FEICA appoints new secretary general
On 6 May, FEICA President Roland Albers announced its executive board’s unanimous decision to appoint Kristel Ons as incoming secretary general of FEICA, effective 15 June 2020. FEICA is the European Adhesives and Sealants Association which represents the industry at the European level and works with relevant stakeholders to create a mutually beneficial economic and legislative environment within which its member companies can prosper.
Kristel Ons
Ms. Ons has been with FEICA for over a decade, serving previously as its communications and events director, responsible for both the organisation of the annual conference and expo and internal and external communication. She was also instrumental in the roll-out of FEICA’s current strategy. For the last 4 years, Ms. Ons has served as deputy to current Secretary General Philip Bruce and has been very involved in all the position’s duties since the beginning of 2020 to ensure a smooth transition to her new role.
“I am excited to be appointed as the next secretary general of FEICA,” Ms. Ons said. ‘I very much look forward to continue working with the staff, members and external stakeholders to promote and strengthen our industry.”
“We are delighted that Ms. Ons is assuming the position of secretary general at FEICA and wish Mr. Bruce a very happy retirement after very productive years of leading the association,” Mr. Albers said. “Building on FEICA’s excellent reputation in the public domain, as well as with European bodies, Ms. Ons will take the Association to new heights—the board and I are confident of this.”
Prior to joining FEICA, Ms. Ons had a successful career in global business development across a range of industries. She holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and communications, a postgraduate degree in corporate finance from the Catholic University of Leuven, and an executive master’s degree in international association management from Solvay Business School. She is also a certified Prince2© Foundation project manager.
Philip Bruce
Mr. Bruce, director of PJB Chemical Consulting, Ltd., took charge of FEICA 4½ years ago, after which the association moved from strength to strength, including realising a healthy strategy and increasing its membership.“Ms. Ons knows FEICA through and through, and I wish her all the very best. The Association will have a bright future in her hands,” he commented. “I want to express my deep appreciation for the opportunity to work with so many talented members, colleagues and external stakeholders—all very dedicated to our industry.”
Afera
“I’ve had many productive working sessions with Mr. Bruce over the last few years and was grateful to be welcome at some of FEICA’s board meetings,” said Evert Smit, who is Afera president & head of global R&D at Lohmann GmbH & Co., KG. “Our associations, although oriented around adjacent technologies, share many of the same standards and values. We look forward to welcoming Ms. Ons and to exploring further the areas in which our 2 organisations can complement each other.”
“Although FEICA’s focus is more on ‘substances’, while ours is on ‘articles’, there are many areas in which we can support and learn from each other, such as regulatory developments, which we are greatly emphasising in our current strategy and agenda,” added Astrid Lejeune, Afera secretary general and manager at Lejeune Association Management, referring to Afera’s recent appointment of a new regulatory affairs manager, Pablo Englebienne. “We have shared hazard assessment activities regarding PACT-RMOA over the last few years. I congratulate Ms. Ons on her appointment as well as Mr. Bruce on his well-deserved retirement from FEICA.”
For more information, visit www.feica.eu.