Professor Dr. Sally Beken is a leading polymer scientist and sustainability expert with over 35 years of experience in materials innovation. She leads the UK Circular Plastics Network at Innovate UK Business Connect and played a key role in the £60 million Smart Sustainable Plastic Packaging Challenge. A former Innovation Lead at Innovate UK, she has overseen more than 100 R&D projects across sectors including healthcare and packaging.

Dr. Beken also chairs the Polymer Group at IOM3 having had a career that spans various sectors, including the medical industry, where she developed polymeric materials for medical devices that contributed to ozone layer protection efforts. In 2021 she founded the GRIPS conference, which brings together thousands of global experts in plastics sustainability. In 2023, she was named Honorary Professor at Brunel University.