Greg Hoverson is the Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Atmus, where he leads the global Research & Engineering organization spanning five technical centers across four countries. With 31 years of experience in commercial vehicle and equipment filtration, Greg’s career has been defined by a passion for innovation and a deep commitment to supporting customer success. He has played a pivotal role in launching transformative filtration technologies that deliver cleaner, more energy-efficient, and maintenance-efficient solutions for clients worldwide. Greg’s dedication to advancing technical excellence is reflected in his impressive portfolio of 65 global patents.  Greg’s leadership style centers on practical problem-solving and fostering collaboration, always striving to deliver value and reliability to customers. He holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Dakota State University.

Panelists

Mr. Tyler Smith is the Vice President, Global Lifecycle Solutions at Johnson Controls (USA). He has spent more than 19 years with the company in roles spanning engineering, commercial, and business leadership, with a focus on healthy and sustainable building outcomes—including indoor air quality, energy performance, and occupant wellness. From 2018 to 2020, Tyler led Johnson Controls’ Critical Environments business unit, which designs and manufactures systems for high-performance spaces such as hospitals and laboratories. Since late 2020, he has led the company’s Healthy Buildings initiative, helping customers capture productivity and financial benefits associated with healthier buildings. Tyler assumed his current VP role in January 2025. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Emory University, and serves serves on WFI Advisory Board.

Mr. Tobias Zimmer is the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs, Sustainability & Corporate Communication, at Camfil Group. With over 20 years of experience in the international ventilation industry, he has held various leadership roles at Camfil since joining in 2009. A recognized air filtration expert, he actively contributes to global standardization efforts, serving on multiple working groups for ISO TC142 (Cleaning Equipment for Air and Other Gases), CEN TC195 (Air Filters for General Air Cleaning), and CEN TC156 (Ventilation for Buildings). He is the convenor of WG7 in CEN TC195, focusing on environmental product declarations, and serves as Vice Chairman of PC-Fil at Eurovent Certification. Additionally, he is a member of the WFI Advisory Board and has co-authored several technical guidelines on air filtration and ventilation.

Mr. Martin Klein is the Senior Vice President of Engineering for Filter Elements and Filtration Materials at MANN+HUMMEL GmbH in Germany. He earned his Master degree in 2003 from Karlsruhe University in process engineering with focus on filtration and aerosol technology. Klein joined MANN+HUMMEL in 2003 as a development engineer, focusing on fuel filter media and elements for the automotive aftermarket. In 2010, he transitioned to the Innovation and Corporate Strategy department, managing both national and international teams. By February 2017, he was appointed Vice President of Cabin Air Filtration. In 2020, Klein took over the global responsibility for filter element engineering overseeing engineering operations across multiple locations, including the U.S., Brazil, Germany, Bosnia, Poland, India, Korea, and China. In April 2024 he assumed his current position in which his is additionally responsible for the RD of Filtration Materials in MANN+HUMMEL.

Dr. Cédric Vallet is Head of Product Management & Business Development for the Filtration Division at Ahlstrom (France). He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Rennes in 2006 and an Engineering Master’s degree in Chemistry from ENSCR in 2002. With more than 19 years of experience in filtration, he has held key roles across R&D, Sales, and Marketing, with a focus on air and liquid filtration solutions for transportation applications. In his current role, Dr. Vallet leads global efforts to advance sustainable filtration materials and solutions. A strong advocate for filtration education, he also serves on WFI Advisory Board.

Dr. Matt O’Sickey is the Director of Education and Technical Affairs at INDA, the Association of the Nonwovens Fabric Industry.  He has prior experience leading operations, R&D, marketing, and product management. He has multiple patents, received industry innovation awards, provided innumerable presentations, is a training course instructor, is a contributing columnist for the International Fiber Journal and International Filtration News. He holds a deeply rooted belief that innovation is the result of the intersection of marketing and technology. Matt is a Chemical Engineer alumnus of Purdue University and Virginia Tech where his studies had heavy emphasis on the processing-structure-property relationships of polymeric materials.

Mr. Richard Lydon, Secretary General of The Filtration Society (UK), is a leading expert in the global filtration industry. He has led and held a number leadership positions at public and private businesses in a career spanning 35 years. Having both a business and technology background, he has helped companies grow and develop on global platform basis through SEED Funding, M&A, VC and PE. Businesses Richard has helped lead & grow include Molymem(UK), Veco/ Muon Group (The Netherlands, now part of IDEX Corp), Filtration Group (USA), Clear Edge Filtration (Globally), Madison Filter (UK) Scapa Group plc (UK) and Porvair plc (UK). Richard has also held a number of institutional roles including Visiting Professor roles at Loughborough & Leeds University. He is External Advisory Board Chair (Materials) at University of Manchester and IEO, TU Dublin. He is Advisory Board Member of WFI and co-chair of the WFI annual conference for the past 5 years.

Mr. Kevin Jameson is the founder of PureAir Filtration, a company specializing in gas-phase filtration. He has more than 30 years of experience in the gas-phase air purification market, including 20 years with PureAir, and holds four patents in the field. Kevin began his career with Torrington Bearings, later moved into the automotive industry with Siemens, and then spent five years at Purafil as Vice President of Operations before founding PureAir Filtration in 2004. In 2025, he sold this company to CleanWater1, a leader in the water and wastewater technology space.  He is an active member of the WEF Odor and Air Pollutants Committee, serves on the International Society of Automation committee focused on protecting electronics from pollution. He also serves on WFI Advisory Board. He earned both his B.S. and M.S. in Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia (USA).  He enjoys sailing and beekeeping.

Mr. Scott Yaeger, is President & CEO of FAST International, Inc., with over 40 years of experience in membrane filtration. He has held senior roles in Sales, Marketing, Engineering, R&D, Manufacturing, and General Management at Sartorius, Cuno/3M, Gelman/Pall, and PTI Advanced Filtration/Parker Hannifin. Since 2004, as President of FAST Consulting, LLC, he has supported the development of new membranes, device technologies, and applications for leading filtration companies. A founding Chairman of the American Filtration and Separation Society (AFS), he currently serves on WFI Advisory Board, Board of Directors of the Electrocoat Association (EA) and the Editorial Board of Filtration News. Scott has received the Wells Shoemaker Award (AFS) and Brewer Award (EA) and holds four U.S. patents. He has presented over 400 technical papers across multiple technical societies.