As Head of Special Cargo at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Sonia leads the development of the special cargo agenda, delivering standards, business processes, and solutions for the air cargo supply chain related to the transport of live animals, perishables, and temperature-sensitive cargo, and all other special cargo.

Prior to joining IATA, she held several roles in France where she spent 8 years driving innovation in the aerospace industry. She joined academia in 2019 as a lecturer and researcher at EPFL, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, and UNIGE, the University of Geneva. Over the past 12 years, she has built a strong expertise in project management, innovation, design, and business and systems modeling.

She holds an engineering degree in Aviation and Computer Science from the French Civil Aviation University - ENAC (France) and a PhD in Innovation from CentraleSupélec (France). Passionate about innovation and design, Sonia enjoys spending her free time in nature biking, hiking, and climbing.

Chris serves as a Responsible Person (RP) for pharmaceuticals and healthcare and is trained in Dangerous Goods By Air, Category 6.

Experienced in customer service and as a compliance specialist, Chris has a strong history of working in the airlines/aviation industry. He is skilled in the requirements of Good Distribution Practice (GDP) in relation to healthcare and life sciences, pharmaceuticals, and medicines for human consumption. Other key skills include Risk Assessment, Auditing, Regulatory Compliance, Training, and Statistical and Trend Analysis.

Chris holds is an honor graduate and holds a bachelor's degree in media studies from University of Portsmouth.

Ian Pope, Ph.D., is a thought leader and acknowledged expert in cryogenic and ultra-cold storage and transport. As the current Chief Commercial Officer for the newly formed IC Biomedical, Ian oversees the company's sales, marketing, and research and development strategy. Together with fellow industry experts, the IC Biomedical leadership team is tapping into their collective 100 years of experience in the industry to build the market-leading cryogenic storage and transport manufacturing company and create a paradigm shift within the cryo/bio market.

Building on a 64-year foundation with the acquisition of International Cryogenics and the Taylor-Wharton line manufactured by Worthington's Life Sciences Group, the newly merged IC Biomedical is bringing new life to the cryogenic equipment market.

IC Biomedical continues manufacturing cryogenic storage and transport equipment to the best in the global biomedical, biorepository, biotechnology, cell therapy, IVF, and pharmaceutical organizations in the human arena and animal husbandry industries. From life-saving vaccines to life-giving embryos, from therapeutic use of stem cells to cryogenic preservation and biobanking, IC Biomedical is at the forefront of biological technology.

With a long career in cryotechnology and biomedical engineering, Ian first worked in the area of cryogenic storage as a director of Planer PLC the world’s foremost manufacturer of controlled rate freezers and as Vice President of the Biomedical division of Chart Industries. Ian has experience working with Core Cryolab in Toronto, Cryo Associates Group, and Brooks Life Sciences Cryo Solutions Group. Originally from the United Kingdom, Ian graduated from the Royal Society Chemistry in London with a bachelor of science in chemistry and an holds an MBA from Henley Management College in Henley, UK.

Peter Moir is CEO and Founder of Relequa Analytical Systems Limited. His passion and knowledge is around moisture in high tech industrial sectors. A major part of his 35 years in industry was spent in pharmaceutical R&D followed by consultancy.

Throughout his career Peter has sought for innovated solutions and knows the difficulties of implementing new ideas and the challenges involved in turning ideas into products and services for customers. His passion now is around solutions to moisture issues in high tech industrial sectors.

Peter is focusing on innovation driven solutions for moisture challenges to packaging selection and extending his pharmaceutical interests to beyond the manufacturing site into the supply chain.

A dynamic, results-focused Supply Chain Professional who is committed to getting the job done efficiently, effectively and ethically, Mark possesses experience in global supply chain, warehousing and logistics with specialist knowledge of the distribution of pharmaceutical products. A strategic decision-maker, with a proven aptitude for devising innovative solutions and a strong customer service focus, he is also an experienced logistics and supply chain professional with a track record of positively impacting corporate performance. He provides logistics solutions across all sectors, specialising in the pharma industry.

He has recently been EMEA Freight Lead for AstraZeneca, a global pharma manufacturer and world leader in multiple therapy areas.
He was brought in to centralise the global freight operations, holding responsibility for on-boarding all EMEA manufacturing sites, as well as contract and 3rd party manufacturing through the external sourcing organisation.
His role as freight lead was also to look after all freight activities in and out of EMEA.

Successes included onboarding 4 manufacturing sites (1 of which is the largest global site), re-launching the train to China saving many $millions for which I helped to develop a new design of container dramatically improving temperature performance, particularly during the extreme Kazhak winters with temperatures down to -40C.
Mark was also a key part of the Brexit preparation team which won multiple awards. a project he continues to support.

He has served as the Global Freight & Compliance Manager for Actavis with revenues exceeding $20bn as a major, global pharmaceutical manufacturer.
With Actavis, he was responsible for the movement of various products and presentations: generics, API, devices, oncological & biosimilars; tablets, vials, powders & solutions.

Ger McCabe is a motivated Senior Manager with an outstanding track record. He is highly skilled in Operations Management, Change Control, Warehouse Operations, QMS and Continuous Improvement with Multi Cultural, Strategic and Operational expertise in managing Pharmaceutical Operations, Transportation, Customer Service, Sales and Negotiation.

He has worked in the Supply Chain industry for over 20 years with responsibilities for multiple sales channels, including Global Accounts, Major Accounts, SME's and Special Services/Sameday/Service Logistics, across multiple countries and regions including Europe, North & South America and of course, Asia.

He is an experienced in 5S, Kanban, Kaizen and Six Sigma methodology.

He has served as the Responsible Person for MHRA/HPRA regulated sites UK and Ireland, as well as being an International CPC holder, Regulated Agent Security Manager and GDP Champion.

IATA trained and certified in Dangerous Goods by Air, he holds a Certificate in Advanced Customs Procedures and has also successfully achieved a BA in Pharmaceutical Business Operations in Griffith College, Dublin.

Stefan currently serves as managing director of SmartCAE, where is he working extensively in the field of mathematical modeling of technical systems--with a strong focus on thermal modeling. His software SmartCAEThermalpackaging , SmartCAETemperatureProfils and SmartCAELaneRisk are used worldwide for risk-based simulation of cold chain.

Armin currently serves as the product management lead at ELPRO-BUCHS AG primarily responsible for LIBERO Cx, LIBERO W products and liberoCONFIG and elproVIEWER software. Prior to joining ELPRO, Armin was a key account manager at CommScope Technologies/Enterprise Systems. He has held past positions as a project sales engineer and global sales director.

Henry Moran has been involved in pharmaceutical logistics for more than 15 years. He joined ASC Associates in January 2016 as a Director and Chief Operating Officer. The role allows him to use his operational and academic experiences to support clients in all matters of Supply Chain Security and Good Distribution Practice compliance.

Prior to joining ASC Associates, he worked for Mundipharma with responsibility for global supply & logistics, including performing risk evaluation and mitigation activities for pharmaceutical products in the Global Supply Chain.

Prior to working at Mundipharma, Henry worked in numerous logistics roles in Hi-tech Electronics, Global Logistics and Freight Forwarding. Henry is a Six Sigma Black Belt and qualified Lead Auditor, he studied in the UK at the University of Plymouth and at University College Dublin and holds a Masters in Business Studies specialising in Manufacturing and Logistics.

Marisa has extensive professional experience as a GMP expert for clinical investigational drugs and in plant engineering for pharmaceutical production plants. She is working at ELPRO Messtechnik GmbH as a qualification engineer in the GxP team.

Melanie is a qualification engineer and has been working for ELPRO-BUCHS AG since 2018. She is responsible for complete qualification projects for rooms, equipment and trailers. Previously, she worked in the logistics industry in quality management.

Karen is Vice President Client Solutions, Network Partners and President, Life Pack Labs, a packaging testing laboratory, where she is an owner. She has been a lifesciences packaging engineering industry professional for over 35 years. She is an IoPP certified packaging professional, CPP, lifetime, a board member of the IoPP Medical Device Packaging Technical Committee and a member of the ISTA Pharma committee. Karen is also a member of the ASTM F02, Flexible Barrier Packaging committee. She is an ISTA 7E (thermal design and validation) certified auditor.

Karen brings packaging testing, compliance, design, and broad medtech and pharma industry expertise to her role as VP of Client Solutions at Network Partners and leverages this expertise to help clients bring lifesaving products to patients through Network Partners’ fixed term professionals. Karen is a graduate of Holy Cross College, Worcester, MA.

Tomas is a skilled professional in the Medical Device, Biologics, and Bio-Pharmaceutical industries with a Master's in Operations Management and a Bachelor's in Biology and Mechanical Engineering. His expertise spans Medical Device, Biologics, Cold Chain, and Medication Delivery Systems.

He is currently enhancing his proficiency in utilizing artificial intelligence software, API development, and applying Human-In-The-Loop AI concepts. By developing expertise in Python and NodeJS, he aims to leverage AI technologies for optimizing packaging design, production processes, and data management.

A seasoned Supply Chain leader, with over 20 years of experience in the industry, has held various roles managing complex supply chain operations while adhering to rigorous GMP standards. Passionate about Supply Chain and the critical role it plays in the success of a medicine to market, Teresa strives to create collaborative partnerships, deliver innovative , sustainable Supply Chain strategies to clients while fostering a collaborative culture of continuous improvement.

Committed to the delivery of life changing medicine & advanced therapeutics, Teresa joined VLE Therapeutics in 2021 to mobilise a Supply Chain Centre of Excellence , a dedicated hub of expertise, innovation, and best practices to optimize Supply Chain operations and meet the unique needs of clients in the pharmaceutical sector.

Cryogenic storage and shipments is an area of specific interest in today’s bio-pharmaceutical landscape as there is no room for error. The availability and accessibility within the industry  involving extremely low temperatures, present unique challenges due to the sensitivity of the products being stored and transported. Understanding the landscape is critical to ensure pharmaceutical companies can continue to meet the growing demand for cryogenic shipments while ensuring the integrity and efficacy of life-saving therapies.