Speaker Biographies
Howard Chase chairs ERIF. He was the Char Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive of Dow based at the Dow Europe, Middle East, Africa and India (EMEAI) regional headquarters in Horgen, Switzerland. He advised on major public policy and government relations issues of strategic importance for the company. These include energy and carbon policy, trade policy, plastics and the circular economy, chemicals regulation, industrial policy and political and geopolitical risk.
Prior to joining Dow, Howard held senior Government Affairs posts for BP plc in Brussels, Washington DC, Moscow and London and undertook various assignments in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Angola, Algeria, Colombia, Vietnam and other locations worldwide.
Howard studied at Cambridge University in the UK and at Harvard Business School.
Amongst various external and industry roles, Howard is Chairman of the European Regulation and Innovation Forum (ERIF), a former Chairman of the Industry Advisory Panel of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and served on the European Commission High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy and the Environment
Richard Meads, the Rapporteur of ERIF, has been involved with Better Regulation for over twenty years. With ERIF, Richard has contributed to over 100 articles, papers and studies covering Better Regulation, science and decision-making, and innovation.
Richard has worked with a number of different think tanks. A director of Business Decisions Limited for more than twenty-five years, he previously worked for British Petroleum in a range of different functions including finance, corporate planning and marketing.
Educated at Oxford University, Richard is also a Chartered Accountant.
Dr. Rolf Höijer is a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise in the Swedish Government Offices. He coordinates the Better Regulation agenda within the government offices. During the Swedish Presidency he has served as chair of the Working Party on Better Regulation within the EU Council of Ministers.
Dr. Höijer has held various management positions in the Swedish public and private sectors. He has also served as a diplomat and as a civil servant at several Swedish ministries.
Dr. Höijer has a doctorate in political science from Oxford University and has taught politics and economics at Oxford University and at the London School of Economics.
Dr. Antoine Berthou is an economist at the OECD, leading the analysis on Global Value Chains. His work focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in production networks and assessing the diffusion of shocks.
Prior to joining the OECD, he was the Head of the research team on international macroeconomics at Banque de France, where his work focused on international trade in relation to financial frictions, exchange rates and the dominant role of the US dollar in international transactions.
He also contributed to Eurosystem research networks, by coordinating for two years the research cluster on international macroeconomics, competitiveness, trade and labour markets.
Professor Mark Ferguson is Chairman of the Board of SoilSteam, a company treating topsoil to eradicate invasive species ,pests and weeds. He serves as a Board member of the European Commission’s European Innovation Council, which he chaired in pilot and early years. Professor Ferguson is also a Board Member of Catalyst, and Ireland’s co-chair of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership.
In 2022 he retired, after 10 years, as Director General of the Science Foundation Ireland and as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland. Previously he was the co-founder and CEO of the biotechnology company Renovo plc, and Professor and Dean of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester.
Professor Ferguson has published numerous scientific papers and patents and been awarded many prizes and medals including the European Science Prize (jointly).
Dr. Judith Ay is Policy Director at the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), a Brussels-based platform for CEOs and Chairs of leading European industrial companies. Judith runs the ERT’s work streams on Competitiveness & Innovation and Jobs, Skills & Impact.
Prior to joining ERT in 2021, Judith has worked in various EU public affairs roles at the European Banking Federation, Finnish forestry company Metsä Group, public affairs consultancy Brunswick Group and the European Savings Banks Group.
Judith holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence, and a M.Sc. Econ from University College London.
Dirk Hudig is the founder of ERIF and currently and has served at its Secretary General until May 2023. He joined Fipra, a public affairs consultancy, as chairman and head of their Brussels office in 2001. Prior to this, he was Secretary General of the Union of Industrial & Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE now BusinessEurope) from 1998 to 2001, having previously chaired UNICE’s Committee on State Aid.
He has held several other posts including Chairman of the BIAC Environment Committee in the OECD, Secretary and later Treasurer of the Society of Chemical Industry Europe Committee, and sat on the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) Programme Committee.
Dirk has served as president of the British Chamber of Commerce and was honoured with an OBE by the British Government for this. He joined ICI, the UK Chemicals company, in 1970 and worked in various businesses within the group in Rotterdam, London & Brussels before becoming national Head and Group Manager of EU Government Relations for ICI from 1987-1998.
Prior to joining Dow, Howard held senior Government Affairs posts for BP plc in Brussels, Washington DC, Moscow and London and undertook various assignments in Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Angola, Algeria, Colombia, Vietnam and other locations worldwide.
Howard studied at Cambridge University in the UK and at Harvard Business School.
Amongst various external and industry roles, Howard is Chairman of the European Regulation and Innovation Forum (ERIF), a former Chairman of the Industry Advisory Panel of the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT) and served on the European Commission High Level Group on Competitiveness, Energy and the Environment
Richard Meads, the Rapporteur of ERIF, has been involved with Better Regulation for over twenty years. With ERIF, Richard has contributed to over 100 articles, papers and studies covering Better Regulation, science and decision-making, and innovation.
Richard has worked with a number of different think tanks. A director of Business Decisions Limited for more than twenty-five years, he previously worked for British Petroleum in a range of different functions including finance, corporate planning and marketing.
Educated at Oxford University, Richard is also a Chartered Accountant.
Dr. Rolf Höijer is a Senior Advisor at the Ministry of Climate and Enterprise in the Swedish Government Offices. He coordinates the Better Regulation agenda within the government offices. During the Swedish Presidency he has served as chair of the Working Party on Better Regulation within the EU Council of Ministers.
Dr. Höijer has held various management positions in the Swedish public and private sectors. He has also served as a diplomat and as a civil servant at several Swedish ministries.
Dr. Höijer has a doctorate in political science from Oxford University and has taught politics and economics at Oxford University and at the London School of Economics.
Dr. Antoine Berthou is an economist at the OECD, leading the analysis on Global Value Chains. His work focuses on identifying vulnerabilities in production networks and assessing the diffusion of shocks.
Prior to joining the OECD, he was the Head of the research team on international macroeconomics at Banque de France, where his work focused on international trade in relation to financial frictions, exchange rates and the dominant role of the US dollar in international transactions.
He also contributed to Eurosystem research networks, by coordinating for two years the research cluster on international macroeconomics, competitiveness, trade and labour markets.
Professor Mark Ferguson is Chairman of the Board of SoilSteam, a company treating topsoil to eradicate invasive species ,pests and weeds. He serves as a Board member of the European Commission’s European Innovation Council, which he chaired in pilot and early years. Professor Ferguson is also a Board Member of Catalyst, and Ireland’s co-chair of the US-Ireland R&D Partnership.
In 2022 he retired, after 10 years, as Director General of the Science Foundation Ireland and as Chief Scientific Adviser to the Government of Ireland. Previously he was the co-founder and CEO of the biotechnology company Renovo plc, and Professor and Dean of Biological Sciences at the University of Manchester.
Professor Ferguson has published numerous scientific papers and patents and been awarded many prizes and medals including the European Science Prize (jointly).
Dr. Judith Ay is Policy Director at the European Round Table for Industry (ERT), a Brussels-based platform for CEOs and Chairs of leading European industrial companies. Judith runs the ERT’s work streams on Competitiveness & Innovation and Jobs, Skills & Impact.
Prior to joining ERT in 2021, Judith has worked in various EU public affairs roles at the European Banking Federation, Finnish forestry company Metsä Group, public affairs consultancy Brunswick Group and the European Savings Banks Group.
Judith holds a PhD in Economics from the European University Institute in Florence, and a M.Sc. Econ from University College London.
Dirk Hudig is the founder of ERIF and currently and has served at its Secretary General until May 2023. He joined Fipra, a public affairs consultancy, as chairman and head of their Brussels office in 2001. Prior to this, he was Secretary General of the Union of Industrial & Employers’ Confederations of Europe (UNICE now BusinessEurope) from 1998 to 2001, having previously chaired UNICE’s Committee on State Aid.
He has held several other posts including Chairman of the BIAC Environment Committee in the OECD, Secretary and later Treasurer of the Society of Chemical Industry Europe Committee, and sat on the Transatlantic Policy Network (TPN) Programme Committee.
Dirk has served as president of the British Chamber of Commerce and was honoured with an OBE by the British Government for this. He joined ICI, the UK Chemicals company, in 1970 and worked in various businesses within the group in Rotterdam, London & Brussels before becoming national Head and Group Manager of EU Government Relations for ICI from 1987-1998.