Committees

Sanjay Jain is Group CEO at PDS Limited. He is a result-oriented professional with rich experience in the Retail, Media & Entertainment and Manufacturing industries. For close to three decades, I have been instrumental in leading transformation across various conglomerates who have been industry leaders in their respective domains.

Since January 2021, he joined as the Group Chief Executive Officer at PDS Limited, leading the company’s growth trajectory. PDS is a leading global integrated design-led platform offering product development, sourcing, manufacturing, and distribution for major brands and retailers worldwide.

Prior to joining PDS, he was with the Future Group (Revenues of USD 4.7bn) as the CEO of Future Retail Limited (Revenues of USD 2.7bn), and the Group CFO of Future Group. As part of the leadership team at the Future Group, he spearheaded the transformation & growth agenda by introducing commensurate systems, processes and establishing strategic partnerships with leading global corporations.

Earlier in his career, he has been associated with the Zee Group and the Avantha Group/Crompton Greaves, holding leadership positions in domestic and international markets. Over his tenure, he has been instrumental in establishing long-term strategic partnerships including with private equity and financial investors. He played a pivotal role in establishing strategic collaborations with global players in e-commerce, supply chain & logistics, retail, insurance, etc.; along with marquee financial investors including the world’s largest private equity firms and developmental financial institutions. Furthermore, he successfully led cross-border acquisitions in Belgium, Hungary, Canada, USA, Ireland, France, and Indonesia.

Brad Ballantine is CEO of MAS ACME. He is a dynamic leader experienced in domestic and international business environments. He has demonstrated expertise in driving business turnarounds using existing resources and minimizing employee turnover and is a key contributor in building and strengthening sales and operations by instituting best practices, consumer centric business models and maximizing financial efficiency.

Brad is an insightful professional with proven success in overseeing multimillion-dollar operations. He is a strategic planner and solid communicator with excellent knowledge of business processes from raw fiber to retail. He has multicultural experience includes working in Latin America; foreign language proficiency includes Spanish.

Cem Altan is the President of International Apparel Federation (IAF) and one of the most successful manufacturers in Türkiye for more than 30 years. With his knowledge and strong experience, he has been leading many projects and organizations for many years.

Cem Altan has a degree in Textile Engineering at Nottingham Trent University in UK. After his graduation in 1983, he has started working for retail groups. The years he spent in the UK helps to shape his point of view on the business world and then he has started his own business as foreign trading company selling Turkish garments to the UK and to international markets. At that time, he brought many firsts to Türkiye and then he realized the need of manufacturing. So, he has established his garment manufacturing company Aycem Textiles in 1991.

Now, in Cem Altan’s second term as President of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) which has members from more than 40 countries, he continues his work to make the sector more sustainable and greener.

Cem Altan is also Vice Chair for the Turkish Clothing Manufacturers Assosiation (TGSD) and Chair for the Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB) education trust. He has been head of the Istanbul Fashion Week and the Koza Young Designers Competition organised in the last 31 years.

Azfar Hasan is a distinguished entrepreneur known for his leadership as CEO and founder of Matrix Sourcing, Lulusar, and Triple Tree. Armed with a degree in Industrial Engineering, he has carved a prominent niche in the supply chain and fashion sectors.

Matrix Sourcing excels in nurturing buyer-supplier relationships and innovating vendor management programs. Meanwhile, Lulusar stands out as a tech-driven, on-demand women’s fashion brand that leverages digital tools to deliver premium apparel. Triple Tree, on the other hand, specializes in software solutions that digitize supply chains, enhancing operational efficiency through integration, transparency, automation, and accelerated decision-making.

These ventures simultaneously benefit from Azfar’s deep domain knowledge and visionary approach to business. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Azfar contributes actively as a board member of Pakistan’s National Textile University, championing sustainable initiatives and industry advancement programs.

His commitment to sustainability is underscored by his involvement in key organizations such as the Better Cotton Initiative and the International Apparel Federation (IAF). Azfar is also a signatory of the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), solidifying his influential role in reshaping the supply chain and fashion technology landscape.

John S. Thorbeck is Chairman of Chainge Capital LLC, a firm focused on fashion industry transformation. John is co-creator with Warren H. Hausman, Stanford University, of the “Zara Gap” analytics that define market and social value, process innovation known as Lead Time Optimization (LTO), and Stanford case studies on strategic and cultural change.

John is author of Under the Banyan Tree: Fashion Buyers and Suppliers in Fashion, commissioned by the International Trade Centre, the UN’s agency for trade in Geneva, and the International Apparel Federation, Amsterdam. This project articulates “Shared Risk” as the basis of buyer/supplier relationships and value creation that begins upstream in manufacturing.

John is a former CEO of GH Bass & Co (PVH), and Rockport (Adidas), and senior executive for Timberland Co and Nike. John received an MBA at Harvard Business School.

Mehmet Kaya was born in Konya in 1964. He graduated from Dokuz Eylül University, Business Administration Faculty. His professional business life started in 1985 in finance department of Yaşar Dış Tic. A.Ş. in Izmir. Mr. Kaya then worked for a private trade finance company in London for four years.

After returning to Türkiye, Mr. Kaya was assigned to marketing manager and then worked as Area Manager of Former Russian Republic for Yaşar Dış Ticaret A.Ş. In 1994, he continued his career as General Manager of Orsan Tekstil- Denizli. He started to work in Tekstil Yatırım Holding in 1997 to 2000. Since 2000 he has been working in his own company TYH Uluslararası Tekstil Pazarlama A.Ş.

Fazlee Shamin Ehsan is Vice President at Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers & Exporters Association. (BKMEA). He is an experienced owner with a demonstrated history of working in the textiles industry.

He is skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Retail, Entrepreneurship, and Textiles. He is a strong business development professional with a Bachelor of Business Management (B.B.M.) focused in Business Administration and Management, General from NRI Institutes, Bangalore..

Fernando Pimentel has been working in the textile and clothing sector since 1977 and worked for a company in this sector between 1977 and 2009.

Since 2005 he has been the Superintendent Director of ABIT – Brazilian Association of the Textile and Clothing Industry. From 2017 to 2022 he was President of the Board of Directors of the aforementioned Association. From 2023 he is the Superintendent Director of ABIT and President Emeritus of the entity.

Akila Fernando is a professional with over a decade of experience in the apparel industry, currently serving as the Assistant Vice President – Engineering at EPIC Group. Throughout his career, Akila has made significant contributions in the fields of renewable energy, electrical engineering, and environmental
sustainability.

As a Professional Engineer, Akila’s expertise is fortified by his accreditation as a Chartered Engineer from The Institution of Engineering and Technology UK, Engineers Australia, and the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka. Additionally, he is a certified Project Management Professional from the Project Management
Institute and a GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Assessor accredited by the Sri Lanka Accreditation Board.

Akila holds a B.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka, an M.Sc. from the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Sweden, and a Master of Energy Engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain (2018). Furthermore, he has earned an Executive Master’s in Business Administration from the Quantic School of Business Management.

In addition to his technical expertise, Akila has actively engaged in projects that promote women’s empowerment and entrepreneurship. He has collaborated with ENERGIA and SEforALL on initiatives aimed at advancing gender equality and social inclusion in the sustainable energy sector.

Akila is a dedicated member of several prestigious professional organizations, including The Institution of Engineering and Technology UK (IET), the Institute of Engineers Australia, the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka, and the Project Management Institute.

Dirk Vantyghem joined EURATEX as a Director General in September 2019, representing the interests of over 200,000 European companies in the textiles and clothing industry towards the European Union.

His mandate is to promote a competitive, sustainable and innovative European Textiles and Clothing industry. Prior to EURATEX, he worked for EUROCHAMBRES, the European Chamber of Commerce lobby, focusing i.a. on trade policy, internationalisation and entrepreneurship. Dirk has an economic background and holds a Masters degree from the College of Europe, Bruges.