Ralf Pomp - President
Slovenko Henigman - Vice President
Ralf Pomp, was born 26.07.1962 in Mönchengladbach, Germany.
After finishing High School in 1981, Military Service for 18 months, studies for five years at the RWTH Aachen he finished as Civil engineer in 1987.
He had different internships in cement-, concrete- and road paving companies. He grew up in the family business from young years on, so he learned to operate cars, lorries, wheel loaders, mixing plants and repair those. Ralf Pomp entered professionally the Matthias Heyer Asphalt- and Concrete Mixing Group in 1988, first in the building materials laboratory, later in operations management, sales and since 1999 as CEO and shareholder. The Matthias Heyer Group is a family-owned asphalt- and concrete mixing and delivering company operated in the third generation situated in Wegberg in the very West of Germany.
He is a member of the regional board in DAV since 2005 and a Member of the EXCO/ Dir group in EAPA since June 2018.
Ralf Pomp is married for 26 years to Susanne Wenz and has three grown-up daughters in their studies. His hobbies are motorsports, oldtimer cars and aviation.
Slovenko Henigman graduated from the Faculty of Civil Engineering in Ljubljana. His professional career began at the engineering company DRI Investment Management, where he spent 23 years. In 1996, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the Asphalt Association of Slovenia (ZAS) and he has since been leading it as its president. Under his leadership, ZAS has organized more than 150 conferences, lectures, and events, attracting around 15,000 participants. ZAS has been a full member of EAPA since 1997.
He headed the Asphalt Commission at DARS, the Company for Highways in the Republic of Slovenia until 2015 and he is also the founder of Sloman, d.o.o., an engineering company. He has also headed the Association for Consulting Engineering at the Chamber of Commerce of Slovenia. He actively participates in various activities of EAPA: He even served as a member of the executive board from 2002 to 2008 and has represented the countries of Central and Eastern Europe since 2016. In May 2023, he was elected as the vice president of EAPA.
He is a member of numerous domestic and international associations and professional committees. He has authored more than 50 professional contributions on subjects such as asphalting, transport infrastructure, and construction.
Dr. Carsten Karcher - Secretary General for EAPA
Carsten Karcher is a civil engineer with more than 20 years of experience in the highways sector. After graduating he joined the Highway Construction Technology department at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) in southwest Germany as a research assistant.
He went on to become head of the department, giving lectures and conducting national and European research projects mainly in the field of asphalt, road construction materials and road pavements.
In 2004 Carsten started his own consultancy, Dr. Carsten Karcher – Asphalt Pavements for Europe, alongside his work at KIT, providing seminars, consultancy, expert reports, moderations and presentations. In July 2013 he left KIT and started to work with his consultancy as Director for EAPA, where his main activities were the development of the association, health, safety and environmental issues, political items, lobbying and organisation of events including the E&E Congress. In January 2019 he took over with his consultancy the post as Secretary-General for EAPA.
Carsten has given many presentations at national and international conferences and is the author of numerous technical papers as well as one of the German standard reference books for road construction and maintenance.
Dr. Breixo Gómez-Meijide - Technical Director
Breixo Gómez-Meijide graduated in Civil Engineering at the University of A Coruña (Spain). After carrying out pre-doctoral stays in different countries, such as Singapore, Italy and UK, he obtained a PhD in 2015 at the University of A Coruña and received the Doctorate Extraordinary Award for his thesis on sustainable asphalt materials. Then, he moved to the UK, where he worked as a Research Fellow at the Nottingham Transportation Engineering Centre (University of Nottingham). There, he was involved in national and European projects (e.g. HEALROAD on self-healing pavements) and supervised four PhD Students on different topics related to sustainable and resilient roads.
Breixo joined EAPA in October 2018 as Technical Director and is the focal point of EAPA for technical issues. He is the secretary of the EAPA Technical Committee and is also involved in Health, Safety and Environment items. He is also in charge of representing the asphalt industry in the CEN Committees related to asphalt and actively contributing in European standardisation processes.
Helga Beuving - Visual Communication
Helga Beuving is a Dutch graphic designer who started freelancing in 2011. She graduated as a visual designer at AMFI (the Amsterdam Fashion Institute), and after this, she graduated as a Graphic Designer at the School of Arts in Utrecht.
She has had her design studio since 2011 and specializes in graphic design and photography @helgabeuving.
Since graduating in 2011, she started working for EAPA as a graphic designer and has been with EAPA ever since. She re-designed the EAPA website, developed the social media strategy, and designed campaigns such as the runners love asphalt campaign, booths for the E&E Congress, EAPA Magazine and papers.
She is a passionate, creative worker and always eager to learn. “Working for EAPA in an international team has been a great experience. Everyone is highly invested and motivated to deliver the best. It is a great team to work with an eye for innovation.”
Meghaa Vandana - Marketing and Communication Manager
Meghaa Vandana is an accomplished Marketing and Communication Consultant specialising in Digital Marketing. Hailing from Bengaluru, India, she completed the majority of her education in her home country before pursuing her M.Sc. in Management and International Business at Nottingham Trent University in the UK.
She has crafted targeted Marketing strategies for a wide range of organisations globally, from start-up companies to important NGO’s like Greenpeace India, where she obtained remarkable achievements, including record-breaking website traffic, social media engagement, lead generation, and organic donations.
Her ability to inspire her team and collaborate effectively with colleagues makes her a pleasure to work with while delivering high-quality output.
Meghaa joined EAPA in 2023 as a self-employed Marketing & Communication Consultant. In her capacity, she spearheads external media relations, develops communication strategies, supervises and manages social channels, oversees campaign creation and management, and handles marketing and branding efforts for both the Association and the Asphalt industry’s messages. Additionally, she leads vital projects, including EAPA Magazine, newsletters, and video production planning, among others.
Andrei Burlacu - PR & Communication Officer
Andrei Burlacu, a Communication Specialist hailing from Romania, boasts experience in both social media management and communication. His educational journey commenced with a specialisation in the English Language, followed by an enriching research master’s programme in Contemporary Literature and Social Justice at Maastricht University in the Netherlands. During this time, he also served as a research intern in English Literature at KU Leuven in Belgium.
Throughout his career, Andrei has assumed roles as a Copywriter and Marketing and Communication assistant within educational and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and Romania. His responsibilities have encompassed devising comprehensive social media strategies and campaigns and writing documents, all while contributing to enhanced reach and website traffic.
In 2023, Andrei became a valued member of EAPA and eagerly looks forward to collaborating within a team, uniting strengths, and pursuing the shared objectives of the organisation with boundless enthusiasm.
Rim Hijjawi - Office Management Assistant
After obtaining her Bachelor’s degree in Environmental and Public Health from the American University of Beirut, Rim embarked on a journey of organizing, coordinating, and overseeing various projects within the public health sector. Her career began as a project coordinator, where her passion for Project Management began to flourish. She dedicated herself to honing her skills in this field, enrolling in various courses and participating in workshops focused on management and development. This allowed her to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds, each with their own unique work styles and ethical values.
Rim’s ultimate aspiration is to achieve certification as a project manager through the Project Management Institute. In September 2023, Rim joined EAPA as an office management assistant. In this role, she assumes responsibility for the organizational aspects of EAPA, including the coordination of committee and director meetings. Additionally, she provides support to the secretariat and other team members with their tasks when needed.
Gera Jansen - Finance
Gera Jansen, originally from the Netherlands, joined EAPA in August 1998 as a secretary and bookkeeper when the organization’s Secretariat was based in Breukelen, the Netherlands. When EAPA made the strategic decision to move its headquarters to Brussels, Belgium, Gera bid farewell to her position at the Breukelen office. But she later returned as an assistant, bringing with her a wealth of experience in organizing congresses for Eurasphalt and Eurobitume, as well as managing EAPA’s administration. Additionally, Gera excelled in various fields, such as a golf course and a bailiff’s office, demonstrating her versatility.
Her return marked the beginning of her long-lasting responsibility for EAPA’s financial matters. Throughout her journey, Gera’s commitment to EAPA has never wavered. What started as a professional association has evolved into a close-knit family for her. Her enduring connection to this international asphalt family has lasted for 25 years and counting.
