About our expert authors
Our world renowned authors are experts in their fields. They combine their extensive expertise and knowledge with our exclusive datasets, industry experience and technical grounding to produce cutting-edge market reports that are the essential business planning tool. Find out more about them below.
Packaging, Print and Paper Authors
Sean Smyth
Sean has spent more than 25 years in senior technology and management positions for a variety of print businesses across the supply chain, where he applied systems and technology to improve efficiencies. He also serves in hands-on and consultancy roles. Sean has extensive experience in digital printing.
In his time with Smithers, Sean has authored several off-the-shelf market studies, including The Future of Digital Print for Packaging, The Future of Print and Smithers' flagship title, The Future of Global Printing. He has also provided strategic consultancy services to a range of clients across the value chain.
Stephen Harrod
Stephen spent eleven years building a market research company in South Africa, focused on the paper and packaging industry, following which he spent six years in the paper industry with Mondi and JAC Labels before relocating to England. He has been authoring reports for Smithers since 2006, with a focus on global paper and packaging markets.
He is responsible for a range of Smithers reports including the Global Corrugated Market, the Global Folding Carton Market, Central and Eastern European markets for corrugated and folding carton, Packaging in the Middle East, Retail Ready Packaging, Luxury Paperboard Packaging and many others. He has contributed to the Smithers reports on the Global packaging Market and the Global Printing Market, among others, whilst also building in-house databases on the global paper and packaging markets.
Dr. Neil Rogers
Neil is an award winning package development consultant. He spent 25 years with the Procter & Gamble Company as their global expert in flexible packaging, sustainability, bottle packing & labeling, open innovation and supplier management. He was elected to the board of the CEFLEX Consortium (Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging) and has also worked for Yara International as their only technical packaging specialist for FIBC's & FFS bags.
He has extensive experience in R&D, procurement, packing line creation & optimisation, supplier agreements, package specifications, packaging environmental legislation, and patent development with over 25 patent filings. Neil has presented over ten Keynote Presentations at External Conferences for Sustainability, Flexibles and Carton Board, and most recently has authored Impact of Climate Regulations on Packaging to 2030 along with additional custom research projects with Smithers.
Mark Smyth
Mark established his company MS Can Solutions in 2019 which is an independent packaging consultancy based in France, providing business, marketing and packaging intelligence to the Packaging Industry. His experience across R&D, engineering, commercial and strategic planning included various management positions in metal, glass, plastic container, and flexible packaging businesses serving beverage, food, personal care and industrial markets.
Prior to MS Can Solutions, his most recent position was with Ardagh Group as business development and marketing intelligence director, for metal and glass packaging. Mark Smyth has over 40 years’ experience working for American Can, NaCanco, American National Can, Pechiney, Impress, and Ardagh Group. Mark has worked with Smithers on updating one of their flagship reports. Additionally, Mark has worked with Smithers on some custom research projects
David Platt
David is a freelance business researcher and writer with a broad range of experience in the plastics and packaging industry. He has authored over fifty market reports for Smithers since he began working with the company in 2005. David has worked on several of Smithers’ flagship reports, these include titles such as; The Future of Global Packaging to 2024, The Future of Rigid Plastic Packaging to 2024, The Future of PET Packaging to 2025, The Future of Flexible Packaging to 2023. His work has covered topics and themes which include Bioplastics, Specialty Plastics, High Performance Packaging Film, Pouches, Caps & Closures and Transparent Barrier Films, and has created additional areas of research for other report titles.
He has participated in several consultancy projects for Smithers and has authored two books; ‘Biodegradable Plastics’ and ‘High-performance and Engineering Plastics’ for Smithers Rapra. He also writes the monthly polymer prices feature for Sustainable Plastics magazine. He is MBA-qualified and has a first degree in Economics.
Graham Moore
Graham has over thirty years’ experience of the paper and board industry, encompassing process and product knowledge, product performance, recycling, deinking, wet end chemistry, and strategic futures related research. Developed and initiated the Paper Perspectives research programme which assesses the impact of a range of issues and trends on the future demand of a range of paper products.
Products have included office paper, magazines, thermal paper, promotional print products and commercial inkjet. Graham has author of many papers and publications, including a number of books, e.g. Wet End Chemistry Strategies, Non Wood Fibres and Pulp and Paper Five-Year Technology Forecast. Contributed to other publications including the EC COST publication, ‘Paper Recycling’ and TAPPI’s Paper 360o journal. He is a member and Fellow of TAPPI (USA), member and Deputy National Chairman of PITA (UK) and a member of PRIMA.. Represented the UK on the European COST programme for Forests and Forest Products and has acted as an evaluator for the EC and the Finnish Academy of Science.
Graham has worked with Smithers for 17 years and has published both reports, and worked with Smithers on customer consultancy projects.
Martin Fairbank
Martin Fairbank earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Victoria, BC, Canada. He worked for 28 years with Resolute Forest Products, in applied research, technology application, product development, lean manufacturing implementation, and energy management.
For two years he worked at Natural Resources Canada on the Pulp and Paper Green Transformation project. Since 2016 he has run his own consulting business, focusing on providing technical expertise to clients as well as writing articles for several print and online publishers, including Pulp & Paper Canada and PaperAdvance.
Martin has participated in several industry conferences as a presenter or moderator and has been an instructor for several industry-sponsored courses. A former Executive Councilor for PAPTAC (Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada), he is currently Lead Associate Editor of JFOR magazine and a PAPTAC Fellow. He has published several technical papers, 2 patents, and a book on the history of Resolute Forest Products. He is currently based in Montreal, Canada.
Nonwovens Authors
Phil Mango
Phil has spent almost 40 years in the nonwovens industry. He has had varying positions and areas of expertise within the industry, from applications management for the global leader in nonwoven binders to technology director for the world’s largest airlaid producer, to founder, owner and head of operations for his own nonwovens company.
Since 2007 Mango has worked as an expert industry consultant for the nonwovens and wipes industries. He has headed over multiple studies for Smithers clients, including multi-national firms and market consultancies, in these fast developing industries. He has also authored more than 35 Smithers market reports on nonwovens, wipes, and major business and technical trends impacting this sector.
Tire Authors
Arthur Mayer
Art has many years of experience in the tire industry, working in a variety of roles at Dealer Tire and as a contract writer and consultant covering a wide range of non-technical topics in the tire market for Smithers and its clients. He has previously been a speaker at Smithers' Traction conferences, covering the fast-emerging area of sensors and intelligent tires.
Howard Colvin
Howard is a rubber industry consultant with decades of industry experience and a PhD in physical chemistry. He began his career at Goodyear in specialty chemicals, which included antioxidants and accelerators for tires. For most of his time at Goodyear, he was in charge of polymer development for the Chemical Division. He also worked for Cooper Tire where he led the successful biomaterials program to make an all-guayule rubber tire.
Materials, Rubber and Elastomers Authors
Patrick Ellis
Patrick has spent over 50 years working in the European plastics industry in a variety of functions such as technical, marketing and management. He has worked for a number of multi-national organisations, including Shell, Borg-Warner, Monsanto, Hercules, Himont, Neste and the RTP Company.
He has also written a number of articles on a wide range of subjects, including PP metallocene catalysts and technologies and alternative sources of lower-alpha olefins. He has also contributed articles on various subjects to several periodicals.
Dr Terry Cooper
Dr. Terry Cooper is CEO of ARGO Group International. He has over 50 years’ experience in worldwide polymer-related R&D, manufacturing and market development. He spent 16 years in R&D at DuPont and eight years managing polymer-related research and business groups at Arco Chemical Company (Atlantic Richfield), before founding ARGO Group.
He is responsible for work recognized in over 40 patents and applications and over 80 publications and presentations and has extensive international experience in the United States, Europe and Japan.
He holds a D.Phil. in Physical Organic Chemistry from Oxford University; an MBA from Drexel University specializing in economic methods and international marketing; and held a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Molecular Biophysics at Yale University. Memberships include the Society of Plastics Engineers, American Chemical Society, American Institute of Chemical Engineers, Plastics Consultancy Network, Chemical Consultants Network and Chemical Industry Consultants Association.
Our Market Reports
Combining over 100 years of knowledge and experience across a wide range of industries, Smithers renowned market reports provide exclusive market forecasts, critical industry analyses, insights into key drivers and trends, and much more.