BIOGRAPHY

Birgit Huber has studied food-technology in Stuttgart-Hohenheim. Since 1985 she works for IKW (The German Cosmetic, Toiletry, Perfumery and Detergent Association). She had started as scientific assistant and since 1989 she is Head of the Expertise Partner Beauty Care. Since June 2005 she is also Deputy Director of IKW. Since June 2022 she is vice-president of Cosmetics Europe.

She is a member in different scientific and technical working groups in Germany and Europe, eg. the German Cosmetics Commission at BfR (Federal Institute for Risk Assessment), Board of GEPA (non-profit making association which supports the Information Network of Departments of Dermatology for the surveillance and scientific evaluation of contact allergies (IVDK), Cosmetics Europe. She has given many presentations on international events on cosmetics. Furthermore she has published in English and German magazines. In 1987 Birgit Huber received the Maison de Navarre-Award of the IFSCC (International Federation of the Society of Cosmetic Chemists) in Santiago de Chile.

BIOGRAPHY

Geeta heads Regulatory Affairs for all Estee Lauder brands for the India and SriLanka markets. She has been with Estee Lauder for over 15 years and has been actively involved in Product Stewardship initiatives, Access to Market initiatives, Labeling & Classification, Harmonization Initiatives with Indian authorities, and all other Regulatory affairs for Estee Lauder brands in India.

Geeta also leads the Corporate Citizenship & Sustainability initiatives for Estee Lauder in India, including projects on women’s advancement and various other social impact initiatives.

Geeta is an active member of FICCI, the technical committee at Indian Beauty and Hygiene Association (IBHA), Cosmetics Europe India task force (EU trade body), PCPC Asia subcommittee (US trade body) and Indian Society of Cosmetic Chemists (ISCC). She is the Estee Lauder representative from India at all Cosmetics trade bodies worldwide.

Previously, Geeta was working at Estee Lauder UK, where she worked on compliance with EU Cosmetics Directive, Dangerous Substances and Dangerous Preparations Directive (CHIP 3) and other regulatory affairs for all of Estee Lauder brands across Europe.

Geeta has a master’s degree in Cosmetics Technology. She has recently completed a course on Business Sustainability Management by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. She has also completed certificate courses in “Principle and Practice of Cosmetic Science” by SCS UK, “Toxicology and classification and labeling of dangerous preparations” by CHCS UK, “Basics of Toxicology” by Chemical Watch and “Basics of Ayurveda” by Center of Excellence UK. She is currently training to become a Safety Assessor and doing a course in Toxicology organized by IKW (Germany).

BIOGRAPHY

Saurabh leads the Client Success team for Mintel India. He's responsible for helping clients derive insights through integrating product data, category trends, and consumer reports from Mintel's wide-ranging platforms. He has close to a decade of experience in FMCG Market Research, spread across a wide range of custom and syndicated solutions.

BIOGRAPHY

Nicolas joined the Cosmetics, Toiletries and Perfumery Association in 2019 as Head of International Growth & Regulatory Services. Having studied Pharmacy in the University of Barcelona, before joining CTPA he held regulatory roles within the cosmetics industry from a manufacturer, a brand and a consultancy perspective both in Spain and the UK. At CTPA, Nico is involved in helping to shape the direction and implementation of the UK Cosmetics Regulation, as well as supporting brands in their international expansion by directing the involvement of CTPA in international advocacy initiatives and providing direct expert advice to the Department for Business and Trade on Free Trade Agreement negotiations.

BIOGRAPHY

Over 33 years of experience in Toxicology and risk assessments for drugs, cosmetics and Medical devices

Currently working at Kenvue (erstwhile Johnson & Johnson) in its Consumer division as Senior Director and Global Head of Toxicology for last 14 years. He is responsible for safety and risk assessment of cosmetic and consumer products, OTC drugs, food supplements, medical devices and feminine care products for their global launches. His areas of expertise include product and ingredient safety to support product launches under NPD (New product development) and innovation platforms, post market safety, ingredient safety defense with industry consortia/ Health authorities globally, addressing any quality issues. He is also involved in Packaging safety, Occupational safety assessments and Ecotox assessments. He has been engaged with industry safety forums in Europe, the US, in Asia Pacific and in India. A major part of his responsibilities involves submissions/responses to Health authorities, interactions with health agencies to support product safety and address any compliance queries. I am also involved in implementation of novel technologies/ methods like in-vitro models, in-silico predictions, NAMs ( New Alternative Methods) and NGRA ( New Generation risk Assessment) Toxicology models. He also sits on Expert committee member panel for Excipient safety at USP, IPEC , Scientific Advisory panel for safety at EDANA ( European absorbable nonwoven products) and Nitrosamine risk assessment forum in Europe. Lately he has also been involved in developing AI technologies for automated Toxicology risk assessments.

India at Kenvue to develop over 50 toxicologists in the field of cosmetic safety. His leadership skls helped him lead a team of toxicologists globally.

Before joining the Consumer industry, he was in Ranbaxy Labs Ltd, India in Pharmaceutical Industry- for 2 years as Associate Director in Drug safety Evaluation function in Drug Discovery and Development programs. He had oversight of preclinical drug development for NCEs and OTC products for systemic Tox, Genotoxicity and Safety pharmacology in Drug Discovery and Drug Development areas and support to impurity qualifications and generic compounds’ assessment. He managed a team of 20 plus Toxicologists at Ranbaxy. Prior to industry exposure he spent 15 years in Academics at Bombay Veterinary College from 1992-2007 as faculty member and involved in teaching and research veterinary sciences at undergraduate and post graduate programs. He was research advisor for over 30 students for their Masters and Ph.D. programs and was adjudged as Best Teacher for three years . He has been invited as guest speaker and also presented lead papers on more than 20 occasions and presented 30 papers in national and international conferences. He has more than 27 publications in peer reviewed journals to his credit and he is also recipient of several awards including a national award (Jawaharlal Nehru) in India.

BIOGRAPHY

Natalie Obermann is the Vice President of Global Strategies at the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC). In her role, she closely collaborates with member companies to monitor and analyze global regulatory and trade developments that could affect the cosmetics and personal care industry. Prior to her current position, Natalie gained experience while working at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She led the organization's efforts to support open trade and investment in Southeast Asia. Additionally, she oversaw the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's participation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which included 21 nations. With over 15 years of experience in public policy and trade advocacy, Natalie is a reliable resource in this field.