Speakers - Combating Fraud in the Plastics Industry

 Mike Boswell, Plastribution

Mike is a Graduate & Post Graduate Polymer Technologist who has previously studied at Burton Technical College and the Institute of Polymer Technology and Materials Engineering at Loughborough University.

In 1998 he joined Plastribution as a trainee technical sales executive he then moved into product management and in 1998 was appointed business development director.

In 2000 he was promoted to the position of Managing Director, and since this time the business has enjoyed considerable success and Plastribution became the UK’s largest distributor in 2009.

He joined the BPF council in May 2005 and joined the SFC in January 2009. In 2007 he was elected Chairman of the BPF Distributors & Compounders Group and served in this capacity until December 2013. In May 2012 he was elected Vice-president of the BPF and in 2013 Mike was elected President of the BPF.

Sarah Hooker, Geldards

Sarah has experience in advising on a wide range of commercial contracts, including terms and conditions of sale and purchase, bespoke agreements for the sale of goods and services and agency and distribution agreements.

She is also a member of Geldard’s franchising sector and advises on franchise agreements and arrangements.

Sarah recently undertook a client secondment as part of the in-house legal team at a large stationery supplier, during which she reviewed, negotiated and drafted a variety of procurement contracts as well as sales agreements.

Sarah graduated from Sheffield University and, after completing her legal post-graduate studies in Nottingham, trained in Lincoln before joining Geldards in 2005.

Vanessa Wix, Geldards

Vanessa is an all round commercial litigator. She has worked within the litigation field since 2000 and joined Geldards' dispute resolution team in 2003. She has particular experience of advising clients in relation to contractual and consumer issues and further assists with general construction disputes which are being conducted within the County Court.

Vanessa has previously conducted a secondment with a large automotive retailer and is known throughout this sector for her pragmatic, commercial legal advice. As a result of her experience of advising both retailers and manufacturers within this sector she has become a vital part of the automotive team.

She also has experience of dealing with emergency applications for injunctive relief and further has dealt with document heavy litigation as part of a larger team of lawyers.

Vanessa is a graduate of Nottingham Trent University and subsequently completed her Legal Practice Course at Cardiff, University of Wales.