Speakers | Chemical Market Analytics at AFPM IPC 2024

Dewey Johnson Senior Vice President, Global Chief Market Officer Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Dewey is Senior Vice President (SVP), Global Chief Markets Officer, for Dow Jones. He previously was Global Lead for the Chemicals practice within Chemical Market Analytics for Dow Jones Company.

Dewey previously led a team of 250+ subject-matter experts with deep knowledge and experience across the global chemical sector. Chemical Market Analytics offers unmatched global coverage of the Base Chemicals space, covering almost 350+ chemistries through subscription services and consulting (bespoke research) offerings to our clients. The CMA practice presently covers Energy & Feedstocks, Olefins & Derivatives, Aromatics & Fibers, Inorganics (chlor-alkali, vinyls, and soda ash), Plastics & Polymers, Syngas (methanol, acetyls, and ammonia), chemicals, Sustainable chemistries (carbon, hydrogen, various chemicals), and plans to extend into newer areas.

Dewey has two master’s degrees in environmental engineering & business management, respectively. He has enjoyed a distinguished career with Eastman Chemical Company across multiple roles and functions for 1.5 decades. In 2009, he joined Chemical Market Associates Incorporated (CMAI) and has been in the chemical market intelligence and research space ever since. From the acquisition of CMAI by the erstwhile IHS Markit to the present acquisition by Dow Jones, Dewey has been in senior leadership positions within the organization and has a deep understanding of the business.

Dewey has worked extensively with chemical industry stakeholders across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, covering industry leadership, the financial sector, and policymakers. Dewey has led multiple engagements with chemical industry clients globally in strategy development and execution, analysis of chemical markets and business portfolios, and M&A due diligence.
Dewey is active in modeling critical socio-economic problems with communities associated with and including the MIT Sloan School of Management, University of New Hampshire, and the SUNY Albany School of Public Policy. He is based in Houston, Texas, United States of America.

Carlo Barrasa Vice President, Head of Research Dow Jones Energy

Carlo Barrasa is the Head of Research at Dow Jones Energy

Carlo leads Dow Jones Energy’s research department, which provides clients with advisory and analysis on the markets for energy, chemicals, minerals, power and resources. Prior to this role, he stewarded the development of energy market content to help Dow Jones Energy’s 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. Prior to joining Dow Jones Energy, 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 then held senior consulting and research positions at IHS Markit legacy companies PFC Energy and CMAI. Carlo holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s in business administration, both from the University of Texas at Austin.

Ana Lopez Executive Director, Americas Vinyls and Global Sodium Sulfate Dow Jones Energy

Ana Lopez is the Executive Director of Americas Vinyls and Global Sodium Sulfate at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Ana Lopez is the Americas Director of Vinyls (PVC, VCM, EDC) research at Chemical Market Analytics. In addition, she is responsible for the global market analysis of sodium sulfate. She has held several roles across numerous product areas during her time with the company. With over 25 years of experience, Mrs. Lopez is a key resource within the business for understanding and insight into the chlor-alkali & vinyls sectors of the chemical industry.

Within North America and South America, she works closely with the chlor-alkali and vinyls industries, bringing her experience from the commodity markets. Her current area of focus includes contributions to the ‘Global Vinyls Report as well as primary input and insight for the World Sodium Sulfate and World Vinyls analyses.

Her prior experience includes covering caustic soda, chlorine, and hydrochloric acid. In this role, she contributed to the Global Chlor-Alkali Report and the World Analysis, Chlor-Alkali. Before joining Chemical Market Analytics, Mrs. Lopez spent several years with Pemex International Trading Company (PMI) in Mexico City in petrochemical commercial operations and market analysis, preceded by a few years with the EPC company ICA Fluor Daniel.

Mrs. Lopez has a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana and a Master of Business Administration from Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México, both in Mexico City. She joined Chemical Market Analytics in 2007 and is based in the Houston office.

Joel Morales Vice President, Polyolefins Americas Dow Jones Energy

Joel Morales is the Vice President of Polyolefins Americas at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Joel joined the company in March 2013 to cover Polyethylene (PE) and Polypropylene (PP) in North America. He began his career in 1999 with polyolefins manufacturer Solvay Polymers (later Ineos) in technical services and product development, before moving into field sales. After five years at Solvay Polymers, Joel moved into resin distribution sales for both Muehlstein and, later, United Polychem as a Product Manager, where he managed and sold polyethylene and polypropylene resins to various customer segments. In his most recent role before joining Chemical Market Analytics (CMA), Joel was a purchasing manager at Silgan Plastics, a major blow-molding and injection-molding plastics converter. He has brought a wealth of industry knowledge to Chemical Market Analytics through multiple stints along the plastics value chain.

Joel works closely within the Americas with resin producers, converters, and third parties covering the polyolefin markets. Joel speaks regularly around the world as a polyolefin market expert. He is 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.

Joel graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a minor in psychology.

Steve Lewandowski Vice President, Global Base Chemicals Dow Jones Energy

Mr. Lewandowski is the Vice President of Global Base Chemicals at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Based in Houston, Steve Lewandowski is the Vice President of Global Base Chemicals at Chemical Market Analytics, a leading global provider of information, insight, and consulting services to the global chemical and petrochemical industry.

During a career spanning 30+ years in the refining and chemical industry, Steve has experience across the full spectrum of refining and petrochemical hydrocarbon value chains, covering various financial, strategic, technical, and commercial roles. Before his move to Chemical Market Analytics, 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 commercial responsibility for olefin and aromatic monomers, including styrene.

Before the Base Chemical Senior Manager role, Steve held increasing responsibilities within TOTAL’s Petrochemical business. The latest assignment was overseas, in Brussels, Belgium, where he was responsible for Global Aromatics’ long-term commercial business. The assignment included P&L responsibility and strategic project development for TOTAL worldwide. Before 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 a focus on finance and economics from the University of Texas at Dallas in 2000.

Bill Hyde Vice President, C4 Olefins and Elastomers Dow Jones Energy

Bill Hyde is the Vice President of Olefins & Elastomers at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Mr. Hyde 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 Union Carbide Corporation in 1990, holding positions in 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, focusing on 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, was divested to News Corp in June 2022 and became Chemical Market Analytics. He has published several papers on the Olefins and Elastomers industries and presented at numerous Olefins and Elastomers Conferences worldwide.

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

Kevin Longworth Executive Director, Global Acrylonitrile Dow Jones Energy

Kevin Longworth is the Executive Director for Global Acrylonitrile at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Kevin Longworth is the executive director of the Global Acrylonitrile service and started his career at Chemical Market Analytics in 2009. During his time at the company, he has worked across various chemical value streams, giving him extensive exposure to a broad cross-section of the petrochemical industry. Before joining Chemical Market Analytics, he worked for nearly a decade as a process engineer in the plastics industry in South Africa and the United Kingdom.

Mr. Longworth leads the Global Acrylonitrile service, providing industry players with strategic intelligence and analysis across this highly varied and complex value chain. Through regular engagement with industry stakeholders such as producers, downstream consumers, traders, distributors and investors, he helps them gain a deeper understanding of this volatile industry. The role is global, and he regularly contacts companies in Europe, the Americas, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia.

Prior to taking on his current role, he held several positions within Chemical Market Analytics, most recently as Director of Polyolefins for the EMEA region. In this role, he was responsible for developing intellectual property for the plastics service in Europe. He was a leading expert in this field, presenting at conferences and serving as the client-facing consultant for the Global Plastics service at Chemical Market Analytics in the EMEA region.

Mr. Longworth has a degree in Plastics Processing Technology from the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town, South Africa.

Julian Gunther Director, Olefin Derivatives - Americas Acrylic Acid, Acrylates, SAP, MMA, Oxo Alcohols, Plasticizers Dow Jones Energy

Julian Gunther is an Director on the Global Olefins team at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy. 

Mr. Gunther 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. Mr. Gunther worked with ODS-Petrodata’s offshore rig team from 2006-2012. In addition to ODS, Mr. Gunther worked as an account manager at S&P Global and OptaSense. Mr. Gunther holds a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Houston in Houston, Texas.

Lina Suarez Director, America Polyurethane Feedstocks Dow Jones Energy

Lina Suárez is Research and Analysis Director for Polyurethane Feedstocks in the Americas at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Lina leads research and analysis of key polyurethane raw materials across North and Latin America. She joined the organization, formerly IHS Markit, in early 2019 as Director, Caustic Soda Americas Market Research and has since expanded her responsibilities across multiple chemical value chains, building on her extensive experience in petrochemicals, chlor-alkali and vinyls.

Ms. Suárez holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering and an MBA in Finance. Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, she worked for twenty years in sales, product management and commercial leadership roles across multiple Latin American countries, developing deep petrochemical and chlor-vinyls industry knowledge and broad expertise in chemical analysis, sales and management.

Her experience includes positions with Química Delta as Product and Commercial Director for the Base Oils and Solvents business units in Mexico, and as Commercial Director for PMV / Mexichem Mexico, where she guided chlor-alkali, ethylene and VCM business strategies and commercial operations. She also developed new business models and executed sales programs in Mexico, Colombia and Brazil for chemical and oil companies including 3M Colombia, DuPont México, Chevron México and BP México.

Lina’s extensive experience across integrated chlor-alkali, ethylene, vinyls and polyurethane value chains gives her a broad perspective on feedstock relationships, industry fundamentals and downstream demand. Her commercial and analytical background further contributes to Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS’ industry-leading expertise in petrochemical and polyurethane intelligence.

David Potter Vice President Aromatics and Fibers, EMEA Dow Jones Energy

David Potter is Vice President of Aromatics and Fibers, EMEA, at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

David joined the team in January 2013 and is Vice President for the EMEA team, with product responsibility for pygas and benzene. David has expertise across several markets within the aromatics and fibers sector, including styrene monomers, phenolics, polyurethane feedstocks and ethylene oxide and derivatives. Between 2016-2018, David had global responsibility for the daily pricing and market update reports for Chemical Market Analytics on aromatics and light olefins.

David joined the chemical team from Platts, where he was an editor on the petrochemicals team, responsible for price discovery, assessment, and editorial content across various petrochemical markets. However, David’s main focus was on aromatics, where he was responsible for the benzene market coverage for over five years.

Before his time at Platts, David worked for Petrochem Carless (now Haltermann Carless) for 8 years, from 1999 to 2007. He undertook many commercial roles here, including product management and customer service manager. He was responsible for buying and selling a wide range of aliphatic and aromatic products, ketone solvents, antifreeze, and glycols, and for undertaking many roles across road, rail, and shipping logistics.

David has a Bachelor of Arts in Media and a postgraduate diploma in Periodical Journalism.

Peter Feng Vice President, Aromatics & Fibers Americas Dow Jones Energy

Mr. Peter Feng is the Vice President of Aromatics & Fibers Americas at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Peter Feng is the Vice President of Aromatics & Fibers. He is responsible for the North American Aromatics Service and covers the styrene, polystyrene and expandable polystyrene markets in the Americas. With over 35 years of experience in various assignments, Peter has a breadth of knowledge in multiple disciplines and products. Peter is a key resource for understanding and insight into the aromatics sector of the petrochemical industry.

Within the Americas, he leads the North American Aromatics Service. While his current area of focus is the products in the styrenics chain, he has covered many of the aromatics products at once. In addition to North American Aromatics, he contributes to several different services and is a key contributor to the World Styrene Analysis, World Polystyrene Analysis and World EPS Analysis.

During his time at Chemical Market Analytics and predecessor companies, he has contributed to several bespoke client studies, including the development of a marketing plan for a new Middle East plant, a site assessment for a U.S. plant, strategic analysis for refineries and chemical plants, strategic purchasing analysis, etc. As a renowned expert, he has been sought after as a testifying expert in numerous legal cases. He is often a guest speaker at various conferences and industry events.

Before his role in market consulting, he worked at Air Products and Sterling Chemicals. He had assignments in Process Engineering/Technology, Information Systems, Projects, Environmental, Supply Chain and Commercial teams during this time. Peter Feng has a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Roberto Ribeiro Vice President, Ethylene Oxide and Derivatives & PET Dow Jones Energy

Roberto Ribeiro is the Vice President, Ethylene Oxide and Derivatives & PET at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Roberto Ribeiro is a seasoned chemical and petrochemical expert with over 30 years of experience. He serves as the Vice President for EOD (ethylene oxide derivatives) and PET at Chemical Market Analytics. In this role, he is responsible for the research and analysis of a wide range of products, including PET, PTA, PX, ethylene glycols (MEG, DEG, TEG), high-purity ethylene oxide, and its derivatives such as ethoxylates, glycol ethers (E-series), ethanolamines (MEA, DEA, TEA), and polyethylene glycols (PEGs).

Roberto works closely with the chemical and petrochemical sectors and other markets, including plastic converters, brand owners, oil and gas, and financial industries, providing support and guidance across various business chains. His current focus areas include overseeing the Market Advisory Services’ ‘Global PET Stream Report’ and ‘Global Ethylene Oxide, Glycol, & Derivatives Report,’ as well as providing primary input and insights for the World Analysis Services’ ‘World Analysis – Paraxylene,’ ‘World Analysis – Polyester,’ ‘World Analysis – PTA/DMT,’ and ‘World Analysis – Ethylene Oxide and Monoethylene Glycol.’

He joined Chemical Market Analytics in April 2021, having previously served as President of Townsend Solutions, a strategic consulting firm in the petrochemical industry. Before his tenure at Townsend Solutions, Roberto held various leadership roles in strategic planning, joint venture relationships and strategic guidance, business development, M&A, and sales and marketing at petrochemical manufacturing companies, many of which are now part of Braskem and LyondellBasell. Roberto’s career began at Eastman Kodak and then at Polibrasil Resinas, S.A., where he progressed from Marketing Intern to Head of Marketing, conducting in-depth market analyses.

Roberto holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance and Business Administration from São Paulo University (Brazil). Additionally, he holds a master’s degree in Oil & Gas from Universidad Austral (Argentina). He has participated in various professional development courses with Harvard Business School, New York University’s Stern School of Business, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He has been a speaker at numerous industry conferences across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Meiko Woo Executive Director, Global Nylon Fibres & Feedstocks Dow Jones Energy

Meiko Woo is an Executive Director for Global Nylon Fibers and Feedstocks service at Chemical Market Analytics, part of Dow Jones Energy.

Meiko Woo is the service leader for the nylon fibers and feedstocks service at Chemical Market Analytics and contributes to the polyester fibers and feedstocks service in North America. With over 20 years of experience, Meiko is a key resource within the business for understanding and insight into the fibers sector of the petrochemical industry.

Meiko has developed an international reputation for providing meaningful analysis and actionable solutions that help customers optimize their business position in the nylon and polyester fiber industry. Her relevant skills include a keen commercial and technical understanding of the nylon and polyester value chain and robust analytical capabilities to drive toward data-driven conclusions.

Before joining the predecessor of Chemical Market Analytics in 2009, Meiko worked for six years with Invista in Taiwan. She started as a process engineer and was promoted to Utility Area Plant Manager in 2004 and to T10 Technical Plant Manager in 2006, before shifting to a commercial role in early 2007 and working as a planning and technical services manager. With her strong technical background, she liaised between the commercial and manufacturing teams.

Meiko holds a Master’s in Environmental Engineering from National Chiao Tung University and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University.