Meet our Experts, the FORUM Jury

MARCO WEICHERT
The third-generation owner of a Munich based textile agency, has textile expertise in his DNA. After early work experience at Burlington (USA) and Pontetorto (Italy), he has developed and sold fashion, sports, and workwear fabrics, giving him more than 20 years of experience working with numerous textile, yarn, and finishing manufacturers from USA, Italy, and the Far East. His expertise includes the construction, composition, lamination, etc. of functional fabrics.  

CLAUS HABBICHT, CH COMPANY
In 2005, he founded his own garment consulting agency for Asian manufacturers. As a service provider, he works with active sports brands for skiing, outdoor, running, fitness, team sports, corporate fashion, and workwear brands. He is a founding member of PERFORMANCE DAYS and supports the PERFORMANCE FORUM Jury since 2009. His focus is on the processing of the materials.

ALEXA DEHMEL, CONSULTING & DESIGN

Alexa Dehmel is an international Designer & Strategist for Sportswear, Functional Textiles & Future Concepts for the Textile Industry — trusted by 60+ global brands. She is known for her agile mindset, visionary thinking, and deep expertise in translating concepts for all global markets.

With over 20 years of experience across the fashion, performance and outdoor apparel industry, Alexa leads a purpose-driven design consultancy that empowers brands to innovate responsibly and perform exceptionally. Her work bridges the gap between future-relevant product design, material intelligence, and strategic transformation.

As Head Judge and Functional Fabric Curator, she has shaped the TREND FORUM and all other Forum Areas at PERFORMANCE DAYS Munich, FUNCTIONAL FABRIC FAIR powered by Performance Days in Portland & New York, and FUNCTIONAL TEXTILES by Performance Days in Shanghai for more than 16 years. Through her podcast “Designing the Future: Textiles & Transformation Talks – Alexa inquires”, powered by PERFORMANCE DAYS, Alexa opens the dialogue with global thought leaders, uncovering breakthroughs that move the textile industry toward a regenerative and prosperous future.

From concept to global impact — Alexa Dehmel stands for Future Responsible Design & Consulting, driven by style, excellence, substance, and visionary purpose.

UTE MAUCH
With 20 years of International Experience as Designer & Creative Productmanager in the Sports-Fashion e.g for the French Brand Marithé + François Girbaud and Schöffel, Ute Mauch has a great passion & knowledge for functional fabrics. With her fine sense for Trends, Colors and Materials she knows the needs and preferences of the sports fashion market to create a desirable product.

REGINA GOLLER
As a textile engineer, Regina Goller brings over 30 years of experience in the textile industry. She has held leading positions at renowned brands such as Adidas, Puma, Odlo, Intersport, and most recently Jack Wolfskin, where she worked as a Material Manager and Head of Materials. In these roles, she acquired extensive knowledge in the development and sourcing of performance materials. Since March 2025 Goller joined the PERFORMANCE DAYS team as Head of Material Strategy & Future Trends. In her role she will advance the development of innovative and sustainable materials, identify global trends, and work with industry partners, institutes, and universities to create forward-thinking solutions for the textile sector.

CHARLES ROSS
Having exchanged being an Outward Bound Instructor for the warmth of indoors, Charles has helped teach the next generation of designers for two decades now. Sustainable through longevity is a core principle.