Session Details

Tom Asselman is currently SVP Strategy & Chief Strategy Officer at OMV, which he joined January 2022. He moved from Borealis, the chemical subsidiary of OMV, where he spent 19 years. His last role was VP Strategy & Group Development and member of the Executive Committee, responsible for leading Borealis’ strategy development, mergers & acquisitions and sustainability & public affairs. He was a board member of the Baystar joint venture with TotalEnergies in Texas. Previously he led the development of growth projects in our hydrocarbons-to-polyolefins value chain globally as leader of New Ventures since 2014. Tom led the creation of the Baystar joint venture in the USA with TotalEnergies and NOVA Chemicals, which built an ethane cracker and a polyethylene plant based on Borealis’ Borstar^TM technology. He spent six years in the UAE as Vice President Middle East & Asia, managing Borealis’ interests in its fast-growing Borouge joint ventures with the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) as board member and asset manager, where two mega projects of ~ 5 BUSD, Borouge 2 (2010) and Borouge 3 (2014) where constructed and started up during his tenure. He held several positions in the Polyolefins business and Corporate Strategy group since joining Borealis in 2002. Before joining Borealis he was a consultant with McKinsey & Company in Montreal. Tom is a Belgian and Canadian citizen, holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from McGill University in Montreal, a MSc in Chemical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal, and a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Brussels (VUB). He is married and lives in Vienna, Austria.

David Badal Managing Director, Global Head of Chemicals Morgan Stanley

David Badal is the Managing Director and Global Head of Chemical at Morgan Stanley. David joined Morgan Stanley in 2013. He spent 14 years as a Chemicals Investment Banker at JPMorgan. Prior to JPMorgan, David was a Chemical Engineer, managing the day-to-day operations of two chemicals facilities for Monsanto at its Chocolate Bayou facility in Alvin, Texas for 4 years. David received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis with cum laude honors. He completed his MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

Gerard Baker Editor at Large The Wall Street Journal

Gerry Baker is Editor-At-Large of The Wall Street Journal. His weekly column for the editorial page, “Free Expression,” appears in The Wall Street Journal each Monday. He also has a weekly WSJ Free Expression Podcast, where he speaks to the world’s leading writers, influencers and thinkers about a variety of subjects. Mr. Baker also hosted “WSJ at Large with Gerry Baker,” a weekly news and current affairs interview show on the Fox Business Network. Mr. Baker previously served as Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones from 2013 - 2018. Prior to that, Mr. Baker was Deputy Editor-in-Chief of The Wall Street Journal from 2009 - 2013. He has been a journalist for more than 30 years, writing and broadcasting for some of the world’s most famous news organizations, including his tenure at The Financial Times, The Times of London, and The BBC. He was educated at Corpus Christi College, Oxford University, where he graduated in 1983 with a 1st Class Honors Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. You can follow him on Twitter at @GerardTBaker.

Adrian Cooper CEO Oxford Economics

Adrian Cooper is responsible for coordinating and managing Oxford Economics' global economic analysis, forecasting and consultancy activities, and overseeing its global team of over 450 professionals including 300 economists and analysts. He has led Oxford Economics' work on a wide array of consultancy projects, ranging from policy advice to government departments in Europe, the US, Africa, and Asia to detailed analysis of the economic impact of particular industries and investment proposals. Adrian spent the first seven years of his career with HM Treasury, England. During this time, he worked on the analysis of tax and other economic policy changes as part of the preparations for the UK Budget. He was also the coordinator of the government's macroeconomic forecast for two years. Prior to joining Oxford Economics in 1994, Adrian was UK economist for James Capel & Company, responsible for analysing and forecasting the UK economy for institutional investors, as well as briefing Capel's own traders. Adrian was educated at the University of Bristol, England, where he gained a first-class degree in Economics; and at the London School of Economics and Political Science, England, where he achieved a distinction in the MSc in Economics and won the Ely Devons prize for outstanding performance in the degree examinations.

Jay Fitzgerald Chief Scientist, Bioenergy Technologies Office U.S. Department of Energy

Jay Fitzgerald is the chief scientist for the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), as well as the program manager for the BETO Data, Modeling, and Analysis subprogram. As BETO's chief scientist, Jay helps guide scientific program direction for the conversion of biomass and waste resources into low-carbon fuels, chemicals, and materials. He specifically focuses on sustainable aviation fuel, engineering biology, performance-advantaged bioproducts, life-cycle assessment, and plastic redesign and recycling Jay was previously a technology manager for the conversion subprogram in BETO where he led formation of the Agile BioFoundry and BOTTLE consortia. He was also an American Association for the Advancement of Science, Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the DOE Office of Science Office of Biological and Environmental Research. He holds a B.A. in biochemistry and a minor in economics from Middlebury College. He completed his Ph.D. in organic chemistry at Stanford University with Professor Chaitan Khosla, focusing on the biosynthesis of medicinally useful polyketides.

Lauren Foster Senior Writer Barron's

Bio coming soon

Elizabeth Grove Vice President, Sustainability and Public Affairs Lubrizol Corp.

Elizabeth Grove, Vice President, Sustainability and Public Affairs, Lubrizol Corp. Elizabeth Grove is the vice president of sustainability and public affairs for The Lubrizol Corporation and president of the Lubrizol Foundation. Beth is accountable for directing the company’s broad focus on sustainability, government affairs, communications and marketing, as well as Lubrizol’s community engagement and philanthropy activities. Since joining Lubrizol in 2007, she has served in various roles, including global director of sustainability and compliance for Lubrizol Life Science and as the company’s chief litigation counsel. She joined Lubrizol from the Federal Trade Commission, where she was a trial attorney in the Bureau of Consumer Protection. Prior to that, she was a litigation attorney with Jones Day in Washington D.C. and Cleveland, Ohio and clerked for The Honorable Kathleen McDonald O’Malley in the United States District Court, Northern District of Ohio. She received her B.A. in philosophy from Kent State University and J.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Law. Beth lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio with her husband, Rich Bedell. Together they have six children.

Greg Ip Chief Economics Commentator and Deputy Economics Editor The Wall Street Journal

Greg Ip is chief economics commentator and deputy economics editor for The Wall Street Journal. He writes about U.S. and global economic developments and policy in the weekly Capital Account column and in Real Time Economics, the Wall Street Journal’s economics newsletter, and helps guide the newspaper’s economic coverage. From 2008 to January, 2015, he was U.S. economics editor for The Economist, based in Washington, D.C. Greg has won or shared in several prizes for journalism. He is the author of “The Little Book of Economics: How the Economy Works in the Real World” (Wiley, 2010) and “Foolproof: Why Safety Can Be Dangerous and How Danger Makes Us Safe,” (Little, Brown, 2015). A native of Canada, Mr. Ip received a bachelor’s degree in economics and journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario.

Hazel Kreuz Vice President, Global Inorganics Team Lead 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.

hazel.kreuz@chemicalmarketanalytics.com

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.

dewey.johnson@chemicalmarketanalytics.com

Emma Lewis Senior Vice President, US Gulf Coast Shell Chemicals & Products

Emma assumed the role of Senior Vice President, Shell Chemicals and Products - US Gulf Coast in May of 2022. Prior to this appointment, she served as the Vice President for Shell’s Downstream Strategy & Portfolio. Emma has a performance-based leadership style along with 21 years of experience in the Chemical industry, having served in a variety of manufacturing, sales, marketing, supply chain and strategy leadership positions, predominantly in the polymers space. Emma has lived and worked across the globe, in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, South America and the U.S. Prior to joining Shell in 2012, Emma worked for ExxonMobil. Beyond her role, Emma leads mentoring circles for future leaders across the Shell business, and actively works to develop diverse talent across the manufacturing and commercial teams. In addition, she represents Shell on the American Petroleum Institute (API) Downstream committee. Emma has BEng in Chemical Engineering from the University of Leeds in the United Kingdom and furthered her education at both the London Business School and Thunderbird Management School. Emma lives in Houston with her husband Charles, their 6-year-old son Conor, and their dogs Goober and Frankie. She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, and is active in Houston’s dog rescue world.

Nick Livingstone Managing Partner Rystad Energy

Nick Livingstone joined Rystad in 2017 and is responsible for the overall business across the Americas. Nick has 20 years of experience in the oil and gas sector working in London and Houston across product development, analyst, business development and leadership roles. Prior to joining Rystad, Nick spent 13 years with Wood Mackenzie where he was SVP, Sales & Marketing responsible for expanding the company’s regional presence and revenues. He has worked with oil companies, NOCs, financial institutions and utilities all over the world and is now based in Houston. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Nottingham.

Chris Matthews Editor, U.S. Energy The Wall Street Journal

Chris Matthews leads The Wall Street Journal's U.S. energy coverage from the Journal's bureau in Houston. Chris oversees a team of reporters covering all facets of U.S. energy, including oil and gas, renewables, electrification and the energy transition. He also writes about those industries and issues, with an eye for big-picture stories. Chris has worked at the Journal for more than a decade and previously covered major oil companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, as well as shale producers, LNG exporters, and petrochemical companies. He also covered white collar crime, law enforcement and courts in New York and wrote about the U.S. Justice Department's corporate law-enforcement efforts in Washington.

Benjamin "Benny" Mermans Vice President, Sustainability Chevron Phillips Chemical

Benny Mermans is Vice President of Sustainability for Chevron Phillips Chemical, a worldwide producer of petrochemical products equally owned by Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and Phillips 66 Company. Mermans carries executive-level oversight of the organization’s sustainability strategy. Previously, Mermans served as the company’s general manager for the Europe, Africa and Middle East region. Immersed and active across several key industry associations, Mermans is the current Chairman of World Plastics Council, a Vice President of PlasticsEurope and he serves on the Advisory Board of Infinity Recycling. Mermans holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from CTL in Ghent, Belgium.

Prabha Natarajan Masthead Editor The Wall Street Journal

Prabha Natarajan is a masthead editor for The Wall Street Journal. She oversees WSJ's suite of products targeted at executives and industry professionals. In this role, she has spearheaded efforts to boost revenue and subscription growth. Prabha has been with WSJ and Dow Jones Newswires for more than a dozen years, working in various reporting and editing roles.

Avi Salzman Senior Writer Barron's

Bio coming soon

Natalie Stirling-Sanders Head of the Americas Alliance to End Plastics Waste

Natalie Stirling-Sanders is Head of the Americas for the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a global non-profit organisation that focuses on enhancing waste management capacity and capability by improving collection, sorting, processing, and recycling systems, especially in underserved regions. With over 30 years of experience, Natalie has spent most of her career working at the intersection of business, government and civil society. While she has held a range of positions in the sustainability space, she has also run large global organisations focused on supply chain management, procurement and financial operations in the oil and gas sector. She is currently chair emeritus of WEConnect International, an organisation that connects women-owned businesses with global value chains. She has also previously served on boards, expert panels and cross sector committees focused on economic development, responsible supply chains and immigrant settlement.

Jim Teague Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director Enterprise Products

For many years, Jim Teague has been a leader in the energy and petrochemical industries. Since 1999, Jim has held various executive positions with Enterprise Products and currently serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director of Enterprise GP. Before taking the responsibility of Co-CEO, Jim held several key executive officer roles at Enterprise including Chief Commercial officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer. Immediately after his college graduation, Jim entered officer candidate school and served our country during the Vietnam War as a member of an attack helicopter squadron and as a Naval intelligence officer. Upon completion of his military service, he joined Dow Chemicals as a pharmaceutical sales representative. After a short period of time Jim was promoted to Dow’s hydrocarbon division where he ultimately became the head of global feedstocks. Jim’s passion for people, business, and strategy led to his success at both Dow Chemicals and Enterprise Products. For nearly 25 years Jim Teague has played key roles in the vast growth of Enterprise’s footprint and presence in global markets.

Peter Walter Managing Director and Partner L.E.K Consulting

Peter Walter is a managing director and partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s New York office. Peter has more than 25 years of global consulting experience, with a focus on growth strategy development M&A and performance improvement for both corporate and investor clients. He leads L.E.K.'s Agribusiness practice in the Americas and the Environmental Services practice, and he works across selected industrials markets, such as specialty chemicals, packaging and industrial/business services. Peter formerly led the firm’s Southeast Asia practice for seven years and lived overseas in Asia for more than 12 years. Prior to joining L.E.K., Peter worked with A.T. Kearney for 10 years in North America and Southeast Asia. He earned a B.S. degree in Zoology from Duke University and an MBA (summa cum laude) from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business at Northwestern University. Peter is fluent in Spanish and Thai, is conversant in Bahasa Indonesia, and has basic knowledge of Khmer and Portuguese.

Greg Wellman Technology Manager, Decarbonization Eastman

As Eastman’s technology manager for decarbonization, Greg is a driving force in forging a more sustainable future. He develops resilient decarbonization pathways, supported by a deep understanding of techno-economic viability across a suite of greenhouse gas (GHG)-reducing technologies. His scope spans low-carbon process heat, breakthrough process transformations, and lasting CO2 reduction. Greg’s vision for the chemical industry of the future includes a robust mix of legacy operations made feasible by low-cost and low-carbon heat, alongside circular and electrified process technologies made possible by research, development, and deployment of the next generation of unit operations.

Peter Young CEO & Managing Partner Young & Partners

Mr. Young manages Young & Partners and is actively involved in client transactions and financings. Under his leadership, Young & Partners established and has maintained its position as a leader in the industry. Young & Partners was founded in 1996. Prior to 1996, Mr. Young was head of the global chemical industry investment banking groups at Lehman Brothers, Salomon Brothers and Schroders. Early in his career while with Bain & Co., Mr. Young provided strategic advice to major life science and chemical companies and was a senior investment officer of J.H. Whitney & Co., the venture capital and private equity firm. Mr. Young has been a strategic and financial advisor to a wide variety of leading life science and chemical companies globally with regard to strategic financial advice, mergers, acquisitions, restructurings and capital raising. Mr. Young received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar with Highest Distinction), an M.S. in Accounting from New York University and a B.A. in Economics from Yale University. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Chartered Global Management Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Plenary Day – Macroeconomic Shifts in the Chemical Landscape

Session Details

Plenary Day – Macroeconomic Shifts in the Chemical Landscape

The Financial Future of Chemicals

Thomas Asselman

David Badal

Gerard Baker

Adrian Cooper

Jay Fitzgerald

Lauren Foster

Elizabeth Grove

Greg Ip

Hazel Kreuz

Dewey Johnson

Emma Lewis

Nick Livingstone

Chris Matthews

Benjamin "Benny" Mermans

Prabha Natarajan

Avi Salzman

Natalie Stirling-Sanders

Jim Teague

Peter Walter

Greg Wellman

Peter Young

Thomas Asselman SVP Strategy & Chief Strategy Officer OMV