our
team
PYRATEX® was born with the mission to replace synthetic, functional textiles with natural and more responsible options.
Today, our international team works its magic from our Madrid-based HQ.
REGINA POLANCO
Founder & CEO
Regina leads our team, setting the strategic path we follow towards thriving more each day. She has travelled and lived in many countries, a love for travel which she shares with many of her Millennial generation. This led to the creation of PYRATEX® in Switzerland in 2014 as an answer to their challenges and ideals.
A Law graduate, she started developing PYRATEX® fabrics by collaborating with different European textile institutes. For example, during her participation at the Fashion Fusion incubator program, powered by Deutsche Telekom and Adidas, as well as Look Forward by Showroomprivé.
This experience allows her to legally protect the PYRATEX® technology and understand the consumer’s desire to take care of their health and to consume in a conscious manner.
MERY DÍEZ HERBOSA
Head of R&D and Production
Mery is in charge of our Production and R&D. She has studied a BSc in Business Management & Marketing, an MBA Business Expert Program and a Masters in International Management and Marketing of Luxury Products.
Having previously occupied positions in product management, buying and production for different B2C brands with a special focus on sustainability, Mery now manages our production team as well as R&D projects.
IETJE KLAVER
Head of Operations
As our Head of Operations, Ietje organises and oversees our daily operations, ensuring our company is well coordinated.
Her extensive experience in the fashion industry at B2C companies such as Chanel or Ecoalf allow her to efficiently manage our procedures and coach our team to remain cohesive and connected throughout our growth. She embodies the PYRATEX® identity through her deep knowledge of textiles and sourcing at fashion brands, as well as international background: she has lived in Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich, San Francisco, London, and now Madrid.
MICHELLE CHERUBIN
Business Development
With experience in customer service, employee development, operations and supply chain management, Michelle graduated from a Master's in Management from IE Business School. She now contributes to our growth, developing new strategies and supporting our clients.
MARIA CERECEDO
Business Development
A fashion design and MBA graduate, Maria is based in North America and carries out our business development in the US market.
Aside from being trilingual in English, Spanish and French, she has worked at fashion brands in London and Paris, allowing her to gain valuable experience in design, product development and relationships with our clients.
SOFIE STABELL- JOHANSEN
Production Planner
Sofie joined our team after graduating from a Bachelor Degree in Retail Management with a specialisation in Supply chain Management, and a Masters Degree in Supply Chain Management & Logistics. She supports us managing our productions and relationships with our fiber suppliers, yarn suppliers, and mills, ensuring we can maintain a fully controlled traceability of our entire production chain.
PILAR TEJADA LÓPEZ
Head of Brand & Communication
Through her creative vision, Pilar is at the core of the brand's identity. She is trilingual in English, French and Spanish, has lived in various countries, as well as worked for a number of fashion brands in design, production, business development and communication positions.
She now supports the clients PYRATEX® collaborates with to communicate the brand’s identity and technology according to their own.
Her BA in Fashion Design and participation at ASICS' Tenkan Ten program have equally contributed to her now occupying an important role at PYRATEX®, where she manages content creation, communication, PR, marketing, as well as business development for specific markets. This ensures the PYRATEX® identity is maintained throughout our activities.
SOLEDAD CORTÉS
Social media & Content creation
Soledad is a fashion marketing and communication graduate at ESIC Business School, with a copywriting and translation background. Her creative skills and linguistic expertise allow her to understand our clients' unique communication needs and support them in their use of PYRATEX® as well as to effectively manage our social media.
SIMONE AVANTAGGIATO
Administration & Operations
A finance graduate, Simone studied a Masters degree in Micro-finance and financial inclusion, and previous experience in operations departments in a number of companies, has prepared Simone for his current position at PYRATEX® where he takes care of our Administration and Operations.
ANDREA GUERRERO
Garment development
A fashion designer and Fashion Management & Production MBA graduate, Andrea's work has always been focused around product development and creative direction, in companies such as Pantone or Cuidado con el Perro. She now supports our clients in their garment developments.
ADVISORS
SÉBASTIEN LEFEBVRE
CEO at Growth Drivers Ltd. Entrepreneurship coach, entrepreneur, advisor, investor
As a serial entrepreneur and a clear example of a successful founder who sold his company, Sébastien is a growth strategy expert, and the perfect advisor for a rising company such as PYRATEX®, where he supports the alignment of our business strategy and the development of our capacity to deliver results against cross-functional strategies with product, marketing, business development, research & analytics, and operations.
HIROAKI KAGEYAMA
President of ASICS Ventures Corporation and Head of Global Business Development at ASICS Corporation
Leader of ASICS’ business development team and founder of the ASICS Corporate venturing subsidiary which invested in PYRATEX® on our first investment round, Mr. Kageyama has enriched our company due to his outstandingly remarkable experience in the banking and retail industry.
FELIPE CARRASCO
Expert Economist in European Funds
A profound knowledge of the spanish textile industry, where he has occupied a number of positions throughout his career, such as Secretary General of the Spanish Intertextile Council, makes Felipe an important asset for PYRATEX®, as he now works with SMEs, start-ups and hi-tech companies in developing projects to improve their activities in areas such as innovation management, financial development strategy, search for financing for innovative projects, dynamization of teams to generate creativity, and the development of innovative projects.
JAAP ZANDBERGEN
Coach and Mentor at Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME)
Jaap became our advisor following our win of phase 1 of Horizon2020. He is an International Managing Director experienced in sustainability, marketing, innovation & product development, lean & change management, and sales in B2B & B2C markets.
His broad hands on knowledge of general management, coaching teams, keeping of budgets and alignment of strategies & targets makes him an ideal advisor for PYRATEX®.
AWARDS
03/2021
EIBT is awarded by ANCES (the national association of CEEIs) that recognises innovative technology-based companies
06/2020
Semifinalist of the EmprendedorXXI award, organised by CaixaBank
07/2019
Winner of phase 1 of the European Union's Horizon2020 grant for innovative textile companies
09/2018
Collaboration & Tenkan Ten program participation
07/2018
"Categoría Empresa" nominees
06/2017
Winner of the Look Forward Fashion Tech Start-up contest
07/2019
National Winner in the 2019 European Business Awards
06/2018
Invited as a sustainable innovation expert
01/2017
Finalist of 4-month long program in Berlin