Ten women make list of most influential people in the UK plastics industry

A poll to determine the 70 most influential people in the UK plastics industry has revealed ten women have made the list.

The ten that feature on the list, complied by PRW magazine, include Jane Bickerstaffe, Director of Packaging Industry Organisation, Incpen; Julia Moore, the long-serving Chief Executive of the Gauge and Toolmakers Association (GTMA); Karen Drinkwater, Director of JSC Rotational Moulding and Professor Marianne Gilbert, of the PVC Centre, Loughborough University.

“It is extremely encouraging to see that ten women have been recognised as having a significant influence on the UK plastics industry,” commented Leanne Taylor, Founder of industry group, Women in Plastics.

“It is vastly important for the future of the industry that diversity is recognised. By naming these nine women as key contributors in their field will help not only to encourage more into the sector, but also help promote the benefits of a gender-diverse business. In the future I would hope to see many more women making such lists.”

From plastics and processing to packaging and politics

The complete list of 70 top influencers includes representatives from across the plastics industry, from machinery and materials sectors and distribution through to processing.

It also includes high-profile national figures such as the Prime Minister, David Cameron; George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England.

Buyers for the large companies who use plastic in their products figure prominently including representatives of Britain’s biggest automotive manufacturers, Jaguar Land Rover, Ford Europe, General Motors, Honda UK, Nissan Europe and Toyota UK. Prominent product designer and entrepreneur, James Dyson, also makes the list.

Packaging experts from some of Britain’s biggest retailers feature, including Paul Earnshaw, Packaging Management Director at Tesco; Kevin Vyse, Packaging Technologist and Innovation Lead at Marks & Spencer and Jane Skelton, Head of Packaging at Sainsbury’s.

Among the many advocates of the plastics industry in the UK, perhaps the most prominent is Philip Law, Director-General of the British Plastics Federation. As awareness grows of the impact of plastics in the marine environment, Samantha Fanshawe, Chief Executive of the Marine Conservation Society, is also included.

The nine women (in alphabetical order, not order of influence)

• Jane Bickerstaffe – Director, Incpen
• Alison Bramfitt – Group Packaging Manager, Nestlé
• Christine Cooke – Senior Purchasing Manager, Toyota Uk
• Karen Drinkwater – Director, Jsc Rotational Moulding
• Samantha Fanshawe – Chief Executive, Marine Conservation Society
• Julia Moore – Chief Executive, GTMA
• Judith Richardson – Vice President Purchasing, Nissan Europe
• Jane Skelton – Head of Packaging, Sainsbury’s
• Liz Truss – Environment Minister
• Professor Marianne Gilbert – Principal Contact, PVC Centre, Loughborough University

The top 70 (in alphabetical order, not order of influence)

• Dave Allen – Purchasing Director, JLR
• Peter Atterby – Managing Director, Luxus
• David Baker – Commercial Director, RPC Group
• Mike Bate – Managing Director, KraussMaffei UK
• Roger Baynham – Managing Director, Philip Tyler Polymers
• Lord Bhattacharyya – Chairman, Warwick Manufacturing Group
• Jane Bickerstaffe – Director, Incpen
• Andrew Bird – Chair, Larac
• Mike Boswell – Managing Director, Plastribution
• Richard Bradwell – Chief Executive, Polydist
• Alison Bramfitt – Group Packaging Manager, Nestlé
• Richard Brown – Managing Director, RJG UK
• David Cameron – Prime Minister
• Mark Carney – Governor, Bank of England
• Richard Carter – Managing Birector, Basf Uk
• Martin Coles – Founder/Owner and Chairman, Matrix Polymers
• Brendan Colgan – Group Chief Executive, Rosti Group
• Phil Conran – Chair, Defra Advisory Committee On Packaging
• Christine Cooke – Senior Purchasing Manager, Toyota Uk
• Richard Daw – Director, Packaging Development, Consumer Healthcare Europe, Glaxosmithkline
• Daniel Dayan – Chairman/Chief Executive, Linpac
• Martin Donnelly – Permanent Secretary, Department Of Business, Innovation & Skills
• Alan Draper – Vice President, Purchasing, Ford Europe
• Karen Drinkwater – Director, Jsc Rotational Moulding
• James Dyson – Inventor
• Paul Earnshaw – Packaging Management Director, Tesco
• Paul Edmondson – Managing Director, Maguire Europe
• Mike Elms – Head Of UK Plastics, One Plastics Group
• Samantha Fanshawe – Chief Executive, Marine Conservation Society
• Nigel Flowers – Managing Director, Sumitomo Demag UK
• Stuart Foster – Chief Executive, Recoup
• Nick Fox – Managing Director, Piovan UK
• Keith Freegard – Director, Axion Recycling
• Professor Marianne Gilbert – Principal Contact, PVC Centre, Loughborough University
• John Goff – Training Expert
• David Hall – Chief Executive, Polypipe 
• Nigel Hayes – Managing Director, Distrupol
• Graeme Herlihy – Managing Director, Engel UK
• John Holton – Projects Director, Cogent
• David Hummel – Chief Executive, Victrex
• Stephen Hunt – Membership Services Director, British Plastics Federation
• Sajid Javid – Business Secretary
• Mike Jordan – Founder/Owner, Summit Systems
• John Langlands – Chief Executive, British Polythene Industries
• Philip Law – Director-General, British Plastics Federation
• Steve Mancey – Managing Director, NCEE Region, Logoplaste
• Bruce Margetts – Managing Director, Bericap UK
• Mike Matthews – Managing Director, Nifco UK
• Karl Miller – Managing Director, Colortronic
• Ian Mills – Managing Director, Albis UK
• Julia Moore – Chief Executive, GTMA
• Roger Mottram – Head of Communications And Advocacy, Inovyn
• Phil O’Driscoll - Head of Packaging Innovation, Arla Foods
• George Osborne – Chancellor of The Exchequer
• Mark Poulton – Director, Purchasing/Logistics, UK And Ireland, General Motors
• Jim Ratcliffe – Founder/Chief Executive, Ineos
• Judith Richardson – Vice President Purchasing, Nissan Europe
• John Sauven – Executive Director, Greenpeace UK
• Jane Skelton – Head of Packaging, Sainsbury’s
• Jason Smith – Director, Purchasing, Finance, HR, Quality, Honda UK
• David Steel – UK Leader, Sabic
• Patrick Thomas – Chief Executive, Covestro
• Professor Richard Thompson – School Of Marine Science And Engineering, Plymouth University
• Colin Tirel – Managing Director, Arburg UK
• Liz Truss – Environment Minister
• Barry Turner – Head of The British Plastics Federation’s Packaging Group
• Pim Vervaat – Chief Executive, RPC Group
• David Viehoff – Managing Director, Ultrapolymers
• Kevin Vyse – Packaging Technologist and Innovation Lead, Marks & Spencer
• Ian Wright – Chairman, Business, Innovations and Skills Commons Select Committee