The Board of the FINAT Young Manager’s Club (YMC) has been hard at work planning special events for young managers in the label industry during 2016. The Board consists of three core members of the YMC: Dana Kilarska of Purgina, Slovakia, Chairman/Treasurer; Rainer Ulrich, of Ulrich Etiketten, Austria, Programme Management; and Christopher Jones of Alphasonics in the UK, Marketing.

“Since my first YMC event in 2013, I have been really keen to be involved in a bigger way,” comments Jones, the newest YMC Board member. “What I found at that first meeting were like-minded people who share my passion for the label industry and its ongoing development. I’m looking forward to contributing to our industry in a positive way, flying the flag for young people in labels and packaging, and opening our wonderful group to more people.”

Formed in 2008, FINAT’s YMC has met regularly in various locations across Europe with members who are both converters and suppliers actively working in the label industry. The group aims to highlight issues for young managerial talent and to share ideas and experiences for the advancement of these professionals, the businesses they represent and the industry at large. A popular forum, the YMC has seen increased attendance at every event and subsequent membership growth year over year.

Three members of the YMC board have stepped down due to the demands of other commitments. However, Pawandeep Sahni (Weldon Celloplast), Nicola Motetta (Euroadhesiv) and Francesc Egea (IPE) will continue to attend events and remain active members of the group. “We’d like to thank the three outgoing board members who have contributed greatly to the group and our progress as a forum,” says YMC Chairman Dana Kilarska. “Our recent growth can be attributed to their dedication and energy. We are very much looking forward to working with Chris, who brings enthusiasm and passion to the role and who I am sure will help drive us forward into the future in his role as our marketing guru.”

The group made a conscious decision to reduce the number of board members, and the new board’s first meeting at Labelexpo Europe yielded enthusiastic and positive results. At the meeting, which was hosted by Delfort Group, the board agreed to the location and date of the next Young Manager’s Club event: the 3rd YMC Summit which will be held 28 to 30 April in Budapest, Hungary. The board will be communicating the seminar’s theme and full details soon, as well as posting them at www.finat.com.

“We have found our hands-on approach to these events to be very well-received by our members,” Kilarska adds. “Our goal is to make 2016’s session better than ever and to work hard to attract even more attendees. Our members are young, eager to learn, and are selflessly working to advance the industry. These sessions are a key contributor to helping them do that through education and networking. The bar is already high, but we think we can raise it even further!” Previous YMC conferences were held in Vienna (2011), Berlin (2012), Warsaw (2013) and Bratislava (2015). The YMC also organised an exchange programme with Indian label manufacturers during Labelexpo India.