Our Leadership Team

Katrin Hanske holds the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at SWM International. In this capacity, she plays a pivotal role in shaping the company’s strategic direction and executing a robust long-term growth strategy. Katrin’s leadership focuses on ensuring the company’s adaptability to the dynamic changes in SWM International’s markets, with a particular emphasis on fostering innovation, sustainability, and operational excellence.

Before joining SWM, Katrin served as the Vice President of Supply Chain at Orion Engineered Carbons and as the Supply Chain Director at Avery Dennison Label and Packaging Materials. Her journey at SWM International also includes the position of Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Tobacco and Alternative Solutions business.

Katrin’s academic background includes a degree in engineering from the Technische Universität Dresden.

Raoul Hervé serves as the Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at SWM International, overseeing the company’s global operations. His role encompasses Manufacturing, Research & Development, Operational Effectiveness, ESG, and Strategic Projects Technology & Innovation (SPTI).

With an impressive 25-year career in the specialty paper industry, Raoul has accumulated extensive experience in various senior leadership roles at SWM across Europe and Asia. His roles have included positions such as Sales & Marketing Director for EMEEA and Vice President of R&D, Innovation, and ESG.

Raoul holds a master’s degree in organic chemistry from the University of Rennes, France. In addition, he earned a degree in environmental chemistry from the École Nationale Supérieure de Chimie in Rennes.

Urszula Jarosz-Kuberska is the Chief Human Resources Officer of SWM International. She previously held the position of HR Vice President, Global HRBP, at Mativ.
During her tenure at SWM International, Urszula has held several strategic HR roles.

Early in her career, she provided key support to the fledgling Poland organization. Subsequently, she supported many locations across Europe as HR Director. In each role, Urszula has added significant value and provided expert guidance to teams across functions and business units, particularly during times of progress and change.

Urszula’s understanding of HR and leadership is rooted in an early career in the automotive industry, where she gained valuable experience as an HR Manager supporting large teams at component manufacturer Maflow. Urszula holds a master’s degree in sociology and social psychology, a CIPD Certificate in HR Management, and is a Gallup-Certified Strengths Coach and a certified MBTI and DDI practitioner. She is based in Łódź, Poland.

Piotr Matczak leads SWM International’s global finance organization, which consists of Global Financial Planning and Analysis, Global Tax, Global Treasury, and three regional accounting teams.

Piotr joined SWM in 2019 as a finance manager, and subsequently held the positions of European Finance Controller and Global Finance Controller. Before joining SWM, he spent six years at Deloitte in Poland where he provided professional services related to internal controls, standalone and group audits, and US GAAP and IFRS reporting.

Piotr graduated from the University of Łódź in 2012 with a degree in Finance and Accounting. He also holds a master’s degree in Spatial Planning and Management from the same university. Piotr will continue to be based in his hometown of Łódź.

Giuliano Scilio is VP of Supply Chain and Chief Information Officer for SWM International, having previously served as Director of Supply Chain for Mativ. He leads global initiatives in production planning, S&OP and analytics, logistics, and customer service.

Prior to joining SWM International, Giuliano held various leadership roles at Orion Engineered Carbons, including operations management and strategic planning positions in Europe and South Africa. He was also instrumental in driving improvements in supply chain standards and logistics across the EMEA, Asia-Pacific, and Americas regions.

Giuliano’s educational background includes a focus on supply chain dynamics and lean manufacturing principles, skills he has applied in every facet of his career. In addition, his commitment to innovation is reflected in the leading role he has played in the digital transformation of supply chain operations at SWM International.

Ron Surbey serves as the Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at SWM International, overseeing all global legal matters for the company. In this role, he supervises a team of lawyers providing regulatory guidance and strategic business advice to the company.

Ron has more than 30 years of experience as a business lawyer, including more than 18 years as a private lawyer in international law firms where he advised clients on United States securities and business law, and managed legal matters for investor clients. He lived for seven years in Pennsylvania and Florida, USA, and spent several years in Buenos Aires, Bratislava, and Moscow. He has a strong understanding of business and served as President of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Slovak Republic for three years. Before joining SWM in 2016, Ron was General Counsel for an international spirits manufacturer, leading a team of more than 25 legal professionals based in six countries.

Ron earned his law degree (Juris Doctor) from Ohio State University, USA, and holds a BA in Diplomacy and Foreign Affairs with Russian from Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA. He speaks French, Spanish, Russian, Luxembourgish and English

Guilherme Costa is Vice President of Global Sales at SWM International, based in Rio de Janeiro.

An SWM veteran, Guilherme joined the company in 1996, beginning his career in marketing and product development. Since 2011, he has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Global Account Director and Regional Sales Director for the Americas region.

Guilherme holds a BSc in Chemical Engineering and a post-graduate degree in Economics Engineering and Finance Management from Universidade Federal Fluminense in Niteroi, Brazil.

Jorge Balthazar is Vice President, General Manager leading the SWM International’s Filtering Media Growth Platform. He brings over 30 years of global experience having held leadership roles with the company in Sales and Marketing, Global Account Management, Business Development and Management accross various regions. His expertise is pivotal in leading an experienced, dedicated team to position Evolute®, an innovative and sustainable range of filtering media, as the industry standard for the future.

Prior to his current role, Jorge led the commercial transformation of SWM’s Brazilian operations, from a local supplier to a global export leader. As Sales and Marketing Director for the Americas, he focused on strengthening customer relationships and experience, resulting in consistently high customer satisfaction and retention. As Business Development Director, he led projects in sustainable packaging and absorbents. Most recently, as VP and GM of Combustibles, he steered the business segment back to grow.

Jorge began his career in the cigarette industry as a chemical engineer in R&D. A strong believer in the value of education, Jorge is a volunteer trustee of Notre Dame Academy in Duluth, Georgia, near his home in Alpharetta.  He holds  an Advanced Industrial Marketing Strategy qualification from INSEAD, France, an MBA from COPPEAD-UFRJ in Brazil and did MSc coursework in Bioreactor Systems, The University of Manchester, UK.

Alex Boone is Vice President and General Manager of SWM International’s Combustibles,  Alternative Markets and Specialties businesses. He combines this with his role as Managing Director of SWM International’s hemp and botanical paper products B2B market brand Botani.

Alex has more than 20 years of experience at SWM International, having held a number of leadership roles since joining the company in 2001. He began his career in the US commercial section and was soon promoted to Sales Director for North America, before moving to Luxembourg in 2015 to take on the position of Senior Director of Business Development for Global Papers. He was also a member of the Engineered Papers Leadership Team until his return to the US in late 2018.

Prior to joining SWM, Alex was the Regional Sales Director, US Southeast, for adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller. Alex received his BA in Management from Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania in 1988, and is based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

Bruno de Veyrac is Vice President and General Manager responsible for SWM International’s Reconstituted Tobacco and New Generation Products (NGP) businesses.

Since joining the company in 2001, Bruno has worked in several countries, including Brazil, Poland, and his native France. He has held various roles within the Reconstituted Tobacco business, and in 2017 he established the reduced-risk products (RRP) division. Previous roles within SWM International include Business Development Director and New Generation Products Director.

Bruno represents SWM International on the boards of the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum and Fetratab, where he advises on critical issues such as the deployment of reduced-risk products, combating illicit trade, and navigating tax, customs, and regulatory issues. He holds a master’s degree in agronomy.

Philippe Ragot is Vice President and General Manager leading the Packaging Growth Platform at SWM International.

Over the course of his tenure, he has served in various key roles, including Global Account Manager, Global Product Manager, and Marketing Director. As Director of Strategic Marketing and more recently as General Manager for a portfolio of specialty papers , Philippe led a global team focused on driving innovation and delivering specialized solutions tailored to diverse industry needs. This deep expertise is instrumental to lead a team of specialists focused on advancing SWM’s plastic-free solutions for packaging applications.

Philippe’s sales and marketing career began with a combined degree from NEOMA Business School in France and ICADE in Spain, followed by a market research role with ConocoPhillips in London. Philippe speaks four languages, including his native French, and is based in Luxembourg.