After 10 years at the helm of CEPI, the Brussels, Belgium-based Confederation of European Paper Industries, Teresa Presas (top photo) has decided to leave the organization at the end of May this year. In the coming months, she will ensure a smooth transition of the leadership of CEPI to her designated successor, Marco Mensink (bottom photo), who has already worked with Teresa as CEPI’s deputy director general for the past two years.

"It has been 10 years of an enriching experience and of relentless work," Presas said. "In the past years, we have consolidated our organization, successfully defended its interests, and laid out our long-term vision for the sector in the CEPI 2050 Roadmap. The coming years will be about implementation at the different levels, including the progression of the breakthrough concepts that came out of the Two Team project. Therefore, it is a good moment for me to leave the organization and move on to another life. I wish my colleague and successor, Marco Mensink, every success in the future."

During her tenure as director general, Presas forged a strong team of professionals that has taken CEPI to new heights and has proved itself as a very effective player in the Brussels scene, the organization noted.

"Teresa has turned CEPI into a highly credible and constructive partner to the EU institutions that lives up to its members’ expectations of bringing added value to the European pulp and paper industry. On behalf of the total membership of CEPI, I thank Teresa for her hard work and for her legacy, and I wish her all the best in her future endeavors," Gary McGann, newly appointed chairman of CEPI, said. "On behalf of all of the members, I also congratulate Marco Mensink on his appointment as Teresa’s successor as director general of CEPI on June 1," he added.