Vanessa Daelman

Vanessa graduated with a Master of Science in Chemistry from Ghent University in 1996 with great distinction, followed by a PhD in 2002. Vanessa also completed an additional course on 'Circular Economy & Sustainable Strategies'.

After her PhD, she started at Mutoh Belgium, a large format printer provider, as a Chemical Engineer between 2005 and 2011. She held a managerial position in a lab environment (5-7 people) and was a driving force in innovative ink development.

Between November 2011 and November 2016, Vanessa worked for Libert Paints, a producer of industrial coatings and decorative paintings in Ghent, as an R&D Manager.

From November 2016 until March 2017, Vanessa joined the Chemicals Division of Sioen. She was acting as a BU Manager of Digital Inks.

From 2017 till this summer, Vanessa worked for Devan Chemicals, a company developing chemicals for textiles with a focus on sustainability and creating added value. During the first years as a BU Manager, with P&L responsibility, in this role, Vanessa was given a more overall responsibility role that included commercial and financial aspects in addition to innovation. In the last years, Vanessa was the CTO of the company and one of the main drivers for ESG and the sustainability approach in the company.  

Vanessa has become more and more driven by sustainability and circular economy beyond chemistry during her previous roles in the development of sustainable inks, coatings, and textile finishes. 

Vanessa brings her ESG enthusiasm, experience, and drive to work in element61's ESG projects as a Principal ESG - Performance Management Architect. 

Vanessa started working at element61 in July 2023.