INDUSTRY INNOVATION ARENA
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Thales DIS Polska Sp. z o.o.
Identiteit & Diensten B.V.
IRIS Corporation Berhad
Sébastien Dufey
Muopeni Ngwalo
Sabine van Doremalen
Laurent Loup
Alejandro Rozas Alosilla Velasco
Alexandra Geiger
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Thijs Boonen started his career in the textile industry in 2010, beginning on the production floor. His keen interest in the technical aspects of dyeing and manufacturing allowed him to gain practical, hands-on experience that shaped his problem-solving skills.
In 2014, Thijs transitioned to a customer service advisory role, where his deep understanding of machinery, paired with a customer-centric mindset, allowed him to create innovative solutions tailored to meet the unique needs of his clients.
In 2017, Thijs became part of Liberty's security products division, focusing on the development and production of security threads for passports and brand protection. His work encompassed not only the advanced security features of these threads but also their operational reliability—a crucial consideration when used in high-value goods. Thread breaks or sewing head malfunctions can result in substantial losses and expensive downtime, underscoring the need to choose the right substrate for each specific application.
Thijs is passionate about educating market decision-makers on the importance of considering not only price and security features but also the operational performance of products. A smoothly running system can significantly reduce downtime and associated costs.
Piotr Dymala works in PWPW’s Research and Quality Department as the Chief Security Features Specialist and Sales Support. With more than 12 years of experience, he is dedicated to developing innovative solutions for banknotes, security documents, and printed materials. His role also involves overseeing testing projects and promoting advanced technologies.
Piotr has coordinated several in-house projects, including the Chess note, Polish Bison series, Africa, Autumn, and Meadow projects. He is responsible for the production of both domestic and international currency projects and other high-security products. Additionally, he is the author of multiple patents and publications in the field of generative art-based security features.
Felix Ehrtmann is an experienced Product Manager who is driving the product portfolio in G+D’s/Louisenthal’s Banknote Solutions division. He has been active in the banknote and security printing industry for over 15 years and has a background in printing and media technology with a diploma from the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart, Germany.
Felix supports central banks globally to make their banknotes more sustainable and secure, in order to preserve cash as one of the preferred means of payment.
Vincent Gourmelen is the Director of Sales, Marketing and Strategy at Linxens Government. He has worked in the government identity industry for more than 10 years and has extensive experience in ID document manufacturing and end-to-end issuance system.
Prior to joining Linxens, Vincent worked for other major players of the industry such as HID Global and Arjo Systems in global marketing and product manager roles. Before that, he was working in the Industrial IOT / M2M industry as Regional Sales and Business Development manager.
Michael Grau has been with Gietz AG, a leading manufacturer of hot foil stamping machines with a focus on the security industry, since 2012. Michael is currently the Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at Gietz AG.
With over 30 years of experience in the printing and converting sectors, Michael Grau has gained in-depth knowledge of industry-specific requirements and technologies through various roles. His technical expertise, built on training as a printer and technician in printing technology, combined with his extensive industry experience, makes him a key figure in developing innovative solutions for the global security industry.
With a PhD in Physics and over 25 years of international experience, Ralf specialises in industrial machine vision solutions and machine learning applications for automated inline inspection systems. He has been with Bundesdruckerei since 2009, with expertise in the optical design and inspection of security features within both document design and production processes.
Today, his primary focus is on designing and developing security and quality assurance solutions for biometric portrait images, encompassing the entire process from enrolment and production to optical verification.
Michael Hans joined SICPA, Switzerland in 2019 as Regional Business Director for Currency Services & Solutions and has managed the relations between major customers based in Canada and Western Europe.
Prior to joining SICPA, Michael started his career working in Quality Management at Giesecke & Devrient Munich and later managed their Banknote Production Facility in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. At König & Bauer, he oversaw the Product Management for Banknote Printing Machines and managed the printing operations including Production Engineering and Materials R&D at the Canadian Bank Note Company Inc.
Jan Hofmann holds a diploma in Printing Engineering and Economics from the Printing University in Stuttgart, Germany. After several years working as a Producer in the commercial printing and packaging industry for international clients, he transitioned into the banknote industry in 2006. As Regional Sales Director at Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, he was responsible for the sales of banknotes to central banks, as well as commodities and machinery to state print works.
In 2015, he joined Hueck Folien GmbH, as Head of Sales for their Security Division, and is now responsible for the sales of high-security threads and foils.
Marc Hunsänger serves as the Technology Manager for Protection Solutions at Koenig & Bauer and holds degrees in Print and Media Technology. The majority of his academic and professional career has been dedicated to security printing.
During his tenure at Papierfabrik Louisenthal, secunet, and Koenig & Bauer, he focused on developing procedures to enhance the productivity of micro-optical feature production, implementing optical measurement techniques to evaluate the quality of reader devices, and managing a comprehensive portfolio of protection and authentication solutions.
With over 15 years of experience in physical document security, Mikko brings a robust, cross-disciplinary technical background to the table obtained from his experience as a project manager. Joining the Identity and Biometric solutions of Thales in 2008, (based in Vantaa, Finland), he actively worked on R&D contributions including strategic projects in contactless and dual-interface technology, laser personalisation, and innovative material solutions.
Since 2022, Mikko is Product Manager in the Physical Document Security Group, overseeing the development of passport data pages and hinge technology.
Loïc Mabille started his adventure in the banknote industry at Banque de France in 2015 and is currently in charge of Technical Sales for EuropaFi, Banque de France Paper Mill. As the EverFit® Product Manager, he is constantly seeking opportunities to share his insights on unfit banknote reasons with central banks.
Loïc started in R&D focusing on new security features, but quickly specialized in banknote durability; from analysing the failure mechanisms of banknotes in harsh circulation environments to developing innovative solutions that address durability challenges. He also served as a Lab Manager at Banque de France and actively contributed to international efforts in counterfeit resilience.
With an educational background in law, Harriet initially worked within the private client legal field before moving into the Identity and Security Documents almost 10 years ago. Harriet has worked tirelessly building strong customer relationships and developing a keen expertise in understanding the threats, movements and requirements of the sector, to create bespoke solutions that stay one step ahead.
In her current role as Sales & Commercial Director, sitting on the board of Portals Paper Ltd, Harriet works alongside an exceptional team of sales and commercially minded individuals, focussed on the development and growth of the Portals’ security paper portfolio including its global passport, certificate and high-security document offering. Incredibly passionate about the sector and industry, Harriet, unashamedly, has both a personal and professional love of paper.
As ID Documents Products Director, Thomas defines IDEMIA’s strategy and vision for ID documents. He ensures the continuous development of the IDEMIA Smart Identity’s products, focusing on security features, chips and operating systems. Before joining IDEMIA, Thomas held various roles at Arjowiggins Group and Bloomoon where he gained extensive expertise in marketing and consulting.
Thomas is also a member of the Secure Identity Alliance (SIA) Documents Security Working Group, an organization dedicated to supporting the provision of a legal, trusted identity for all.
Christian Sailer is a Material Scientist who obtained a PhD in Polymer Physics from ETH Zürich. He began his career in the security printing industry at Trüb AG, which after a series of mergers and acquisitions became a subsidiary of Gemalto and subsequently Thales DIS. During his time at Trüb AG, he led the local research and development team focused on creating security features and ID documents using laminated polymer sheets.
In 2021, he became a member of the innovation team at Orell Füssli Security Printing, where he is currently engaged in various initiatives pertaining to the security features of banknotes.
Paolo graduated in aerospace engineering at the Politecnico of Milano and began his career as a project manager in the military aircraft sector shortly after graduation.
In 2016, he joined PARVIS to oversee the company's growing sales and marketing operations, bringing with him five years of experience in international sales within the mechanical industry.
Georgios Tziovaras holds a diploma in Manufacturing Engineering with a focus on polymer processing industries. He joined Bayer's polymers film department in October 1999. Following the company's transformation into Covestro in 2015, Georgios assumed a pivotal role as Global Application Development Manager for Specialty Films, specializing in identification documents and security printing. With over 20 years in the secure identification industry, he is at the forefront of reshaping this sector, emphasizing the critical role of advanced PC and TPU films.
Additionally, he supports the global business of products in manufacturing, driving innovation and development in ID document and security printing film solutions.