2023 Nominations for Board of Directors - Conor Carlin

About Conor Carlin

Conor Carlin is the first VP of Sustainability for SPE, elected to the Executive board in 2017 and again in 2020. A member of SPE since 2000, he serves as editor for SPE Thermoforming and Recycling Division publications. Carlin has contributed articles on plastics and sustainability for international industry press in the US, Europe, and Asia. He is the co-author and editor of the 2nd edition of “Plastics & Sustainability: Grey is the New Green” published by Scrivener/Wiley.

Carlin is also Managing Director of ILLIG North America, subsidiary of ILLIG Maschinenbau GmbH & Co., a Germany-based designer and manufacturer of thermoforming, tooling, and packaging systems.

Carlin has degrees from Boston University (BA, International Relations / French) and the FW Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College (MBA). He is married to Sandra and has three children, Fiona, Leo, and Eamon.

Summary

More than anything, as a member of Gen-X, I believe the ability to bridge generational differences and associated technological, social, and business-related challenges have equipped me for a leadership role in SPE today. In a time when professional societies - and many other groups - are facing structural changes, it is important that we balance what made us successful in the past with what will make us successful in the future. It is almost certain that these two concepts will be very different, if not radically opposed. As a professional member since the beginning of my career, I clearly see that the benefits of SPE are not strictly limited to SPE membership. This is a mental model that we must address - without fear, and without favor. "Grey is the New Green" is the subtitle of the book that I’ve edited on the topic of plastics and sustainability. I truly believe that we must become comfortable with ambiguity to progress as an organization, one that will continue to thrive, if not exactly in the same way as we have in decades past.