Innovation and R&D are a rock solid part of Ontex’ DNA. Myself included. I’m an engineer for 30 years and no day goes by I don’t wonder how we can improve even more and steer our path forward. Innovation drives sustainability, material choices and cost efficiency every day – it’s a passion I share with my talented teams day in day out.
Annick De Poorter
Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer
Ontex has undergone a major evolution in the past decades, which Annick was able to experience and steer from close by. Since 2006 she has a seat in the management committee of Ontex as R&D Manager of the Group. As a true sustainability expert, in 2010, sustainability was added to Annick’s Global leadership portfolio.
Annick graduated as a Civil Engineer in Textiles at the University of Ghent in 1995, and started her career as a researcher at the university in the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Textiles. At the end of 1996 she moved on from the university lab to the factory, and started working at Libeltex NV, producer of nonwovens. In 2003 it was time for Ontex, where she was hired as the R&D Manager for women’s hygiene products.
Annick De Poorter was elected as Engineer of the Year 2018 in Belgium by the Faculty of Engineering Sciences of Ghent University and its alumni association AIG.