London Packaging Week has unveiled the first wave of speakers for its 2026 conference program, bringing together senior leaders from global brands, retailers, sustainability organizations, creative studios, and design consultancies to explore how packaging is evolving from a functional discipline into a strategic business driver.
Taking place on September 16-17 at Excel London, the event will welcome more than 5,700 visitors, 220 exhibitors and 90 speakers across three conference stages. The program reflects packaging’s evolution into a central strategic consideration that now influences sustainability performance, regulatory readiness, consumer engagement, brand growth, and commercial resilience.
Catch The Wave
The first wave of speakers reflects that transformation. Among those confirmed is Esther Carter, Chief Strategy Officer at PackUK, who will bring a national perspective on packaging reform and system alignment. Her keynote, Next steps for industry in the evolution of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), will explore the UK EPR scheme’s journey to date and highlight key innovations being implemented across industry and local authorities.
Joining her is Alex Center, Founder and Designer at CENTER, whose career spans nearly a decade shaping iconic brands at The Coca-Cola Company, including vitaminwater and smartwater, before going on to build culturally influential brands, including Liquid Death, Kin Euphorics, Apple, and New Balance. At London Packaging Week, Center will take audiences behind the creation of Tom Holland’s premium non-alcoholic beer brand BERO, exploring how packaging, storytelling, and visual identity can transform products into cultural brands.
The program will also feature Piera Toniolo, Global Head of Influencer Marketing at Dolce & Gabbana, who brings more than a decade of experience spanning luxury fashion, beauty, and global marketing, having helped shape communications and influencer strategies for brands including Dolce & Gabbana, Missoni, and Estée Lauder. Her keynote will explore one of luxury’s defining challenges: how brands preserve heritage and authenticity while remaining culturally relevant to new generations.
Also confirmed is Jeremy Lindley, Global Design Director at Diageo, who joins Ico Hernandez, Creative Director at Bulletproof, in a session exploring how global brands show up on the world’s biggest cultural stage through the FIFA World Cup.
