Lopo Champalimaud
Lopo is the Founder and CEO of Treatwell, the largest hair and beauty booking service in the world. The company, which is headquartered in London, has over 10 million appointments made through its online bookings platform annually, employs over 500 people and has over 25,000 spas and salons using its service, with 1,500 new ones joining each month.
Lopo was born in Lisbon and raised in Montreal where he studied at McGill University. After a mercifully brief career in banking and private equity with Pictet and Wand Partners, he moved into technology, and was the founder of two successful data and CRM start-ups in New York. He moved to the UK in 2001 and became the MD of Lifestyle at lastminute.com.
While working at Lastminute.com, Lopo realised the potential for disruption within the €100bn health, wellness and beauty industry, which to that point had largely failed to join the internet revolution. He believed that by providing a world-class cloud-based management software for spas and salons and connecting it to a convenient consumer marketplace, he could help businesses grow while also making it easier for customers to find and book their beauty appointments. In 2008 he founded the company, then called Wahanda, to do just that.
Lopo steered the company through a major European expansion campaign that included five acquisitions in the space of a year, a company rebrand and a name change from Wahanda to Treatwell. In 2015, Japan’s Recruit Holdings invested over €292 million, taking a majority stake in the company helping to fund the ongoing expansion of the business into a global brand. Hair and beauty appointments are now bookable on Treatwell in 11 countries across Europe, with the aim to be in 20 markets by 2020.
Mia Collins
Marcel Arsand
Monika Romenska
Monika Romenska has held senior positions in public administration, Local authorities’ and Industry organizations in Bulgaria. Since 2014, Ms Romenska is Regulatory & Public Affairs Manager at the Extended Producer Responsibility Alliance (EXPRA) based in Brussels, which acts as the authoritative voice and common policy platform representing the interests of all its 26 member packaging recovery and recycling organizations founded and run by or on behalf of obliged industry. She has extensive experience in sustainable development, waste management (with a focus on packaging), local and regional self-government, regional development, communications and project management.
Over the past 25 years, industry-driven Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has contributed to significant increases in recycling rates and public spending savings on waste management, and helped to achieve a reduction in the environmental impact of products, through their lifespan, from production (via prevention and eco desgin) through end-of-life. Innovation has played a vital role in this occurring. As the link between industry, local authorities and recycling industry, EPR organizations contribute significantly to sustianable production and cosnsumtion.
Daphna Nissenbaum
Arjune Shukla
Arjune is a member of the investment team at Circularity Capital, working on origination and investment due diligence. There he helps fund growth stage businesses operating within the circular economy, with equity investments of c.£1m - £6m. Prior to joining Circularity Capital, Arjune spent four years at Sustainable Ventures in London where he was responsible for their sourcing and due diligence operations, and previously held roles in natural resources private equity and environmental policy. Arjune holds an honours BA and MSc from Johns Hopkins University, and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge. Each of his three degrees focused on the intersection of the environment, mathematics, and policy.
Meri Baregamian
