The Circular Economy for Flexible Packaging initiative (CEFLEX) has announced the appointment of a new Leadership Team – effective January 1, 2026 – to guide the initiative into its next phase, following the planned transition of Project Coordinator and Founder Graham Houlder towards retirement.

From January 1, 2026, Arne Jost, Mike Jefferson, and Liz Morrish will form a new leadership team, building on the strong foundations and collaborative spirit established under Graham’s direction. Together, they bring more than 90 years of experience in packaging, circularity and sustainability.

The CEFLEX steering committee, representing each part of the value chain, oversaw the selection process and shortlisting of candidates before making the appointments:

• Arne Jost, currently at Henkel, and previously a CEFLEX Steering Committee member, will lead Policy and External Affairs Management, focusing on strategic partnerships and external representation.
• Mike Jefferson, already part of the CEFLEX team, will head Circular Economy Implementation, driving the initiative’s progress on EPR, recycling, sorting and collection.
• Liz Morrish, already part of the CEFLEX team, will oversee Operations, as well as continuing to lead CEFLEX’s technical work on packaging design and end markets.

“The 2025-2030 period will be the most critical for implementing the PPWR and delivering real circularity,” said Houlder. “ It will demand collaboration, innovation, and robust data-driven insights to align the many moving parts across industry, Member States and policymakers. I’m confident the new team will guide CEFLEX and its stakeholders through this important next chapter.”

“The coming years will be decisive for achieving circularity targets and CEFLEX’s role as a key driver of Europe’s packaging transformation,” added Arne Jost, speaking on behalf of the incoming team. “Our immediate focus is to build on our greatest strength, the people and partnerships behind CEFLEX – providing them with real added value and a clear operational plan for our mandate to 2030.”