John Baize holds an MBA from the University of Texas in Dallas. On top of that, he did an executive specialization in Business Strategy and Innovation.

Before starting ACT Global, John held managerial positions with SRI Sports (AstroTurf), URS Corporation, Wallace Integrated and Weatherford International.

John is the founder of Act Global, an international synthetic turf maker for sports, landscaping, aviation and landfill uses and has been the company’s CEO for more than 16 years. 

John is not only serving on the Board of Directors of STC now, but also two terms before, during which he held the position of Chair.

He is also one of the initiators of STC International and currently holds the position of STCI Chair.

Dan Bond is the President and CEO of the Synthetic Turf Council, where he is responsible for the general supervision and management of the affairs of the STC. He is a recognized association leader with extensive experience in developing innovative strategies that drive sustainable change. He received a Master of Science in Management Degree from The Catholic University of America, and undergraduate degree in Political Science from Furman University. He also holds the Certified Association Executive (CAE) credential. Dan serves on multiple boards of directors and is an active member of ASAE: The Center for Association Leadership.

Katharina is a professional in event management and sports marketing and has been involved in the FIFA Quality Programme since 2011. During this time, she has been part of the transformation of the Quality Programme, setting standards for footballs and artificial turf, to the Football Technology Innovation department which successfully implemented new technologies like the video referee (VAR) and goal-line technology (GLT) at the FIFA World Cups in 2014 and 2018. Her main focus is the development and implementation of a new strategic direction of the FIFA Quality Programme for Football Turf.

Katharina is German and a former professional football player and athlete who played in the First and Second Bundesliga in Germany and the NLB in Switzerland. 

Dr Michel CASSART graduated as an Engineer in Material Science, started his professional career by working in an Academic Research Environment where he achieved a PhD. He moved to an industrial environment in 1995, while he simultaneously achieved a Master in Business Administration (MBA) in 2002. During more than 20 years he has built up an industrial experience in Plastics by occupying various management positions in R&D, Customer Services, Polymer Production Process, Business Management & Business strategy.  

In 2016 he joined PlasticsEurope to coordinate Food Contact, REACH and some sector groups’ activities. 

In 2020, Michel moved to the position of Sustainable Use Director coordinating all activities related to the sustainable use of plastics and covering as well topics, such as safety of plastics and microplastics. 

PlasticsEurope, one of the leading European trade associations, is representing more than 100 member companies, producing over 90% of all polymers across the EU27 member states plus Norway, Switzerland, Turkey and UK.    

Sustainability is, and will always be, vital to our members. As the challenges we face have become more critical, we are accelerating our contribution to the sustainable production and use of plastics, whilst ensuring they continue their positive contribution to healthy societies and growing economies. The industry fully supports the Paris Agreement objectives and the EU’s 2050 climate-neutrality ambitions.