Chemical Market Analytics at AFPM IPC 2024

Dewey Johnson Senior Vice President, Global Head of Chemical Market Analytics Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Dewey Johnson is Senior Vice President & Global Lead of Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company (“Chemical Market Analytics”).

IHS Markit Global LLC (“IHS Markit”) was acquired by S&P Global in February 2022. As part of the merger, IHS Markit Base Chemicals was spun off and separately acquired by Dow Jones and renamed “Chemical Market Analytics” in June 2022.
Dewey is responsible for the global business, including insight and research covering the major chemical value chains including Aromatics and Fibers, Olefins and Derivatives, Inorganics (chlor-alkali, vinyls, and soda ash), Plastics and Polymers, and Syngas Chemicals (methanol, acetyls, and ammonia). Dewey is based in Houston.

Prior to Chemical Market Analytics, Dewey joined IHS Markit (through legacy CMAI) in 2009. His experience in the petrochemical industry covers all aspects of the business- financial, commercial, operations, research, strategy design and business planning, business development, as well as consultancy. Prior to IHS Markit, he was with Eastman Chemical Company, where he spent more than 25 years in strategic and commercial roles with various business groups and corporate functions. Dewey held management positions in commercial development, global sourcing, P&L for key businesses, market development, and market & strategic analysis of chemical markets and businesses. Dewey has led multiple complex engagements in strategy development and execution, global sourcing of Aromatics & olefins derivatives and industrial gases, business simulation & game theory and dynamic modeling, sales/ marketing, and business development. Dewey received BS and MS engineering degrees from Tennessee Technological University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He also earned an MBA in General Management. Dewey has been a frequent guest lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, UVA Darden School of Management, and SUNY at Albany School of Public Policy.

Pablo Giorgi Executive Director, Global Olefins Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Pablo Giorgi is the Executive Director of the North American Light Olefins business at Chemical Market Analytics.

Pablo is a chemical engineer with over 20 years of experience in the petrochemical industry. He leads the North American Light Olefins service, which provides clients valuable insights into the regional market dynamics of cracker feedstocks, ethylene, and propylene.

Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, Pablo held positions in areas such as Supply Chain, Commercial, Strategy, and Market Intelligence. He started his career at Innova, a Styrene and Polystyrene producer in Brazil. Later, he joined Braskem (through legacy PQU), where he spent more than 13 years in different capacities, and moved to Houston, TX, in the process.
Pablo received his BS in chemical engineering from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) in Brazil. He also holds an MBA in Logistics from Fundacao Getulio Vargas (FGV) and an MBA in Management from Fundacao Dom Cabral (FDC), both in Brazil.

Joel Morales Vice President, Global Plastics & Polymers | North America Polyethylene & Polypropylene Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Joel Morales is the Vice President of Global Plastics & Polymers at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones company.

Joel joined Chemical Market Analytics through the legacy IHS Markit Base Chemical team in March 2013, covering Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) in North America. He is currently the service leader of three market advisory subscription services: The Global Plastics and Polymers Report, the North American PE Report, and the North American PP Report. He has brought a wealth of industry knowledge to IHS Markit through multiple stints along the plastics value chain.

He began his career with polyolefins manufacturer Solvay Polymers, which later became Ineos, in technical services and product development before he moved into field sales. After five years at Solvay Polymers, Joel moved into resin distribution sales for both Muehlstein and then United Polychem as a Product Manager, where he managed and sold polyethylene and polypropylene resins into various customer segments. In his most recent role before joining IHS Markit, Joel was a purchasing manager for Silgan Plastics, a major blow-molding, and injection molding plastics converter. Joel graduated from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a minor in psychology.

Ana Lopez Director, Americas Vinyls Research Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Ana Lopez is the Director of Americas Vinyls Research at Chemical Market Analytics.

Since 2012, Mrs. Lopez has formed part of the inorganics team at IHS Markit Base Chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), specializing her analysis on the vinyls markets in North America and South America, as well as the chlorine and hydrochloric acid markets in the US.  Recently, she started covering the global sodium sulfate market.  She contributes to the monthly reports on those topics. She has presented several times at the Global Chlor-Alkali & Vinyls Conference, Plastic Pipe and Fittings Association meetings, Vinyls Compounders Conference and Global Plastics Summit. She has an intimate knowledge of engineering project execution and petrochemical commodities markets.

Before joining Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, Mrs. Lopez spent several years with Pemex International Trading Company (PMI) in Mexico City, dealing with petrochemical commodities commercial operations as well as market analysis, preceded by a few years with the EPC company ICA Fluor Daniel. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the Iberoamericana University, Mexico City, and an MBA from Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM), Mexico City.

Javier Ortiz Director, North & South America Methanol Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Javier Ortiz is the Director for the North and South American Methanol market at Chemical Market Analytics.

As of 2019, Mr. Ortiz leads methanol market coverage in the Americas. He began his consulting career at CMAI (Chemical Market Associates, Inc.) in 2007 as a research analyst for the North and South American synthetic fibers markets with a primary focus on the polyester and nylon supply chains. He was subsequently appointed global leader of CMAI’s senior research analyst group while taking over consulting coverage of the nylon raw materials markets in the Americas.

Before joining the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) Methanol team, Mr. Ortiz formed part of its Plastics group for nearly a decade, where he led coverage of the polyolefins markets in Latin American, directed the QuiMax Latin American consulting service, and was also responsible for polystyrene market research in the Americas.

He holds degrees in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Business Administration from Texas A&M University, US.

Steve Lewandowski Vice President, Global Olefins & Derivatives Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Mr. Lewandowski serves as the Vice President of Global Olefins at Chemical Market Analytics.

Steve is based in Houston. During a career spanning 30 + years in the refining and chemical industry, Steve has experience across the spectrum of refining and petrochemical hydrocarbon value chains covering a wide array of financial, strategic, technical, and commercial roles. Before his move to CMA, Steve was Senior Manager of Base Chemicals at TOTAL Petrochemicals & Refining, Inc. In that capacity, he managed the P&L of the base chemicals business including joint venture relationships, strategic guidance to the partnerships, plant operational interfaces, project development, and the commercial responsibility for olefin and aromatic monomers including styrene.

Prior to the Base Chemical Senior manager role, Steve had increasing responsibilities within the Petrochemical business at TOTAL. The Latest assignment was overseas, in Brussels Belgium, responsible for global aromatics long-term commercial business activity. The assignment included P&L responsibility and strategic project development for TOTAL around the world. Prior to the Belgian assignment, he worked as manager of the US aromatics business. Before 2000 Steve was involved in the refining and fuels side of the Hydrocarbon chain both for what was then FINA Oil and Chemical and for Star Enterprise (a joint venture between Texaco and Saudi Aramco) working as a process engineer, optimization engineer, fuels blending optimizer, branded/unbranded fuels marketing and supply lead, and in a business development role.

Steve earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University in 1987 and an MBA with of focus on finance and economics from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2000.

Bill Hyde Vice President, Global C4 & Elastomers Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Bill Hyde is the Vice President of Olefins & Elastomers at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Hyde is a member of Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company. He leads a group that analyzes markets related to C4 Olefins, synthetic and natural rubber, and tire raw materials. He has been consulting in this market since 2002. Hyde began his career with the Union Carbide Corporation in 1990, where he had various positions, including production engineering, optimization, planning, and logistics. In 2000, he joined Texas Petrochemicals as a Business Analyst. In 2002, Hyde joined CMAI, which was acquired by IHS in 2011, in the Olefins Consulting Practice, emphasizing C4 Olefins and rubber, assuming responsibility for that practice in 2006. The Base Chemicals Group of IHS Markit, which includes the C4 Olefins and Elastomers Practice, became Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS a Down Jones Company in June 2022. He has published a number of papers on the Olefins and Elastomers industries and presented at numerous Olefins and Elastomers Conferences around the world.

Hyde has a B.S. and M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Tulane University.

Carlo Barrasa Vice President, Energy Insights Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Carlo Barrasa is the Vice President of Energy Insights at Chemical Market Analytics

In this role, Carlo stewards the development of energy market content to help Chemical Market Analytics’ clients navigate the complexities of the oil, gas & natural gas liquids markets. Previously, Carlo led the North American Light Olefins service, which provides clients with valuable insights into the regional market dynamics of cracker feedstocks, ethylene, and propylene.

Before joining Chemical Market Analytics, Carlo was a Senior Strategy Advisor at Anadarko Petroleum, where he was responsible for guiding the company’s market strategy for its natural gas liquids business. After beginning his career in various downstream and chemical roles with ExxonMobil, Carlo held senior consulting and research positions at IHS Markit legacy companies PFC Energy and CMAI.

Kevin Longworth Executive Director, Global Acrylonitrile Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Kevin Longworth is the Executive Director for Global Acrylonitrile at Chemical Market Analytics.

Kevin qualified as a process engineer in 1999 and subsequently worked in the plastics industry for several years in South Africa and the UK.

In 2009, Mr. Longworth leaped at the opportunity to transition into the world of petrochemicals consulting and since then his career has moved from strength to strength as he has gained experience in a multitude of areas. During his more than a decade-long journey in the petrochemicals arena, he has gained a deep insight into how this complex and volatile industry ticks. After spending several years as a consultant to the plastics industry he then took on the role of global research and analysis director for the acrylonitrile market service in March 2020. He works with a broad range of clients across the acrylonitrile value chain and his clients include major producers, consumers, and traders/distributors. The nature of his work allows him a unique global perspective of the acrylonitrile industry across all regions.

Julian Gunther Principal Analyst - Olefin Derivatives - Americas Acrylic Acid, Acrylates, SAP, MMA, Oxo Alcohols, Plasticizers Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Julian Gunther is a Principal Analyst on the Global Olefins team at Chemical Market Analytics’s Houston, Texas, office.

He is responsible for the propylene derivatives market, including acrylic acid, acrylates, methyl methacrylate (MMA), super absorbent polymers (SAP), oxo alcohols, and the plasticizers market in the Americas. He previously worked with Chemical Market Analytics’s offshore rig team from 2006-2012. In addition to Chemical Market Analytics, Mr. Gunther also worked at S&P Global Platts and OptaSense in account manager roles. He speaks Portuguese and Spanish with native fluency and holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston, in Houston, Texas.

Nick Kovics Vice President, Global Chlor-Alkali Service Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Nick Kovics is the Vice President of the Global Chlor-alkali Market Advisory Service team at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Nick Kovics serves as Vice President leading the Global Chlor-alkali Market Advisory Service team and covering the US caustic soda market.
Mr. Kovics brings over 25 years of chemical industry experience to the inorganics chemicals insights team at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones company. He joined the organization in 2017 as Global Bleaching Chemicals Global Service Lead. Nick then developed and led the Global Lithium & Battery Materials Service before being promoted to Chlor-alkali Chemicals Global Service Lead at the end of 2019.

Mr. Kovics has a varied background, working in upstream energy, new energy, and electrochemical industries. He held various functional roles in several companies before joining Chemical Market Analytics. Nick began his career in the oil service sector with Schlumberger Canada cementing and hydraulic fracturing services. Nick transitioned from oil and gas to new energy and spent a decade in the hydrogen fuel cell sector with Ballard Power Systems in Burnaby British Columbia. Nick’s career continued in the electrochemical sector when he joined Canexus and held positions in chlor-alkali chemicals and sodium chlorate marketing before joining Chemical Market Analytics.
Mr. Kovics holds a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, an MBA, and a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant.

Lina Suarez Director, North America Chlorine Research Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Lina Suarez is the Director of North America Chlorine Research at Chemical Market Analytics.

Lina provides market discovery, analysis, and reporting for caustic soda in North America and selects countries in Latin America. She joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2019 as part of the Inorganics Global Business Team. With extensive experience in the integrated Chlor-alkali, ethylene, and vinyls production and commercial chains that contribute to Chemical Market Analytics’s industry-leading expertise in chlor-vinyls and chlor-alkali derivatives.

She has worked as a sales executive and product manager in multiple Latin American countries over the past twenty years, gaining deep petrochemical and chlor-vinyls industry knowledge and broad expertise in chemical market analysis, sales and management. Her experience includes positions with Quimica Delta as Product and Commercial Director for the Base Oils and Solvents business units in Mexico; Commercial Director PMV / Mexichem Mexico guiding chlor-alkali, ethylene, and VCM business strategies and commercial operations; and experience defining new business models and executing sales programs in Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil for chemical and oil companies including 3M Colombia, DuPont México, Chevron México, and BP México.

Mike Nash Vice President, Global Syngas Team Lead | Americas Acetyls Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Mr. Mike Nash is the Vice President for Syngas Chemicals (including the methanol and acetyls practices) at Chemical Market Analytics.

He works with a global team of regional consultants and overlays their analyses with a global perspective. His responsibilities include the weekly World Methanol Report and monthly World Methanol Analysis, including the weekly and monthly Global Acetyls Market Reports and the related World Analyses for Methanol, Acetyls, and Formaldehyde.

Before joining the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in September 2012, Mr. Nash worked for BP’s petrochemicals division for 19 years preceding a two-year stint in Total’s UK fuels business. He performed various commercial roles within BP, in international business management, marketing, project management, and logistics, based in London, Duesseldorf, and Kuala Lumpur. His last role in the Total UK was the Logistics Director for Specialties.

Mr. Nash holds a Master of Arts in English Language and Literature from Edinburgh University, UK, and a Master of Business Administration from Kingston University, UK.

Duncan Clark Vice President, Global Aromatics & Fibers Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Duncan Clark is the Vice President of the Global Aromatics and Fibers business at Chemical Market Analytics.

Duncan acts as the key resource within Dow Jones for understanding and providing insight into the Aromatics sector of the petrochemical industry, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil, and financial industries.
Duncan joined IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2013, he has spent the last 32 years working in the chemical and petrochemical industries in various Sales, Marketing, and Global Business Management roles.

Before this, Duncan spent ten years working in an ExxonMobil / Shell joint venture company, involved in Fuel and Lubricant additives visiting refineries all over the world. He also spent 12 years working for Air Products in various chemical and industrial gases businesses in the U.K., U.S., and Netherlands. He now provides insights into the global aromatics and derivative markets including paraxylene, purified terephthalic acid, ethylene glycols, polyurethane feedstocks, and the global benzene, toluene, and xylenes markets.

He graduated with a BSc. in Chemical Engineering from University College London. He also has a Master of Business Administration from Manchester Business School.

David Potter Executive Director, EMEA Phenolics and Americas Isocyanates Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

David Potter is Executive Director for EMEA aromatics and phenolics at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Potter joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) at the start of 2013, where he has been responsible for market coverage and insight across the global aromatics and fibers team. He has specialized in aromatics derivatives such as phenolics, styrene monomers, and polyurethane feedstocks for both the EMEA region and the Americas. He is currently responsible for aromatics and phenolics in the EMEA region.

Prior to joining IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics),  Mr. Potter worked on the petrochemical desk at Platts for close to six years, where he covered the EMEA benzene and toluene markets for over four years. He also worked on other product streams including olefins and polymers. He first entered the petrochemical world in 1999 when he was recruited by Petrochem Carless, a UK-based refiner and distributor. He worked with Petrochem Carless for nearly seven years, where he took a variety of sales and marketing roles.

Mr. Potter also has a postgraduate diploma in periodical journalism.

Peter Feng Executive Director, Americas Styrenics Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Mr. Peter Feng is the Executive Director of Aromatics at Chemical Market Analytics.

He is a known industry expert on styrene, polystyrene, and expandable polystyrene. Mr. Feng is currently the Service Leader for the North American Aromatics Market Service and has been covering the aromatics markets for over fourteen years at CMAI and IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics). He has over 36 years of experience in the chemical industry working first for Air Products and Chemicals and then for Sterling Chemicals. During this time he had assignments in Process Engineering, Process Technology, Information Systems, Environmental, Supply Chain, and Commercial. In 1992 he joined Sterling Chemicals where he had various supply chain and commercial responsibilities for styrenics and other products. Mr. Feng was a Partner at CMAI when it was acquired by IHS Markit in May of 2011.

He has covered the benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, styrene, polystyrene, EPS, ABS, and phenolics markets at CMAI and Chemical Market Analytics but focuses currently on styrene, polystyrene, and expandable polystyrene. As an industry expert, he has testified as an Expert Witness in numerous arbitration and court cases. He contributes to a number of services and reports including the North American Aromatics Market Report. Mr. Feng has written for a number of World Analyses and is now responsible for the World Styrene Analysis, World Polystyrene Analysis, and World Expandable Polystyrene Analysis. He is a frequent speaker at events such as the World Petrochemical Conference, EPS Expo, Foodservice Packaging Institute, and Badger’s World Styrene Conference. He has assisted with single-client work in the areas of strategic planning, mergers, and acquisitions, bankruptcies, benchmarking, litigation, and market analysis.

Mr. Feng holds a Bachelors and Masters of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University, US, and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Houston, US.

Roberto Ribeiro Executive Director, Global Ethylene Oxide | Ethylene Glycol Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Roberto Ribeiro is the Executive Director for EO & Derivatives in the Americas at Chemical Market Analytics.

Roberto Ribeiro is a seasoned chemical and petrochemical expert with 30 years of experience. He is the Research & Analysis Director and global leader for Ethylene Oxide and Derivatives at Chemical Market Analytics and is responsible for market analysis, insights, price discovery, and forecasts for ethylene oxide, ethylene glycols (MEG, DEG, TEG), ethoxylates, glycol ethers (E-series), ethanolamines (MEA, DEA, TEA) and paraxylene. Also, he contributes to the market analysis for orthoxylene, PTA, PET, and PU feedstocks for North America.
He joined Chemical Market Analytics and its predecessor (IHS Markit) in April 2021 from Asterisk Advisors, a petrochemical consulting company. During his time at Asterisk, he provides the full business and market-oriented assessment for the chemical and petrochemical value chain, based on deep insights into customer needs and developing a culture of performance and efficiency within its client.

Previously, he was President of Townsend Solutions, a petrochemical-industry strategic consulting firm. Before joining Townsend Solutions, Roberto was in a series of Strategic Planning, Business Development, M&A, and Sales and Marketing leadership roles from petrochemical manufacturing companies, all now part of Braskem and LyondellBasell.

Roberto holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance and Business Administration from São Paulo University (Brazil). He also holds a master’s degree in Oil & Gas from Universidad Austral (Argentina) and has participated in a series of professional development courses with Harvard Business School, New York University’s Stern School of Business, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

He has spoken at a long list of industry conferences spanning Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Meiko Woo Executive Director, Global Nylon Fibres & Feedstocks Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Meiko Woo is an Executive Director for Global Nylon Fibers and Feedstocks service at Chemical Market Analytics.

Meiko Woo is a known industry expert on nylon feedstocks and fibers, including cyclohexane, cyclohexanone, caprolactam, adipic acid, and downstream nylon fibres. With more than 15 years of commercial and technical petrochemical industry experience, She has developed an international reputation for providing meaningful analysis and actionable solutions for customers to optimize their business position with respect to the fibres industry.

Prior to joining Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) in 2009, Ms. Woo gained 6 years of experience with Invista in Taiwan. She started her career as a process engineer and was involved in plant operations before shifting to a commercial role in early 2007 and working as a planning and technical service manager, handling polyester intermediates. Ms. Woo holds a Bachelor of Engineering, Chemical Science from the National Taiwan University, Taiwan, and a master’s degree in environmental engineering from the National Chiao Tung University, Taiwan.