Martyna Szymańska-Sztaba

Martyna Szymańska-Sztaba (born in 1984) is a co-founder in the clean-tech startup Syntoil, which is involved in the sustainable ecological extraction of recovered carbon black from used tires.

Syntoil's technology is based on the purification of recovered carbon black, which is contaminated soot obtained from the tire recycling process, into technical-grade recovered carbon black. Traditionally, virgin carbon black is obtained through the combustion of fossil fuels. Syntoil acquires it in an alternative way, not only reducing CO2 emissions compared to traditional methods of carbon black extraction but also minimizing the use of fossil fuels, which are limited worldwide resources. Today, companies that process used tires do not utilize the potential of the products derived from them. The carbon black produced by them is burned in cement plants because they are unable to purify it and reintroduce it into production within the framework of a circular economy - which Syntoil can do. Carbon black is a huge market, with over 14 million tons used globally each year. It is essential in the industry. Without carbon black, a tire would only last for 100 kilometers before wearing out.

Martyna Sztaba has worked for technology companies, startups, and corporate clients in the areas of management, communication, and building tech products. She was the editor-in-chief of the first magazine dedicated entirely to technology for women, "IT GIRLS" (Agora, 2017). She worked as a brand innovation manager at the DDB&tribal agency.

She graduated in Art History from Jagiellonian University, studied Polish Philology at the same university, production organization in film and television at the Leon Schiller National Higher School of Film, Television, and Theatre in Łódź, and strategic communication at Warsaw School of Economics (SGH).

She has been actively involved in the field of culture, including her affiliation with the Ha!art Corporation since 2004, and she served as the head of the publishing house from 2007 to 2009. Since 2012, she has been publishing articles on art, business, and technology in "Gazeta Wyborcza," "Wysokie Obcasy," and "Przekrój" magazines.