Juan Manuel Banez-Romero

Sr. European Public Affairs Manager (sustainability) at Mars Inc. with key responsibilities in the area of sustainability and environmental policies at the EU level. As part of his accountabilities, he is the man responsible for the Circular Economy and Clean Energy Packages and the EU Plastics Strategy. In this capacity, Juan Manuel leads on Mars’ engagement on the European Union (EU) circular economy package and coordinates internal work stream pertaining to this topic. In addition, he represents Mars at the ‘New Plastic Economy Initiative’, a global program from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. Juan Manuel is also the Chairman of the Circular Economy Expert Group at FoodDrinkEurope, the Food industry confederation in the European Union and External Expert (reserve list) for the European Commission – DG REGIO on Environment, Circular Economy and Resource efficiency, Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Fundamental Rights.

Prior to joining Mars Inc., he worked at the European Commission in dealing with Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources & Water and international development in the Latin American region. Before joining the Commission, he worked for the Spanish Government in Public Service and Work & Emigration Department.

Juan Manuel holds a Diploma in International Relations at the London School of Economics (LSE) & Univ. of London, a Master’s degree in Environmental Education and a second one in European Studies, a postgraduate studies in neuroscience from the Univ. of Seville and Madrid and a Bachelor Degree in Psychology from the Univ. of Granada.