Who we are

David Fitzsimons, Director

Based in Brussels, David Fitzsimons is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain group. He is also a member of the United Nations Environment Programme on Product Life Extension and of the EU Circular Economy Stakeholders Platform. He has welcomed the latest version of circular economy metrics for business from the WBCSD (World Business Council for Sustainable Development) which starts to account for the CO2 savings from remanufacturing and refurbishment processes. He participates in the World Steel Association working group on remanufacturing – the WSA being the first materials organization to acknowledge the sustainability benefits of using durable materials in products designed for extended life cycles. And wherever possible, David promotes the work done by Professor Nabil Nasr in the USA to develop the evidence base for Value Retention Processes, including remanufacturing.

To the question, “Do I think it is possible to steer away from our plainly unsustainable path?”, he responds emphatically, “Yes. Leadership enriched by competition is beginning to accelerate the rate of change in business. The next generation will not tolerate more delay.”

Erik Sundin, Academic Networker

A professor at Linköping University, Erik’s field of research is sustainable manufacturing with a particular focus on circular economy and remanufacturing. More recently he has also been looking at product service systems. His research is applied in manufacturing industry and through wide international collaboration. His PhD thesis (2004) entitled Product and Process Design for Successful Remanufacturing has been downloaded more than 24 000 times. Erik is also Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Remanufacturing.

Régis Dando, Associate

Régis is a Design-Mechanical Engineer from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne (FR), and holds an MBA ‘Innovation, Enterprise and the Circular Economy’ from Bradford University. Régis worked for almost 30 years in the sector: first as project manager (automotive sector, sports goods, and home appliances), then as an Innovation Implementer (home appliances) where he prepared for an induction-hob remanufacturing project. He contributes to Masters programmes – specifically Innovation and Sustainable Development – in Lyon (ECAM) and Paris (Sorbonne). On behalf of the ERC, Régis is coordinating with Global Industrie to embed remanufacturing within its existing trade exhibition.