President of the Standing Committee, CPICC

Executive Director, Hengan International Group

Wanyan Shaohua is the Senior Vice President, Commercial and Corporate Development at the RGE Group. With over 20 years’ experience, Shaohua has held various senior positions at the RGE Group in the areas of strategic planning, sales & marketing, and business management. Prior to the current role, he served as the Paper Business Head for APRIL Group, and as the Marketing Head for Asia Symbol. Prior to his industrial experience, he was a business researcher at the National University of Singapore and INSEAD, and has published over a dozen research papers. He holds a Masters of Science (Business Policy) from the National University of Singapore, and frequently speaks at forestry and pulp and paper industrial conferences.

Professor Wu Xiaoqiu, born in February 1959, is a well-known financial economist in China. He served as Vice President of Renmin University of China from 2016 to 2020 and is currently the University’s national first-level professor, director of the National Institute of Financial Research and dean of the China Capital Market Research Institute, director of the China-US Research Center for Humanitarian Exchange under the Ministry of Education, and Distinguished Professor of “Chang Jiang Scholars Program” of Ministry of Education (2006). His major social academic titles are as follows: Convener of Applied Economics Discipline Evaluation Group of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, First Deputy Chairman of National Supervisory Committee for Professional Degrees in Finance, Deputy Chairman of Chinese Society of Educational Development Strategy and Chairman of Higher Education Professional Committee of China. Prof. Wu has published more than 100 papers in major academic journals, including Social Sciences in China, Economic Research Journal, Journal of Financial Research.

Tom was educated at St Paul's School in London, and subsequently Newcastle University, where he gained a BSc in Economics. After training as an accountant, Tom joined Hawkins Wright in 1998. He undertakes most of the private client consultancy assignments on a wide range of topics related to the pulp and paper sector. He is the co-author and editor of the company's regular multi-client reports, and principal author of the China research. Tom has helped to establish two major events in the pulp industry calendar, held annually in London and Shanghai. He travels widely; both in the course of market research and also as a frequent speaker to private meetings and industry conferences.

Director,Pulp Decision-making Committee，China Paper Corporation 

Board of Directors & General Manager,Yueyang Forest & Paper 

Since June 2019, Mr. Li Zhan has held the position of Board of Directors and General Manager at Yueyang Forest & Paper, a subsidiary of China Paper Corporation. He once served as the director of Purchasing Center at China Paper Corporation,assistant to general Manager and deputy general manager of  Yueyang Forestry and Paper. Starting in 2024, he will also take on the role of Director of the Pulp Decision-making Committee at China Paper Corporation.

Walter Schalka joined Suzano in 2013 and is currently Chief Executive Officer of the company. He began his career at Citibank and later joined the holding company of the Maepar Group. In 1989, he joined Dixie Lalekla, and later became CEO after the merger that created the Dixie Toga Group. In 2005, he joined the Votorantim Group as CEO of Votorantim Cimentos. 

In 2023, Schalka was elected Person of the Year by Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce. In addition, he was elected Value Executive for the seventh time by Valor Economico newspaper and CEO of the Year in Latin America, for the eighth time, by Fastmarkets RISI, a consulting organization specialized in the paper and pulp industry.

Schalka holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) and a graduate degree in Business Administration from the Getulio Vargas Foundation of Sao Paulo (FGV-SP). He also participated in executive programs at IMD (Switzerland) and Harvard University (USA).

Consultant, CPICC 

President, China Technical Association of Paper Industry 

Director ,Tissue Committee, China Paper Association

Dr. Cao Zhenlei, a doctoral supervisor and professor-level senior engineer, has represented the 15th and 16th National Congresses of the Communist Party of China. He graduated from South China University of Technology and earned his PhD from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

Throughout his career, Dr. Cao has held prestigious positions, including president and secretary of the party committee at the China Pulp and Paper Research Institute, secretary-general of the China Technical Association of Paper Industry, deputy general manager of China Light Industry Corporation, and vice-chairman of the China Papermaking Association.

In 2006, Dr. Cao co-founded the China Paper & Pulp Industry Chamber of Commerce (CPICC) with Li Hongxin, Li Jianhua and other industry leaders, served as its vice president. Currently, he serves as a consultant for the CPICC, chairman of the China Technical Association of Paper Industry, and director of the Tissue Committee, China Paper Association.

CEO, Metsä Fibre

Mr. Ismo Nousiainen, M.Sc. (Eng.) is the Chief Executive Officer of Metsä Fibre Oy, a part of Metsä Group, and a Member of the Metsä

Group Executive Management Team since January 2018. Mr. Nousiainen has worked for Metsä Fibre since 2001 and held various management positions. He obtained his M.Sc. degree in Engineering from Lappeenranta University of Technology in 1993, and has a wide and versatile experience on pulp business and production.

Rodrigo Libaber is the CCO (Chief Commercial & Logistics Officer) of Eldorado Brasil Celulose since March 2017. He holds a degree in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, a Corporate MBA from IAG PUC in Rio de Janeiro and an Executive MBA from Fundação Getúlio Vargas - FGV. Previously, Libaber was the Managing Director at Suzano Pulp and Paper Europe for more than 8 years, on top of executive roles for 14 years in companies such as Companhia Siderúrgica Nacional - CSN, Royal Dutch Shell and Banco da Bahia de Investimentos - BBM.

Vice Chairman of China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, Former Deputy Managing Director,IMF, Former Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China & Former Executive Vice president of Bank of China

Zhu Min is Vice Chairman of China Centre for International Economic Exchanges, and Envoy of Sino-UK Professional and Financial Service for the Belt and Road Initiative. He services as a member of the "14th Five-Year Plan" Expert Committee, a member of the Foreign Policy Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and a member of the Expert Advisory Committee of the State Internet Information Office. He is also a Board Trustee member for World Economic Forum, and for Peterson Institute for International Economics. He previously served as the Chairman of the National Institute of Financial Research at Tsinghua University(2017-2022), a Deputy Managing Director at the IMF (2011-2016) and as a Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, and as an Executive Vice president of Bank of China. He also worked at the World Bank and taught economics at both Johns Hopkins University and Fudan University. 

Zhu Min received his Ph.D and M.A. in economics from Johns Hopkins University, a M.P.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public International Affairs at Princeton University, a BA in Economics from Fudan University.

Patrick leads the analysis for wood pulp markets at Fastmarkets RISI. He is the author of the World Pulp Monthly and co-author of the World Pulp & Recovered Paper five- and fifteen-year forecasts. Prior to focusing on the paper grade pulp market, he published regular recurring reports and forecasts covering the dissolving pulp, cellulosic fiber, fluff pulp and nonwovens markets. Pat holds a Master of Science in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island and a Bachelor of Arts from American University.

Mr. Cordeiro is a Forest Engineer and Business Administrator (MBA). He has all-embracing knowledge of the forest-based industry value chains. Mr. Cordeiro has more than 30-years’ experience in management consulting for the pulp, paper, packaging and forest-based related industries. He has led and participated in significant strategic and business intelligence studies for global industrial players. Mr. Cordeiro has strong strategic planning skills evidenced by the large strategic assignments with AFRY’s most demanding clients. During his career he has been involved in a wide variety of assignments including corporate strategy, mergers & acquisitions, due diligence and technical audits, economic feasibility studies, technological assessments, plantation-forest related strategies as well as pulp & paper and bio-economy product market assessments. Mr. Cordeiro client’s portfolio includes major international pulp, paper and packaging companies, but also medium-sized industry operators, start-ups, financial investors and governmental institutions. He works principally with AFRY’s key international customers particularly those in the Nordic countries, South and North America, Iberia and South East Asia.

Aleksei Lomko is an experienced manager who has worked in the pulp and paper industry for 20 years. Mr. Lomko joined Ilim Group in 2005, where he was in charge of all legal aspects of the company's activities, as well as corporate development issues until 2023. He was responsible for legal support of M&A transactions, reforming the group's structure and launching a number of major infrastructure and industrial projects for the Russian market. 

Since 2013 he has been Vice President, and his work included the development of Ilim Group's export operations. During this period, an effective business was created with the amount of pulp and cardboard supplies to China exceeding 2 million tonnes per year. 

Since 2023 Aleksei Lomko has been the head of Ilim Group, the leading Russian exporter of pulp and cardboard products to the Chinese market, the largest foreign supplier. Aleksei Lomko graduated from the Ural Legal Academy, got an MBA at Northwestern University (United States) and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Mr. Lomko is included in the ratings of leading Russian senior managers, and is also one of the most qualified experts representing the Russian timber as well as pulp and paper industry.

Mr. Gu Weidong, Deputy General Manager of COSCO SHIPPING SPECIALIZED in charge of specialized fleet, and business operation in pulp supplychain, vehicle logistics industrial chain, and asphalt logistics etc.

Gavin Hao started GingKo Consulting, in Shanghai China, June 2019.

Gavin has worked in the forestry/pulp/paper industry since 2005. He has focused on wood products market research, forest investment due diligence, forest valuation, cost and price benchmarking, and also has experience in forestry management development. During his time in the industry, Gavin has undertaken projects in China, Russia, South East Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. He has an excellent understanding of the pulp/paper & wood products industries especially in China.

Prior to starting up GingKo Consulting, Gavin was employed with several international companies (STORA ENSO / POYRY / RISI).

Mr. Zhang began his career as a reporter for the China Business Times. In 2006, he transitioned to the paper industry, joining China Paper & Pulp Industry Chamber of Commerce（CPICC）. He has since served as the Secretary-General of the Association for five consecutive terms.