Our team

Michael Hack

Michael Hack was appointed as Secretary General of BSEF in October 2021. He worked before in the FMCG, chemical, finance, health, circular economy, political tech, and start-up sector. He combines the experience as an inhouse lobbyist for 10 years, as the first Director of the European Chemical Regions Network for more than three years and as a partner and cofounder of a public affairs agency and senior consultant for five years.

In his free time Michael likes to travel and enjoys particularly exploring the nature of Northern Europe with his family and their camping van.

Bernadette Desobry

Bernadette is a multi-skilled person with a successful track record in supporting organisations in an international environment.   Entrepreneurial and proactive with good communication skills, she enjoys working in team and always welcomes the opportunity to explore new challenges.

She has a long and diverse experience in the mining industry, mainly in Base and Precious Metals, from sales of finished products to acquisition of custom feed, with worldwide contacts in complex environments.

She is a passionate traveller and will never miss a chance to discover new places or meet new people.   She loves sailing in the Mediterranean and skiing in the Alps but her greatest happiness is in family gathering.

Dr. Klaus Rothenbacher

Klaus Rothenbacher is a chemist with background in toxicology. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the field of brominated compounds and chemicals safety, including 10 years as Science Programme Manager at BSEF and then as Lead Regulatory Affairs Advisor.

Prior to re-joining BSEF in February 2022 Klaus has been the Scientific Manager for the Precious Metals and Rhenium Consortium, mainly dealing with REACH registrations of precious metals.

In his free time (if any) Klaus has taken up brewing his own beer.

Patrick Fox

Patrick Fox is a public and regulatory affairs expert, with over 10 years’ experience, working with EU and international associations.

Having obtained a masters from Smurfit Graduate Business School in Dublin, Patrick moved to within FoodDrinkEurope, working on food policy issues, before joining the global service management consultancy, Kellen, in which he managed two Food Chemical & processing aids trade associations, as Secretary General.

At BSEF, Patrick has been strongly involved with international governmental and industry stakeholders and leads various Product policy related issues and fire safety priorities.

With a strong interest in water sports, Patrick can be found flying to coastal cities in Europe and further afield.

Klaus Wohnig

Klaus Wohnig is founder and CEO of Atmedio GmbH, a network of independent experts advising stakeholders in the industry in all aspects of the circular economy.

He holds a degree in Business Administration and gained comprehensive know-how and experience in managerial assignments in internationally operating companies in various sectors. Until 2023 he was CEO of APK AG, a leading tech provider to the circular economy for plastics.

Moreover, Klaus Wohnig is board member of the German recycling and waste management industry associations BDE and BVSE and is/was active in various initiatives and organizations such as Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy, Circular Plastics Alliance, PCEP, CEFLEX, Plastics Recyclers Europe, HolyGrail 2.0 and CosPaTox.                              .

In his free time Klaus likes travelling, watching soccer e.g. Bayern Munich and spending time with friends and his family including his dog named “Snoop”.

Harry Du

Harry Du has worked for more than 20 years in the fields of application, promotion and supervision of flame retardants. He has rich experience and unique insights on chemical supervision, especially laws and regulations related to flame retardants.

He has participated in the formulation and promotion of international and domestic flame retardant laws and regulations for many times, and has made great contributions to the protection and sustainable development of brominated flame retardants.

Christina Zang

Christina Zang has 10 years’ experience in administration and 5 years of solid experience in Public Relations. Responsible for planning the various activities of BSEF China, currently operating the public account of BSEF China.

Tomohiko (“Tommy”) Kinoshita

Tommy is a former Member of the House of Representatives.  Before being elected to the House, he worked for Mitsui and Co., Ltd. for 18 years and was stationed in various countries to work on trade.

As a Diet member, he served consecutive terms on the Economy, Trade and Industry Committee in the House of Representatives.  Tommy was also a Director of the House of Representatives Cabinet Affairs Committee and active in several parliamentary leagues, including the Japan-EU Friendship Diet Members’ League, and the Japan-China Friendship Diet Members’ League.

Tommy graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Commerce, and is fluent in English.

Raju Thakrar

During his 20-year career in Japan, Raju worked for some of Japan’s most prestigious companies.  He speaks fluent Japanese.

He utilised his chemistry degree from the University of Sussex in the UK while working at Nature, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal, to write about various leading-edge scientific developments.

Raju was a communications manager at Takeda, Japan’s largest pharmaceutical company, as well as Jatco, a Nissan tier-one subsidiary, providing him with in-depth knowledge of both the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors.

Emi Nobuhiro

Emi Nobuhiro joined BSEF Japan after many years in the media, including working for Bloomberg News and Hiroshima Television Corporation.

At Bloomberg, she covered issues related to bromine and the automotive sector, not to mention economic, monetary, foreign and security policies in the Abe, Suga and Kishida administrations.

Emi has cultivated a wide range of sources in ruling parties and ministries.

Suryaprabha Sadasivan

Role: Lead Advisory

Suryaprabha has over 16 years of experience in policy advocacy and communications. She has extensive knowledge of the regulatory environment and processes and deep relationships with stakeholders across diverse sectors. As the Senior VP, she counsels senior management across clients on engagement with the Federal and State Governments, public sector entities, and other relevant agencies.

Nikhil Rathi

Role: Project Lead

With over 10+ years of experience in policy analysis and government advisory, programme implementation and project management in varied sectors such as chemicals, transportation, food and agribusiness. He has expertise in conducting primary-level surveys, in-depth stakeholder consultations, policy research & drafting communications, documentation and preparing reports.

Alak Desai

Role: Project Manager

Alak is a public policy professional with experience across the legal and policy cycle in sectors like energy, sustainability, and climate change. She has a legal background with a deep understanding of international climate change policies and regulatory matters. This allows her to bring in a unique perspective of the sector while researching and analyzing policies and gives expertise in sectoral policy and advocacy strategies.

She has been part of Chase’s engagement at the UNFCCC COP28 and COP29 as an attendee and had the opportunity to engage with several key stakeholders in the ecosystem as well as position her client’s narratives to the relevant stakeholders

Shubhangi Narayan

Role: Project Associate

Shubhangi has experience in undertaking secondary research, policy analysis, academic writing, and report design. She has published thought-provoking op-eds and policy briefs on critical issues such as the critical analysis of battery electric vehicles,  carbon capture and storage technologies, and the economics of renewable energy.

At Chase India, she has worked on research and advocacy support on green chemicals for a major FMCG and analyzed India’s regulatory landscape for fire safety and speciality chemicals for a leading chemicals manufacturer.

Kunhak Lee

Kunhak Lee is a government affairs professional with experience of leading projects related to environmental policies and regulations including circular economy. Before joining GR Korea, he supported research analysis for Korea Studies team of Council on Foreign Relations, Washington D.C, and served as a policy staff to a former senior member of the National Assembly. He also worked as a campaign strategist during general elections and has been involved in presidential elections as a youth committee member.

Kunhak holds a B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Yonsei University, and is fluent in English, Korean and French.

Nate Leggett

“Nate is a former International Liaison at the ROK National Assembly, where he handled external comms, VIP meeting protocols, and brokered agreements between stakeholders in a cross-border context. He also has multiple years of experience working for a Ministry of Trade think-tank on FDI trends monitoring and regulatory analysis, where he also worked in an in-house advisory capacity with the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

Nate thus has extensive hands-on experience advising foreign firms on ROK regulatory policy, as well as advising Korean firms on global regulatory trends in a variety of sectors. He speaks fluent Korean, and enjoys cycling in his free time.“

Eduardo Galvão

Eduardo was twice elected one of the 20 most admired Institutional Relations professionals in Brazil. He holds a Master’s degree in International Relations Law and specializations in Business Strategy (Harvard Business School), Business in a Political Age (George Washington University), Public Policy Analysis (ENAP), Economics (Ibmec), Leadership (Amcham) and Management (ESA/DF). He is a professor and coordinator of the MBA in Public Policy and Institutional Relations at Ibmec.

Renata Calmon

Renata is a political scientist, specialist in Environment and Sustainability from FGV, postgraduate in Government Relations for Political Innovations from Pensar RelGov in Parliamentary Law and Legislative Process from Centro Universitário de Brasília and in People and Business Management from Escola Conquer.

Raquel Alves

Raquel holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Brasília and holds certifications in the areas of ESG and sustainability. She works as a Public Affairs analyst at Burson and has experience in strategy and management consulting, in addition to having collaborated with government agencies, with an emphasis on public policies and regulatory impact analysis.

Raquel holds a degree in International Relations from the University of Brasília and holds certifications in the areas of ESG and sustainability. She works as a Public Affairs analyst at Burson and has experience in strategy and management consulting, in addition to having collaborated with government agencies, with an emphasis on public policies and regulatory impact analysis.

José Maurício

José is a political scientist from the University of Brasília (UnB) and a researcher in civil organization and community politics. He has experience in institutional and governmental relations, consulting, political strategy, and political risk analysis. He also has knowledge in the legislative process and political communication. He currently works in the logistics, infrastructure, chemical, and energy sectors.

Roberta Paixão

Roberta has a career spanning over 30 years and has had a variety of experiences, from being a reporter for a major Brazilian magazine (Revista Veja, Editora Abril) to building a company from scratch, Espalhe (a digital and public relations agency), which was sold to Publicis Groupe. As a reporter, she has had the opportunity to write about a variety of topics. She has worked and continues to work for major brands such as adidas, Danone, Mondelez, Accenture, building brand awareness and reputation. Since 2021, Roberta has been the Director of the Corporate and Crisis Practice at Burson.

Claudia Alves

Claudia is a journalist with a specialization in Corporate Communication from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV) and an MBA in Marketing from Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC). With over 20 years of experience, she has worked in multinational corporate communications agencies, serving clients from various sectors and segments. Claudia is the Customer Service Manager for Burson’s Corporate and Crisis Practice.

Brenda Messora

Brenda holds a degree in Social Communication – Journalism from Universidade Paulista (UNIP) and is currently studying for an MBA in Management and Digital Transformation at the School of Communication and Arts at the University of São Paulo (ECA-USP). In her professional career, Brenda has seven years of experience in Public Relations, working in different sectors and clients, including tourism, health and technology, in projects with both the press and influencers.