Tom Szaky, FOUNDER & CEO, TERRACYCLE

Tom Szaky is founder and CEO of TerraCycle, a global leader in the collection and repurposing of complex waste streams. TerraCycle operates in 21 countries, working with some of the world’s largest brands, retailers and manufacturers to create national platforms to recycle products and packaging that currently go to landfill or incineration. 

TerraCycle is also the lead company in a new circular shopping platform called Loop that enables consumers to shop for some of their favorite brands in durable, reusable packaging. Launched in May 2019, Loop is a key step in helping to end the epidemic of waste that is caused by 'single use' consumption.

Tom and TerraCycle have received hundreds of social, environmental and business awards and recognition from a range of organizations including the United Nations, World Economic Forum, Schwab Foundation, Fortune Magazine and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

ROANNE ADAMS, Chief Creative Director, Ro&Co Studio

Chief Creative Director, Roanne Adams launched her female-led creative studio RoAndCo in 2006. The studio first gained buzz in the design world for Roanne’s intrepid ability to build successful, scalable brands from the ground up. Over the past decade, Roanne and her team have helped launch hundreds of new brands across the fashion, beauty, tech and lifestyle industries and have worked with Fortune 500’s, among them Google, Nike, and several Estée Lauder companies. Throughout her career, Roanne has cultivated a following of design professionals, devout clients, and mentees. As a studio founder, she fosters a hands-on, collaborative culture for her team, many of them female, whom she has championed in their own path to leadership. She has dedicated time and professional effort to non-profit initiatives like the Women’s March, Together We Rise, and more. In 2017, Roanne was named by UN Women, a Champion Of Change for her leadership in advocating for equal pay for women in the Design & Advertising industry. To her clients and contemporaries, Roanne is an exemplary leader for her ability to zero in on the most succinct way to visually capture a brand’s personality and her relentless passion and contributions in service of a more sustainable and equitable world. She lives and works between NY & LA with her husband and two children.

Ben Parker, Creative Director & Founding Partner, MadeThought

 After graduating alongside Made Thought co-founder Paul Austin, Ben went on to take a Master’s degree in Visual Communication Design at Central Saint Martins School of Art and Design. Three years later, Ben and Paul established Made Thought in 2000. Ben believes pivotal to Made Thought’s growth is its willingness to immerse itself in every aspect of a brand, making considerations for creativity and commerce. He feels that the studio’s incessant focus on deep-thinking to inspire change has fuelled its burgeoning reputation as one of London’s leading forces for progressive design. Their work explores design as a tool to cultivate desire and humanise brands — to go deep in an increasingly shallow world. 

Most recently the agency has turned its attention to the most pressing of issues — that packaging equals waste. Working on projects such as A Plastic Planet, driving campaigns including the supermarket plastic free aisle and plastic free day, the agency fundamentally lives by the belief in using design for good, committing to working on an agenda focused on sustainability and circular design. Made Thought have applied their ability to create desirable brands and products within the luxury landscape to build a new model for “eco” design - change is not to fear or guilt us; it’s to make people ‘want it’, to make conscientious consumption desirable.

Tommy Perez, designer, doodler & frequent paper krafter

Tommy Perez is a freelance multidisciplinary maker based out of Southern California. With a love for storytelling and collaboration, Tommy crafts compositions with paper, produce and various props. He’s a self-described “designer, doodler & frequent paper krafter” who works with unusual materials in the making of his diverse portfolio of work.

From bacon bits and wonton wrappers to paper and glue, the mediums used are worked into vibrant compositions and colorful creations.

Tommy has had the great pleasure to collaborate with clients such as 20th Century Fox, adidas, Benefit Cosmetics, Coca-Cola, Facebook, Ford Motor Company, Fossil, Marvel Entertainment, Nickelodeon, Sparkling Ice, Specialized Bicycles, Target and Too Faced Cosmetics.

When he’s not making fun stuff, he enjoys skateboarding and root beer floats.

ZIPENG ZHU, designer, art director, illustrator and animator

Zipeng Zhu is a Chinese-born designer, art director, illustrator and animator in New York City who wants to make everyday a razzle-dazzle musical. After he graduated from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he has worked at Pentagram and Sagmeister & Walsh. He was one of the Art Directors Club Young Guns 13 winners and has been recognized as Print magazine’s New Visual Artist and The One Show Young Ones. His work has been exhibited all over the world including New York, Barcelona, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai and other major museums and institutions.