Leadership Councils

Theo Boven Co-Chair

Professional Engineer with 35 years in manufacturing and design of flexible packaging. Currently Director for Product innovation, Sustainability, and Regulatory Compliance for Hood Packaging Plastics Division. Technical expertise in plastic, paper, cellulose, and poly woven materials. Member ASTM Committee D10 – Packaging, and D20 – Plastics, SPC Flexible Packaging Recovery and Chemical Recycling Collaboratives, and PIP360 Technical Committee.

Jacquie Hutchings Co-Chair

Jacquie Hutchings is the President and co-founder of Friendlier. Friendlier is a clean-tech startup revolutionizing packaging through their easy reusable packaging solution. Jacquie studied Chemical Engineering at the University of Waterloo, where she gained valuable experience in process engineering, optimization, and lifecycle analysis. She envisions a world with no single-use packaging waste.

Carl Botha

In his role as Senior Manager of Sustainability and Packaging at Tim Hortons, Carl leads packaging innovation and is responsible for the Planet Pillar of the Tims For Good framework – including initiatives like reusable packaging, landfill diversion and food waste diversion.

Todd Bukowski

Todd Bukowski, PTIS Principal, has over 25 years of experience in food and pharmaceutical packaging, in both R&D and operations capacities.  At PTIS, Todd leads the sustainability programs including running streamlined lifecycle assessments (LCAs) and sustainability strategies for clients, and was a lead author for the Flexible Packaging Association “A Holistic View of the Role of Flexible Packaging in a Sustainable World” report, among others. Todd is a program lead for the PTIS’s Future of Packaging programs and holds an MBA in Supply Chain Management and a Packaging degree from Michigan State University.  

Lesley Eiler

Lesley is a packaging management and technology program graduate, with over 20 years experience in the packaging industry. Her areas of expertise are sustainability, design, packaging machinery, manufacturing & retail environments along with project management.

Yucheng Fu

Yucheng (Ph.D, MBA) is a multi-disciplinary & effective value creator with proven track record of innovation (incremental to radical), sustainability, new packaging and process development, and packaging COGs and supply chain improvement. Yucheng has built an intellectual property of 40+ patents and 20+ articles in food processing, packaging engineering, and sustainability practices.

Claudio Gemmiti

Claudio Gemmiti has led Club Coffee’s disruptive approach to innovation in the coffee world since 2013, with a focus on sustainable packaging solutions. Club’s first major breakthrough under his leadership was the world’s-first compostable single-serve coffee pod. Claudio’s latest project arrived on store shelves in October 2021 when Club Coffee and its brand partners introduce Boardio®, a revolutionary, high-barrier, paper-based, recyclable packaging format, for coffee. Before joining Club Coffee, Claudio earned a strong reputation as a strategic thinker with deep CPG R&D acumen in building a record of success with iconic brands at Loblaw Companies Ltd. and Procter and Gamble.

Martin Gooch

Dr. Martin Gooch is CEO of VCMI, a global consulting company that helps businesses enhance their long-term profitability and environmental sustainability. Martin possesses considerable experience analyzing the relationship between food and packaging from a systems perspective, enabling the optimization of commercial operations from economic and environmental perspectives. Martin holds a PhD and Master’s degree in agri-food management.

Brent Heist

Brent is currently Director Fabric Care Packaging R&D at Procter & Gamble. Prior to this Brent was Director of Packaging Sustainability at P&G, and Chair of PAC Global’s Board of Directors.

Manuel Herrera

Over 23 years of experience with The Coca-Cola Company in technical roles in both emerging and developed markets. Last 10 years dedicated to leading packaging R&D projects in Canada and the US. I’m passionate about innovation, sustainable design, quality, and volunteering in my community. Member of PAC Global since 2014.

Lukas Martinovic

Lukas has grown up around the packaging industry and always had a passion for its impact on us all. Starting with a background in Economics and having worked several roles in the manufacturing process over the years, he is now the Sustainability Manager for Silgan Plastics. In his role, Lukas collaborates with all Silgan North American operations to identify and implement sustainability improvement projects for their plants and products. Silgan Plastics produces sustainable rigid plastic packaging throughout North America.

Nathan Mckee

Nathan Mckee is the Sustainability Analyst Manager at Trayak. Nathan McKee equips companies with intuitive solutions and data-driven insights for smarter sustainability decision-making. Trayak is a software solutions and consulting company which provides EcoImpact, the leading software platform for product and packaging sustainability. Trayak works with packaging specialists across industries to effectively mainstream sustainability, weigh tradeoffs, and leverage sustainable strategies using Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and powerful analytics.

Rachel Morier

Rachel Morier is the Director of Sustainability at The Beer Store and Brewers’ Distributor Limited. In her role, Morier oversees all aspects of sustainability including environmental stewardship to ensure that all alcoholic beverage containers and associated packaging are reused or recycled at the highest order.

Jonghun Park

Dr. Jay Park is an Assistant Professor in the School of Graphic Communications Management and the Director of Sustainable Packaging Research Lab at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University). His primary research areas include sustainable packaging systems and design, packaging distribution, and environmental communication.

Michael Ranieri

Michael Ranieri is the Director of Strategic Sourcing & Sustainability at Polytainers. Michael leads the procurement & sustainability functions at Polytainers is committed to change and making a positive impact in environmental sustainability through innovation, alternative materials, and a continuous improvement focus.

Claire Sand

Claire Sand thinks of “all food packaging all the time.” As a scientist, she focuses on packaging that increases the shelf life of food in the most sustainable way possible. Claire has over 35 years of expertise in packaging suppliers, brands, and retailers ranging from basic research through marketing. Recent projects include creating a three-phase innovation pipeline for a paperboard packaging supplier, quantifying the impact of 40 packaging solutions to prevent food waste for 15 categories, and developing and ranking more sustainable packaging solutions for three brands using LifeCycleImpact assessments. Claire is an Adjunct Professor at Michigan State University and CalPoly and a recipient of the lifetime achievement award in food packaging and a Fellow of the Institute of Food Technologists.

Cheryl Sullivan

Cheryl Sullivan has over 40 years in the packaging industry with hands-on experience in the flexible plastics, folding cartons, and corrugated industries. Her roles included sales and marketing, product development, operations, and continuous improvement. Since 2009, she has operated her own consulting company conducting packaging-related research, providing training for agri-food and university programs, and helping packaging companies get IFS PACsecure certified. Cheryl is an active member of PAC Global as Chair and Membership Director of the Pacific Region Leadership Council. She also supports International Featured Standards (IFS) in marketing their standards & programs.

Leadership Councils

PAC Next Leadership Council

Atlantic Region Leadership Council

Central Region Leadership Council

Pacific Region Leadership Council

Québec Region Leadership Council