO at Dupont, Nutrition and Bioscience in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prior to that, he worked as EMEA CIO, at Archer Daniels Midlands in Amsterdam and also previously served as the leader of IT operations for Heineken International in Amsterdam. Paul also held various roles at Pepsi Bottling Group as regional CIO and was a Senior Manager at Deloitte Consulting Group in New York. Paul holds a Finance MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BA in Biology from Grinnel College.
Board
Board of Managers
Alexandre Mignotte
Managing Director, European Investment Team
Strategic Value Partners LLP (London, UK)

Jonathan Waggoner
Managing Director, North American Investment Team
Strategic Value Partners LLP (London, UK)

Christopher D. Pappas
Non-Executive Director
Chairman of the Board
Chairman of the Compensation Committee

Mike Henry
Non-Executive Director
Chairman of the Audit Committee

Bouk Van Geloven
Managing Director, North American Investment Team
Strategic Value Partners, LLC (Greenwich, Connecticut)

Ralf K. Wunderlich
Non-Executive Director

Scott Tracey  
Non-Executive Director

Roberto Villaquiran
Klöckner Pentaplast