Leadership

Daniel joined Orbia in 2018, after serving as CEO of Kaluz, Orbia’s holding company. 2018 proved to be a historic year for the company, in part due to Orbia’s acquisition of Netafim, the global leader in precision irrigation. Prior to his role as CEO of Kaluz, Daniel served as director of worldwide strategy & planning at Cisco. In addition, he previously worked as managing partner at Nebli Capital Advisors, a private equity and investment advisory firm based in Spain. Daniel was also founder and CEO of Aquanima, a global leader in the practices of procurement, cost analysis, and vendor strategies, bringing value to businesses in Europe and Latin America.

Before this, Daniel was a founding partner of BBF Ventures, a €150 million early-stage fund. He has also worked as a consultant at McKinsey & Co. and has served as chief economic advisor to the deputy minister of communications and technology in Mexico, and the chief of staff of the deputy minister of finance.

Daniel has an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM), and has a diploma in economics from the London School of Economics.

Sameer joined Orbia in 2016 to lead the Compounds business group. He then proceeded to add Orbia’s fluorine-based solutions portfolio to his responsibilities. Before joining Orbia, Sameer held several key positions at specialty chemicals company Cabot, and he has worked as a strategy consultant for The Boston Consulting Group in a variety of industries.

Sameer has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bombay, a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.  

Peter joined Orbia in 2018 to lead the Dura-Line brand. Having held multiple executive positions in Cisco’s EMEA and emerging markets operations, Peter has great knowledge and vision on how to improve lives through data. Prior to his work at Cisco, Peter was a consultant at McKinsey & Company, serving clients in the chemicals, automotive, airline, and banking sectors.

He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, where he obtained his MBA and management of technology degree. 

Over the course of 17 years, Gaby gained deep knowledge of Netafim’s global customer base and agriculture markets spanning geographies from holding positions including Chief Financial Officer for Latin America, Managing Director of Netafim Mexico, Vice President of the Americas, Vice President of Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and most recently as Senior Vice President and President of the Americas at Netafim.

Gaby holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree with a focus in Accounting and Finance from Tel Aviv University. He is also a certified accountant in Israel.

Maarten previously managed Wavin, which is part of the Building & Infrastructure group. He has almost three decades of experience in the plastics and packaging industry, during which time he headed Wavin’s overseas business in the Benelux and Northwest regions, before being appointed to the Wavin management board in 2010. Maarten also is a member of The European Pipe and Fitting Association (TEPPFA).

Maarten holds a master’s degree in business economics from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

With more than 25 years of experience, Deb is an accomplished human resources leader, team builder and culture steward who brings a pragmatic and creative approach to driving business value. Having worked across the technology, consulting, life sciences and now industrial  sectors in a global capacity, Deb has expertise in talent attraction and retention, acquisition integrations, executive and employee compensation models and supporting transformational performance and change management initiatives. Prior to joining Orbia, Deb served as PerkinElmer’s global CHRO and was the architect behind the company’s people strategy. Prior to PerkinElmer, Deb spent 17 years with IBM, living and working in both the U.S and Europe in leadership roles where she enhanced the company’s global HR programs and led an enterprise-wide talent transformation. Deb started her career in a software start up with Lotus Development in 1991, where she held progressive leadership roles until IBM acquired Lotus in 1999.

Deb holds a Bachelor of Science degree in the field of Human Resources from The University of Bath in England and a postgraduate diploma in Human Resources from the University of London.

Edgardo is a tech-savvy finance expert with expertise in digital transformation, cybersecurity, and process improvement. He provides the board with a unique and valuable perspective on financial and risk management in the manufacturing business and is a visionary leader who drives results. He has gained varied international experience through leading M&A processes worldwide and executing IPOs in the US and Europe.

Prior to his position at Orbia, Edgardo served as global CFO of Tenaris, with responsibilities over administration, finance, IT, and overseeing 1,200 employees worldwide. He was a strategic partner for business development, with a strong focus on capital deployment and asset utilization. Previously, Edgardo worked at Sidor and participated in the privatization process of one of the largest steel mills in Latin America. He had an active role in the restructuring of debt after a crisis during which steel prices plunged to the lowest point in years.

Edgardo holds an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT Sloan Fellows Program), completed executive programs at Wharton and Stanford University and graduated as a public accountant from the National University of La Plata (UNLP) in Argentina.

Prior to joining Orbia, Sheldon worked at Amneal Pharmaceuticals, where he was a member of the executive leadership team. Sheldon has significant experience handling the legal and compliance matters affecting international pharmaceutical companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Actavis, and Progenics Pharmaceuticals. He specializes in mergers and acquisitions, licensing, securities, and corporate governance.

Sheldon holds a bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs and acquired a juris doctor degree from Columbia Law School.

Being an entrepreneur himself, Shai founded a successful start-up and served in business development and marketing roles in several other start-ups. Today he is a mentor and an active investor to several start-ups and entrepreneurs.

Before joining Orbia in 2018, Shai led the Product Management, Product Marketing, and Strategic Crops units at Netafim. Prior to his position at Netafim, Shai worked as a project manager at McKinsey & Co., providing global multinational companies with guidance on a broad range of strategic, organizational and M&A topics.

Shai holds a BA in computer science with distinction from the IDC and an MBA from INSEAD.

Mike is a proven strategic and technology leader with more than 20 years of experience working with diverse groups of businesses to help them modernize their capabilities and achieve their strategic objectives.

Before joining Orbia, Mike held several leadership positions at Cargill Incorporated, most recently as VP of Global Information Technology, where he supported his team in addressing pressing data and digital needs, sharing best practices and training and improving efficiency, agility and service delivery. Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from William Penn University and an MBA from St. Ambrose University.

Under Cristina’s leadership, Orbia has increased its ESG reporting transparency and scope, committed to ambitious environmental goals, improved the assessment of its supply chain and launched programs of social and environmental impact. She and her team were instrumental in Orbia joining the Dow Jones Sustainability Index in 2019. The Company became a member of UN Global Compact two years ago, signed the CEO Water Mandate in 2019, and committed to the Business Ambition for 1.5 C.

Previous to Orbia, Cristina’s career developed mainly in the nonprofit sector, more specifically in the environmental conservation and education spaces. Some of the organizations she has worked for are The Nature Conservancy, Pronatura Noreste, Rare Conservation and Fundación Educa. Today, she is a board member of Jimbere Fund, World Environment Center, Centro Intercultural de Estudios de Desiertos y Océanos A.C. and Smartest Energy.

Cristina holds a chemistry degree from Universidad de las Américas, Puebla, and a master’s degree in environmental studies from the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey in Mexico.

Before joining Orbia in 2008, he worked for companies including AVON, Becton Dickinson, DUPONT, and Dow Chemical.

Jorge Luis holds a bachelor’s degree in business management and an MBA from Universidad Iberoamericana. He also holds CIA and CSA certificates accredited by the Florida Institute of Internal Auditors. 

Paul is a seasoned health and safety professional. With over 35 years of experience in the manufacturing industry, he has improved the HS&E performance and effectiveness of several organizations, while also increasing people's job satisfaction.

Paul has worked for Dow Chemical for the vast majority of his career, but has also proven successful in different organizations, environments and cultures. Prior to joining Orbia, he served as the vice president of health, safety & environment for Arkema, based in France. Paul holds a master's degree in chemical engineering from University College Dublin (UCD) in Ireland and another master’s in thermodynamics from the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Germany.