Hazel Kreuz Vice President, Global Inorganics Chemical Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Hazel Kreuz serves as the Vice President of Global Inorganic Chemicals at Chemical Market Analytics, which includes Chlor-alkali chemicals, Vinyls, Bleaching Chemicals, and Soda Ash. Ms. Kreuz brings four decades of chemical industry experience to the Chemical Market Analytics Inorganic chemicals insights team. She joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2016 as Chlor-alkali Chemicals Global Service Lead. Ms. Kreuz was promoted to her current role leading the Global Inorganic chemicals insights team in April 2019. She leads twenty analysts that analyze, forecast, and report on chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyls, bleaching chemicals, and soda ash from five global locations. Ms. Kreuz has a background in petrochemicals and inorganic chemicals; she held a range of functional roles in several companies prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics. Hazel began her career in ethylene oxide and glycols manufacturing with Union Carbide Corporation; she also held ethylene oxide derivatives, HS&E, risk analysis, financial analysis, and marketing management positions with Union Carbide. She was a recipient of Union Carbide Corporation's prestigious Chairman's Award for the development of the Corporations' Episodic Risk Management System, which Arthur D. Little praised as "elegant and sophisticated". Hazel moved to the inorganic chemicals world joining Canadian Occidental, which subsequently became Nexen Petroleum, and then Canexus, where she held management positions in chlor-alkali chemicals and sodium chlorate marketing, strategic planning, and investor relations. She returned to the US chemical market, joining Huntsman Corporation and serving as global marketing manager for mining chemicals, pulp & paper chemicals, and water treatment chemicals in the Performance Products division. Hazel holds a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA.  

Nick Kovics Vice President, Global Inorganic Chemicals Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Nick Kovics is the Vice President of the Global Inorganics team at Chemical Market Analytics. Nick Kovics serves as the Vice President of Global Inorganic Chemicals at Chemical Market Analytics, which includes Chlor-alkali chemicals, Vinyls, Bleaching Chemicals, and Soda Ash. Nick brings over 25 years of chemical industry experience to the Chemical Market Analytics Inorganic Chemicals insights team. He was promoted to his current role in 2024, where he leads twenty analysts who research, forecast, and report on chlor-alkali chemicals, vinyls, bleaching chemicals, and soda ash from five global locations. Previously, Nick held a variety of roles in the Inorganics value chain at Chemical Market Analytics, including leading the Chlor-alkali, Bleaching Chemicals, and Battery Materials advisory services. Nick held various functional roles in several companies before joining Chemical Market Analytics. He began his career as a process engineer in the chlor-alkali sector at Canadian Occidental. Nick next moved into the energy sector as a field engineer with Schlumberger Canada cementing and hydraulic fracturing services. He transitioned from oil and gas to new energy and spent a decade in the hydrogen fuel cell sector in technical, commercial and financial roles. Nick continued in the electrochemical industry by joining Canexus (now Chemtrade) and held commercial leadership roles in chlor-alkali and sodium chlorate marketing. Nick is originally from Canada and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of British Columbia and an MBA from Simon Fraser University. He is a registered Canadian Professional Engineer and a Canadian Chartered Professional Accountant. He has resided in Houston, TX, since joining Chemical Market Analytics in 2017.

Tobias Spyra Director, EMEA Styrenics & Polyurethane Feedstocks Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Tobias Spyra is the Director for EMEA Styrenics & Polyurethane Feedstocks at Chemical Market Analytics. Mr. Spyra joined the European aromatics and fibers team in 2016 and his current role in Chemical Market Analytics is as Director of Styrenics and Polyurethane Feedstocks in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa region. As a key resource within Chemical Market Analytics for understanding and providing insight into the Aromatics sector of the petrochemical industry, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil, and financial industries. He specializes in cumene, phenol, acetone, AMS, BPA, solvents, styrene monomer, and its derivatives as well as the in the isocyanates, polyether, and polyester polyols markets. Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, he worked in the chemical and petrochemical industries in various Sales, Marketing, and Global Business Management roles at Ineos, Innovene, and BP. Fluent in English, Spanish, and German.

Andy Farida Base Metals Research Analyst Fastmarkets

Andy Farida joined Fastmarkets' base and precious metals research team in 2016 as an analyst. He now specializes in aluminium supply, demand and price dynamics. As well as doing fundamental and macroeconomic analysis, Andy is an avid user of technical analysis to study and forecast price action which he often shares in his reports. In addition, you can find Andy’s work on LinkedIn with a quirky but rather well-known tag of ‘Charts That Make You Go Hmm…’. He often presents his research at conferences on behalf of Fastmarkets, but in his free time he enjoys cooking and solving puzzles with his two little boys.

Gabriel Fernandez-Azzato International Business Director TTOBMA

Gabriel Fernandez-Azzato joined TTOBMA as International Business Director in April 2021, leading its commercial processes and having a key role in developing TTOBMA’s view on the pulp market. He is based in Montevideo, Uruguay. He has almost 15 years of international experience in the pulp business, mainly in sales and commercial areas as part of multinational companies (Tetra Pak and GP Cellulose).

Jan Hesterkamp Global Business Development Director - Specialty Resins Orbia Polymer Solutions (Vestolit)

Jan started in 2008 at Vestolit in a customer service position and went through different positions concerning sales and operations planning. He started in business development in October 2021, handling the market segments of technical coatings and specialties. Today he is responsible for the global business development department of the business unit specialty resins at Orbia. He has commercial responsibility for the non-fossil PVC project in Vestolit. Jan received a B.A. in Business Administration with a M.Sc. in Sales Management.

Pieter Smeets Head of Sustainability Ineos Invoyn

Pieter Smeets is the head of Sustainability at INEOS Invoyn, where he is responsible for the sustainability strategy that centers around 4 pillars; responsible production, carbon neutrality, circular economy and Value to Society. In addition, Pieter is responsible for the ESG disclosures of INEOS Inovyn. Pieter is a chemical engineer bio training, and after a PhD in heterogenous catalysis at the K.U.Leuven in Belgium, Pieter started his career in the petrochemical industry in SABIC as part of the R&D department. Since 2015, Pieter has been active in the sustainability field, and was closely involved in developing carbon neutrality and circularity roadmaps.