Tom Dailly
Mayor
Village of Schaumburg
May 13, 2027
8:00 am – 8:10 am CST
MAYOR'S WELCOME ADDRESS
8:10 am – 8:20 am CST
CHAIR'S WELCOME AND OPENING REMARKS
Sustainability & Materials
Oliver Campbell
Director, Distinguished Engineer, Product Development Engineering and Packaging Engineering
Dell
Design & Branding
Paula Steenstra
Director, Visual Identity
McDonald's
Innovation & Technology
8:20 am – 8:50 am CST
KEYNOTE
Kevin Brong
VP, Packaging Engineering
Newell Brands
Scaling AI-Driven Packaging Engineering to Accelerate Innovation, Speed, and Smarter Decision-Making
- Leveraging AI tools to accelerate packaging ideation and expand innovative solution development opportunities
- Utilizing AI-assisted validation to pressure-test concepts before physical prototyping and reduce costly iterations
- Enhancing cross-functional collaboration through stronger concept storytelling, visualization, and data-driven communication tools
- Compressing development timelines while protecting manufacturability, operational efficiency, and supply chain performance outcomes
- Expanding engineering capacity through AI copilots while maintaining technical rigor, accountability, and quality standards
- Integrating consumer insights, packaging engineering, and data analytics to drive faster and smarter product decisions
8:50 am – 9:20 am CST
PLENARY
Alessandro Ruggeri
VP, Global Packaging
Barilla
PACKAGING AS A GROWTH DRIVER: CREATING VALUE BEYOND SUSTAINABILITY
- Reframing packaging as a strategic driver of consumer and business value
- Creating stronger shelf impact, usability, brand differentiation, and consumer preference
- Balancing sustainability ambitions with product protection, quality, and consumer experience
- Moving beyond material reduction toward packaging that creates meaningful differentiation
- Connecting packaging decisions with brand strategy, consumer needs, and growth
- Building packaging strategies that deliver value across the entire lifecycle
9:20 am – 9:50 am CST
PLENARY
Speaker TBA
Plascene
Accelerating Custom Packaging Commercialization Through In-House Engineering and Global Reach
- Co-creating tailored bottle geometries alongside brand partners to maximize shelf appeal and functional ergonomics
- Maintaining strict FDA food-contact compliance across all beverage, supplement, and culinary packaging lines
- Utilizing real-time SAP production systems and IoT quality monitoring to guarantee strict manufacturing precision
- Streamlining end-to-end container production from initial preform injection molding to final blown bottle delivery
- Expanding global supply chain resilience by combining domestic California manufacturing with overseas production facilities
- Lowering total packaging footprint through data-backed resin lightweighting and optimized transport geometry designs
9:55 am – 11:35 am CST
REFRESHMENTS, NETWORKING, AND PRE-ARRANGED 1-2-1 MEETINGS
11:40 am – 12:10 pm CST
STREAM SESSIONS
Sustainability & Materials
Jeff Bezzo
Executive Director, Plastics Sustainability PMO
SC Johnson
Navigating EPR, ESG, and Packaging Risk in a Shifting Regulatory Landscape
- Understanding how evolving EPR regulations are reshaping packaging design, sourcing, and compliance strategies
- Leveraging lifecycle analysis and carbon metrics to support sustainable material and investment decisions
- Strengthening ESG governance frameworks to improve transparency, accountability, and enterprise-wide sustainability alignment
- Managing operational and financial risks associated with emerging packaging technologies and circular economy initiatives
- Exploring how cross-functional leadership enables organizations to adapt quickly to changing global policy requirements
- Building internal sustainability capabilities that empower teams to drive compliance, innovation, and long-term business resilience
Design & Branding
Aidee Rodriguez
Senior Director, Brand XP Design
The Coca-Cola Company
Architecting Global Design Systems: Aligning Brand Experience with Long-Term Business Objectives
- Strategies for navigating complex organizational restructures while maintaining creative continuity and brand integrity
- Leading cross-functional teams to resolve intricate branding issues across diverse global and local market segments
- Simplifying label architectures through technical design reduction to eliminate visual noise and enhance manufacturing print legibility
- Conducting comprehensive regulatory assessments across all LATAM countries to identify harmonized design opportunities for localized packaging
- Surpassing strict regional compliance restrictions by engineering intelligent grid layouts that maximize limited printable surface area
Innovation & Technology
Kayla Risch
Senior Creative Director, Head of Design
Colgate-Palmolive
Leveraging AI to Predict Consumer Resonance and Structural Performance
- Applying AI-driven simulation to decode consumer insights and predict design resonance before physical prototyping.
- Utilizing generative design tools to enable hyper-personalized packaging and adaptive branding for global portfolios.
- Streamlining iterative testing cycles through AI-powered workflows that optimize artwork from concept to production.
- Integrating machine learning with packaging software to improve form, function, and manufacturing feasibility.
- Validating structural integrity using digital tools that simulate consumer interactions and real-world shelf impact.
- Accelerating speed-to-market by adopting scalable AI solutions for future-proof artwork and compliance management.
12:15 pm – 12:45 pm CST
WORKSHOPS
Room 1
Speaker TBA
Plastic Technologies Inc.
Reimagining Plastic Packaging for Sustainable Performance
- Showcasing PTI’s integrated concept-to-commercialization packaging design and development expertise
- Exploring sustainable materials and lifecycle-informed engineering for next-gen packaging solutions
- Demonstrating advanced simulation and prototyping to accelerate speed-to-market execution
- Highlighting performance testing methods that ensure package integrity and consumer satisfaction
- Inspiring innovation through case examples of high-impact brand packaging collaborations
Room 2
Speaker TBA
Olberding Brand Family
Calm over Chaos: Building Systems that Make AI work from Concept to Consumer
- Close the gap between AI capability and business outcomes
- Prioritize operational discipline over new technology
- Improve data quality to unlock automation and scale
- Protect brand consistency and consumer trust across assets and markets
- Build the governance and human oversight required for success
Room 3
Speaker TBA
Esko
AI-assistance in your artwork process: Boost your operational efficiency
- Redefining global artwork and compliance processes through the implementation of AI-driven automation
- Streamlining complex artwork change management cycles across diverse international markets and products
- Detecting critical compliance risks automatically within safety-sensitive content to protect brand integrity
- Scaling digital transformation strategies to maintain alignment with rapidly evolving global regulatory requirements
12:50 pm – 1:50 pm CST
LUNCH & LEARN ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS AND OPEN SEATING LUNCH
Speaker TBA
Plastic Ingenuity
Rethinking Sustainability in Thermoform Packaging
Speaker TBA
Ampacet
Creating Impactful Flexible Packaging Solutions That Engage Consumers and Support Sustainable Practices
Speaker TBA
Premier Packaging
Engineering End-to-End Packaging Solutions Through Curiosity and Supply Chain Collaboration
1:55 pm – 2:25 pm CST
STREAM SESSIONS
Sustainability & Materials
Sushil Iyer
Global Head, Packaging
Kenvue
Transformative Packaging: Redefining Innovation and Excellence
- Architecting advanced digital systems and internal engineering tools to streamline global packaging workflows
- Pioneering closed-loop returnable container ecosystems that eliminate single-use waste across complex distribution networks
- Integrating enterprise PMO methodologies to accelerate seamless product launches from concept through high-volume commercialization
- Engineering high-durability protective packaging solutions that maintain absolute component integrity throughout high-velocity logistics
- Leveraging supply chain analytics and process optimization to drive massive cost savings and freight efficiency
- Bridging cross-functional execution between engineering, operations, and global suppliers grounded in servant leadership principles
Design & Branding
Carlos Poyanco
Director, Packaging Engineering and Sustainability
Mircosoft
Driving Sustainable Structural Engineering and Portfolio Plastic Elimination
- Leading Microsoft’s global packaging engineering and sustainability organization across hardware portfolio divisions
- Directing Project Alder to reduce single-use plastics to 0.07% across device packaging
- Pioneering interlocking paper-based cushioning systems to replace traditional foam packaging inserts
- Engineering high-precision fiber packaging geometries to ensure device protection during global distribution
- Optimizing pallet density and shipping volume to reduce downstream logistics carbon footprints
- Fostering supplier collaboration to scale recyclable, fiber-based packaging materials without cost penalties
Innovation & Technology
Rose Liu
Manager, Service and Systems, Packaging Engineering
Tesla
Optimizing Automotive Service Packaging Systems for High-Velocity Global Distribution Networks
- Developing scalable packaging systems and digital tools to streamline global service parts distribution workflows
- Standardizing returnable container fleets across North American service hubs to minimize transit damage risks
- Integrating PMO governance frameworks to accelerate new product launches across global distribution center operations
- Engineering durable protective solutions for sensitive automotive electronics during global service network transit
- Leveraging supply chain analytics to optimize packaging density and reduce global logistics freight costs
- Executing lean process engineering initiatives to harmonize launch and sustaining service packaging workflows
2:30 pm – 3:00 pm CST
WORKSHOPS
Room 1
Speaker TBA
Markem-Imaje
Coding the future: Mastering Retail and Regulatory Requirements for Lasting Industry Success
- Navigating the complex intersection of retail standards and diverse regulatory requirements to avoid product delays and costly rejections
- Managing the challenge of juggling different sets of rules, formats, and validation expectations across multiple global industries
- Mitigating the risk of chargebacks and compliance issues by understanding exactly where barcode systems overlap and where they diverge
- Protecting brand integrity and customer trust through the implementation of compliant barcode solutions that enhance visibility
- Leveraging Digital Link technology to streamline information access and improve end-to-end product traceability
- Fostering stronger customer relationships through increased transparency and engagement driven by modern digital integration
Room 2
Speaker TBA
Plastic Ingenuity
Seizing the Opportunity: How Packaging Convertors Drive Environmental Impact for Brand Owners
- Exploring how packaging manufacturers drive measurable sustainability outcomes through systems-based thinking, strategic material selection, and circular design principles
- Highlighting the role of thermoforming innovation, vertically integrated manufacturing, and sustainable packaging assessments in helping brands meet environmental goals
- Demonstrating how small, process-driven improvements create significant long-term impact in recyclability, carbon reduction, and regulatory compliance
- Showcasing real-world case studies of packaging solutions through rigorous lifecycle assessment and circularity analysis
- Providing actionable frameworks for organizations to define sustainability goals, assess current packaging performance, and execute scalable implementation roadmaps
Room 3
HARNESSING PREDICTIVE BIG DATA ANALYTICS MODULES TO OPTIMIZE PACKAGING EQUIPMENT ASSET THROUGHPUT
- Collecting massive sensor machine data points to predict mechanical wear.
- Eliminating unexpected production down-time via targeted proactive maintenance scheduling algorithms.
- Analyzing complex manufacturing cycle speed variables to eliminate systematic bottlenecks.
- Connecting factory equipment arrays to single unified dashboard observation platforms.
- Generating automated productivity reporting metrics to identify operational waste sources.
3:05 pm – 4:25 pm CST
HAPPY HOUR, NETWORKING, AND PRE-ARRANGED 1-2-1 MEETINGS
4:30 pm – 5:00 pm CST
SESSIONS
Sustainability & Materials
Christy Broussard
Senior Manager, Global Sysco Brand Packaging Design
Sysco
FIRESIDE CHAT: The Circular Intersection: Merging Brand Aesthetics with Sustainable Performance
- Designing packaging that simultaneously meets high-impact brand goals and rigorous global circularity targets
- Leveraging advanced materials to elevate functional performance while reducing the total environmental footprint of the product
- Balancing visual design creativity with strict compliance and performance standards in highly regulated global industries
- Navigating the technical trade-offs between premium brand aesthetics and the structural limitations of sustainable substrates
- Scaling circular innovation across multi-category portfolios to ensure brand consistency and environmental accountability
Design & Branding
ELEVATING BRAND EQUITY BY INTEGRATING CRITICAL HUMAN CENTERED GRAPHIC DESIGN PRINCIPLES
- Establishing highly cohesive visual languages across multi-channel consumer portfolio touchpoints.
- Designing strategic retail displays to capture instant target consumer purchase attention.
- Enhancing emotional luxury market resonance via sophisticated corporate aesthetic layouts.
- Fostering deep collaborative frameworks with specialized external creative partner agencies.
- Creating impactful structural packaging systems that actively improve unboxing experiences.
Innovation & Technology
Ratisha Bolin
Director, Procurement
Sara Lee Frozen Bakery
Strengthening Leadership Pipelines and Elevating the Next Generation in Packaging
- Advocating for cross-functional career development by designing robust, metrics-driven structural packaging mentorship initiatives
- Creating continuous technical development pathways to prepare the next generation of sustainable packaging innovators
- Promoting junior designers and engineers rapidly into critical, cross-functional packaging procurement and sourcing roles
- Positioning packaging innovation as a primary corporate vehicle for operational excellence and cultural transformation
5:05 pm – 5:35 pm CST
PLENARY
Speaker TBA
Ampacet
Advancing the Future of Plastics Through Advanced Masterbatch Formulations and Sustainable Solutions
- Developing forward-thinking additive solutions to increase product durability, performance, and overall circularity
- Formulating advanced color and special effect masterbatches to enhance aesthetic visual appeal
- Expanding global R&D networks across four international research centers to accelerate commercialization
- Engineering recycle-ready resin additives to facilitate circular economy plastics sorting and reprocessing
- Optimizing high-volume production operations across twenty-one global manufacturing sites in seventeen countries
- Providing multidisciplinary technical and analytical support to streamline on-site troubleshooting and prototyping
5:35 pm – 6:20 pm CST
PANEL DISCUSSION
Maryam Cristillo
Senior Manager, Creative
Lindt & Sprüngli
Olivia Burca
Senior Manager, Design Innovation, Whitespace
PepsiCo
FUTURE-READY DESIGN: WHERE CREATIVITY MEETS PACKAGING INNOVATION AND MAXIMIZES PERFORMANCE
- Merging creative conceptual design thinking with rigorous downstream technical engineering requirements.
- Accelerating commercialization speeds utilizing collaborative virtual front-end artwork creation platforms.
- Designing striking sensory brand packaging features that explicitly fulfill consumer utility.
- Evaluating advanced alternative material structures to achieve long-term corporate sustainability goals.
- Resolving complex multi-region compliance mandates without compromising core brand visual identity.
- Deploying agile prototyping tools to pressure-test innovative functional features rapidly.
6:20 pm – 6:30 pm CST
CHAIR'S CLOSING REMARKS
Sustainability & Materials
Oliver Campbell
Director, Distinguished Engineer, Product Development Engineering and Packaging Engineering
Dell
Design & Branding
Paula Steenstra
Director, Visual Identity
McDonald's
Innovation & Technology
6:35 pm – 7:35 pm CST
NETWORKING DRINKS RECEPTION
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