Sappi Europe lead team

Marco Eikelenboom

Marco Eikelenboom
Chief Executive Officer

Mr Eikelenboom began his career at Koninklijke Nederlandse Papierfabriek (KNP) working as a Management Trainee and Area Sales Executive Southern Europe in Maastricht and then Sales Manager in Paris. He has been with Sappi Europe since January 1998, initially as Manager Corporate Planning, before working as Managing Director Benelux, then moving to South Africa to work as Marketing Director for fine paper. In 2009 he was promoted to Vice President Marketing & Sales for Graphic Papers. Marco has overseen numerous projects which have helped to successfully restructure and reposition Sappi’s Graphic Papers business in Europe, including a new go-to-market strategy and heightened levels of commercial service resulting in increased customer preference and retention. Mr Eikelenboom has held his current position as CEO since April 2021.

Qualifications: MS (Business Economics)

Stephen Blyth

Stephen Blyth
VP and Chief Financial Officer

Mr Blyth joined Sappi in September 2005 as Senior Tax Manager for Sappi Southern Africa. He had previously spent nine years with KPMG in Johannesburg and London in various audit, accounting and tax roles. He was appointed Sappi’s Group Financial Manager in August 2007 and was seconded to Brussels in January 2010 to take up the role of Deputy Group Treasurer within Sappi International. He moved to Sappi Europe in the summer of 2014 to take up his current role.
Qualifications: BCom Hons, CA (SA), H Dip Tax (Law)

Steffen Wurdinger

Steffen Wurdinger
VP Manufacturing and Technology

After a brief period as a Scientific Assistant at the Institute of Paper-Technology in Dresden, Mr Wurdinger started at Ehingen Mill in March 1991 as head of Technology, rising to PQM-Manager in 1994. From 2003 to 2005 he was Technical Director at Cloquet Mill, USA and came back to support the Geminus project in Ehingen. He took over as Mill Director Ehingen, in October 2006 and started in his current position on January 1st 2017. Mr Wurdinger oversees all mill operations in Europe, as well as the central technology and engineering department and the CWZ-Chemische Werke Zell-Wildshausen.
Qualifications: MS (Paper Technology Engineering), Dr.-Ing (specialisation in CTMP)

Rainer Neumann

Rainer Neumann
VP Human Resources

Mr Neumann started his professional career with Procter & Gamble where he held various positions in Human Resources and Controlling with increased responsibility. Thereafter he became HR Director Central Europe for Reckitt Benckiser. In 2000 Mr. Neumann moved to Amsterdam to become HR Director Europe for the energy company Mirant. He moved to Sappi Europe in the Autumn of 2002 to take up his current role.
Qualifications: MS Industrial Relations & Human Resources / MS Administrative Sciences

Flavio Froehli

Flavio Froehli
VP Marketing & Sales

Mr. Froehli is an experienced marketing & sales executive with an extensive background in the Paper, Packaging & Pulp industry. He joined Sappi as Sales Director, Graphics with the acquisition of M-real Graphics in 2008 for which he previously also worked in North America for 8 years. Since joining Sappi, he was involved in several change initiatives and was recognized for introducing new business models resulting in positioning Sappi as an outright leader in the Graphics Papers market. In his latest capacity as Director, Business Strategy & Development, appointed in 2018, he was also in charge of leading a cross-functional, cross-business team of collaborative experts accelerating Sappi’s transition into growth markets by identifying, evaluating and selecting products that are today being manufactured on originally Graphics-dedicated machines. He joined the European lead team in 2021.

Qualifications: Master of Business Administration (MBA)

Hannes Boner

Hannes Boner
VP General Counsel

Mr Boner joined Sappi Europe in 2002 as VP General Counsel and also acts as legal compliance officer for Europe. Prior to working with Sappi, Mr Boner worked for 13 years as a private practitioner in Brussels and Zurich. He advised clients mainly on matters of EU law with special emphasis on antitrust and trade defence proceedings as well as on regulatory matters.
Qualifications: lic iur, DHEE, Admitted Attorney

Jan Sander Van Tuijl

Jan Sander Van Tuijl
VP Supply Chain & Procurement

Mr Van Tuijl joined Sappi in 2001 as a management trainee, starting in Maastricht Mill, moving to Central Logistics in Brussels and finally to Ehingen Mill. He was seconded to Ngodwana Mill, South Africa in 2004. Returning to Ehingen in 2006, moving from process engineer to production manager to join the mill management team heading the PQM department. In 2011, he moved to Alfeld to project lead the mill conversion into 100% specialty grades. In 2012 he took on additional tasks becoming the T&E Coordinator for the European business reporting into the VP Manufacturing. In 2015, he moved to the Head Office in Brussels first as Strategic Sourcing Manager for Chemicals and Pigments, then Procurement Director for Indirect Spend and in January 2021 became part of the European lead team as VP Supply Chain & Procurement.

Qualifications: MSc in Forestry and Wood Science

Louis Kruyshaar

Louis Kruyshaar
VP Innovation and Biotech

 

Mr Kruyshaar started his career as a Sappi bursar in 1993 joining Enstra mill in South Africa as an Engineer-in-Training progressing to the position Production Superintendent in the Pulp mill. In 2001 he joined Sappi Usutu pulp mill in Swaziland as Technical Manager. In 2003 he joined Sappi Ngodwana mill as Paper mill Manager, later moving to the role of Pulp Mill Manager. In 2008 he was appointed General Manager at Tugela Mill. In 2016 he moved to the position of VP Sappi Biotech with global responsibility to commercialise the portfolio under development in adjacent biomaterial markets. In 2021 the Innovation responsibility for Sappi Europe was added with responsibility today for Innovation at Sappi Europe and Biotech, globally.

 

Qualifications: B.Eng (Chemical Engineering), MBA