Roberto Bruni, founder and managing
director of RB & Partners, has international working experience in
developing business activities in several European countries including
Switzerland, Japan, China, Brazil and Venezuela. Mr Bruni also has
significant working experience as Business Consultant for several
industry sectors and in particular in Food & Beverages, IT,
Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices and Energy.
Mr. Bruni has worked on EU public
affairs advising SMEs, Corporations, and Trade Associations, on EU &
WTO trade legislation as well as anti-dumping practices, with
particular focus on bilateral relations with the US and Brazil. He has
devised and run several advocacy campaigns related to maritime
transport, health and food safety.
His experience with EU projects includes advising companies who wish to
apply for funding for their projects. He provides the necessary support
with the preparation of projects and execution of projects once they
have been approved.
His previous experience working in SMEs and the corporation business
environment adds a solid understanding of the relation in between
businesses and Public Affairs to his work at RB & Partners.
Roberto Bruni has a background in political science with a
specialization in international law and economics.
Dr. Phillip Davison, former Deputy Director of External Affairs Europe of Innovene, joined RB & Partners' trade consultancy activity in May 2009. Dr. Davison has extensive experience with trade and EU policy combined with technical knowledge of chemicals. He focused on trade and competitiveness issues at Innovene, many of which were associated with biofuels. Previous experience also includes a long history with BP Petrochemicals, including 10 years of managing the Technical Service & Development activity and several years as External Affairs Manager for the Solvents & Industrial Chemical businesses.
On the European scene, Dr.Davison has been heavily involved in CEFIC and was a member of the Steering Team of the European Solvents Industry Group (ESIG), Chairman of the Association for Fair Trade in Alcohol (AFTA) as well as the past chair of the Oxygenated Solvents Producers Association (OSPA). For 8 years, he was the Chairman of the European Solvents VOC Coordination Group (ESVOCCG), a cross-industry forum than 30 trade groups.
Dr. Davison manages Davison Consultants Limited, providing advocacy and communications to the chemical and plastics industry.
Meghan Sapp joined RB & Partners to further develop the company’s operations with African industry, especially those seeking to access the European biofuels market. Her expertise is in the area of sustainability, primarily advising companies regarding on-going European policy discussions on topics of sustainability, potential trade barriers and the like. She works directly with companies exploring synergies and finding contradictions between their projects and the EU’s Renewable Energy Directive, including the associated sustainability criteria for biofuels.
She has several years of experience working with and on behalf of African sugar, agriculture and biofuel producers including as advisor to the sugar producing members of the Least Developed Countries. Through PANGEA, Partners for Euro-African Green Energy, she participates in the governance bodies of the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels, Better Sugarcane Initiative, and others while working as an advocate for African biofuel producers.
Since 2007, Ms. Sapp was Managing Director of HG Consulting.eu in Brussels working with companies and investors to develop large-scale biofuel projects in Africa as well as advising on issues related to sustainability.
Her previous experiences includes more than 10 years in agriculture, primarily as a journalist, sugar and ethanol market analyst and communicator.
Clemente joined RB & Partners in 2009, he has an international working experience of five years at the Europan Parliament as Assistant of an MEP and at the European Commission in DG Energy and Transport as Project officer in the field of Clean Transports & Sustainable Development.
After its Institutional working experience Mr. Poccianti joined an Italian Company working in the field of Public affairs and lobbying with the role as European affairs advisor; he worked in the following sectors; Finance, Information Technology IT, Environmental and Consumers protection.
With a specialization in the sectors of the European Public Affairs, EU Policy analysis and legislation he became an independent European Affairs Consultant for Companies, Associations and Civil Society interested to create contacts with the EU Institutions.
Clemente Poccianti has a background in Political Science with a specialization and a Master in Economy of the Environment.
Sonja Ekholm joined RB & Partners in August 2008 as and advisor from one of the large public affairs consultancies in Brussels, where she worked on a wide variety of clients and issues in the areas of EU trade, development, energy, agriculture and information technology policies. Outside of RB & Partners, Sonja also works as an expert on different projects for DG Development of the European Commission.
During her studies, she was actively involved in student politics both in Finland and in other Nordic countries where she was tasked with formulating policies and carrying out campaigns. She also worked on a variety of human rights issues in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland and the Council of Europe in France. She has experience working in several developing countries including the Philippines, Thailand, India and Ghana.
Ms. Ekholm studied political science and international relations in Helsinki and Berlin. She also holds a Master degree in European political studies from the College of Europe (Bruges).
Kristine joined RB & Partners in March 2009 as an intern. She assists in monitoring the EU legislative process and drafting reports on specific issues of interest at EU level. Previously, Kristine worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lativa, where she assisted in the coordination of Latvia's position on EU transport, telecommunications and energy issues. Kristine is currently studying international economics in Riga Technical University.
Stefano is Editor at Euroreporter and Projects Director at the association "Reporters for an Interactive Cooperative and Specialized Information" (RICSI) as well as freelance reporter for prestigious Italian media: l'Espresso, il Venerdi’ di Repubblica, Famiglia cristiana, Oggi, il Giornale, il Sole24Ore.
David joined RB & Partners in June 2008 responsible for the IT division.
David has studied journalism in Université Libre de Bruxelles [ULB] but had always a strong passion for IT.