Speakers | Global Acrylonitrile & C4s Forum 2024

Joseph Adelegan Secretary General and Executive Head International Rubber Study Group

Professor Adelegan is the Secretary-General of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG) based in Singapore, the biggest worldwide community in the Rubber Industry. He is a C-Suite Executive and an international development expert, Professor of Environmental Science and Engineering and a practitioner-scholar in management with over three decades of distinguished professional trajectory across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. His work experience includes: the United Nations, development finance institutions, international organizations, education, research, and innovation among others. He has extensive experience in the sustainable investment, disruptive innovation, and circular economy of the elastomer products. He is in high demand as a regular speaker at international conferences. He has travelled to over 138 countries. Professor Adelegan earned Two Doctorate Degrees, Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) from the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, United States and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Nigerian Premier University of Ibadan.

Lujia Wang Associate Director OPIS, a Dow Jones Company

Lujia is an Associate Director at OPIS, a Dow Jones company, specializing in commodity pricing, news, and analytics. With extensive experience as a pricing analyst, she has closely tracked emissions trading schemes throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Lujia led the launch of the OPIS APAC Carbon Market Report, providing price transparency and timely insights into the region's evolving carbon markets. Prior to this, she oversaw daily price assessments and market analysis of key olefin feedstocks, including ethane, LPG, and naphtha, across the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.

Charlie Powell Asia Pacific Eco Product Manager INEOS Styrolution

Originally from the UK, Charlie Powell has lived abroad for over 15 years and has been living here in Singapore for the past 4 years. He has been working within the INEOS group for 6 years, during which time he have been fortunate enough to work within 3 different business units in 3 different continents. He is currently working for INEOS Styrolution as the Asia Pacific ECO Product Manager.

Zhengyi Jiang Head of Economics, Statistics, & Sustainability International Rubber Study Group

Dr. Jiang Zhengyi is the Head of Economics, Statistics, and Sustainability of the International Rubber Study Group (IRSG). He earned the Doctor of Science (Economics) from ETH Zurich in 2020 with research on Energy Economics. Dr Jiang worked with the SINOPEC Group in China where he worked on latest movements and strategies taken by major energy corporations and research on energy industry prospects with working papers on topics including ESG and digital transformation roadmap for SINOPEC’s businesses and using data simulation and forecast to pioneer a risk management framework covering SINOPEC’s operating risks. Dr. Jiang’s work focuses on commodity market analysis and has strong competence in data analytics, ESG and sustainability analysis, and financial modelling. He is experienced in market data gathering, processing, and analyzing, as well as drafting reports by identifying and illustrating market events.

William Chen, PhD Executive Director, Asia Olefins and Derivatives Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

William Chen is an Executive Director of the Asia Olefins and Derivatives at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company.

Dr. William Chen is the Executive Director at Chemical Market Analytics. He leads Asia Olefins’ business and has research responsibilities for providing insight into the dynamics associated with the ethylene, propylene, C4, and derivatives value chain markets. Provide thought leadership on the markets relating to supply, demand, price and economics, as well as competitive dynamics and changing industry structural elements.

William also leads Asia Olefins’ business for strategic growth and provides ongoing commercial management. Focus on nurturing client relationships and deepening services as part of clients’ commercial and strategic decision-making processes. Nurture relationships with clients, including SOEs, POEs and MNCs, to deepen services in clients’ commercial and strategic decision-making processes. William has been involved in many petrochemical consulting projects and client studies, including the China Coal Chemical Study, Global Propane Dehydrogenation Research, and Refinery-cracker/aromatic complex feasibility study.

Before Chemical Market Analytics, William worked for ChemChina. William started as a chemical engineer at the company at a Lanzhou fiber plant in Northwest China. Then, he moved back to Beijing to focus on downstream application development. In the last two years with ChemChina, William took charge of sales and marketing responsibility in NE Asia.

William earned a Ph.D from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and majored in Polymer Chemistry and Physics. William is based in Beijing, China.

Weixuan He Research Analyst, C4s & Elastomers Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Weixuan He is based in Beijing, China. She is currently working on the C4 Olefins and Elastomers market in mainland China. She is the co-author of the Global C4 Olefins and Elastomers Monthly report and the Asia Weekly report. Prior to this role, she joined the legacy IHS Markit in 2018 as a research analyst in the ChemAssets team as part of the Same Day Info&Analysis division. Weixuan graduated from Tufts University in Psychology and Community Health and studied in the Master program at University of Michigan, majored in Biostatistics.

Bill Hyde Vice President, Olefins and 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, focusing on C4 Olefins and rubber, assuming responsibility for that practice in 2006. The Base Chemicals Group of HIS Markit, which includes the C4 Olefins and Elastomers Practice, was divested to News Corp in June 2022 and became Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, A Dow Jones Company. He has published several papers on the Olefins and Elastomers industries and presented at numerous Olefins and Elastomers Conferences worldwide.

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

Toshihito Kita General Manager, Acrylonitrile Global Marketing Asashi Kasei Corporation

Toshihito Kita is set to take over the global marketing leadership for Acrylonitrile in the Asahi Kasei Group, effective April 2024. His position is based at Tongsuh Petrochemical in Seoul, Korea, which serves as the headquarters for the Acrylonitrile Marketing Department within the group. Mr. Kita began his career at Asahi Kasei in 2000, spending four years in the polyethylene Marketing Department. In 2004, he transitioned to the Acrylonitrile Marketing Department, where he has worked for the past 20 years. His tenure includes three years working on a project team (2011-2014) and five years (2014–2019) as General Manager Marketing at PTT Asahi Chemical Corporation in Thailand. There, he was responsible for the marketing of Acrylonitrile, Methyl methacrylate, and ammonium sulfate. With 25 years of experience spanning polyethylene and acrylonitrile, Mr. Kita is well-versed in the global petrochemical and chemical industries, with significant international experience.

Remko Koster Executive Director, EMEA C4 Olefins Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Remko Koster is the Executive Director for C4 olefins and derivatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Chemical Market Analytics..

During his time with the company, he has taken various roles across a broad range of product areas. With over 20 years of experience, Remko is a key resource within the business for understanding and insight into the C4 and derivatives sector of the petrochemical industry.

Within the EMEA region, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil and tire industries, bringing support and guidance throughout the petrochemical chain. His current area of focus includes oversight of the ‘Global Tire Type Indices Report’, primary input and insight for the ‘Global C4 Olefins & Elastomers Report’, as well as for the World Butadiene, MTBE, Rubber, and Butylenes analyses.

His prior experience includes more than ten years of industrial experience with SABIC, including commercial responsibilities for C4 streams and aromatics and as a global market intelligence leader for polypropylene. Remko joined our company in 2011 as a polyethylene and polypropylene consultant for EMEA, contributing to the ‘Global Plastics & Polymers Report service’ and for World Polyethylene and Polypropylene Analysis.

Remko Koster has a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Brian Lee Executive Director, Asia Benzene & Styrene Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Brian Lee is the Executive Director for Asia Benzene & Styrene at Chemical Market Analytics.

Brian Lee is the research and analysis executive director responsible for the Asian market report of Chemical Market Analytics, focusing on the market analysis of benzene and styrene. He also contributes to various market advisory publications and supports consulting activities. Brian has a distinguished career spanning almost 30 years in the petrochemical industry.

Previously, he worked with Argus Dewitt for three years as a vice president covering Asian Aromatics. He contributed to numerous market reports and single client studies and hosted the Asian conference, including speaking. Mr. Lee started his career with Samsung C&T Corporation, working for 16 years in Asia and Europe. He was responsible for trading and marketing benzene, toluene, xylenes (BTX), styrene, paraxylene (PX), and purified terephthalic acid (PTA) to global customers.

Mr. Lee holds an MBA from Hanyang Cyber University and a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Hanyang University, South Korea.

Dawn Leow Associate Director, Nylon Fiber and Feedstocks Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Dawn Leow is an Associate Director of Nylon Fibers & Feedstocks at Chemical Market Analytics

Dawn Leow is the Associate Director for Nylon and Feedstocks at Chemical Market Analytics. Since joining the company in 2022, she has continued to develop and bring nuanced insights into the nylon value chain based on an integrated understanding of how current macroeconomic conditions and upstream crude oil and benzene sectors impact the supply and demand dynamics in the nylon sector.

Based in Singapore, she maintains active discussions with key operators within the nylon chains in the Asian region to gain up-to-date insights into the trading sentiments and strategic objectives among market participants. She leads the weekly nylon report service and is also the Asian leader of nylon’s monthly report and world analysis service.

Before CMA, she worked for over 10 years in technical engineering roles, primarily within the biopharmaceutical manufacturing industry in the San Francisco Bay Area, specializing in capital project management, monitoring, and controls and new equipment introductions, installations, upgrades, commissioning, and qualifications. She also worked in roles involving scientific research and medical marketing intelligence. Her technical background has helped enrich the breadth and depth of her market analysis and advisory skills at CMA.

Ms. Leow holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, a Master of Science in accountancy, and an MBA (focusing on data analytics) from the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.

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

Mr. Lewandowski is the Vice President of Global Olefins & Derivatives at Chemical Market Analytics.

Based in Houston, Steve Lewandowski is the Vice President – Olefins at Chemical Market Analytics (CMA) by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company, a leading global provider of information, insight and consulting services to the global chemical and petrochemical.

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 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 had increasing responsibilities within the Petrochemical business at TOTAL. The latest assignment was overseas, in Brussels, Belgium, where he was responsible for the Global Aromatics long-term commercial business activity. 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.

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 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 for companies in 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 over his current role, he had several other roles within Chemical Market Analytics, the most recent of which was as Director for 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 acting as the client-facing consultant of the Global Plastics service for 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.

Simon Neudeck Head of Commerical Activities Trillium Renewable Chemicals

Simon Neudeck is heading the commercial activities of Trillium Renewable Chemicals with the focus on raw material procurement and product marketing. He joined Trillium in the summer of 2022.

Simon has been part of the chemical industry since 2004. He spent most of his career at a German chemical marketing company with over a decade in leadership roles. His experience ranges from the distribution of specialities to trading of commodity products. In recent years, Simon focused on decarbonization strategies and initiatives.

Simon holds a bachelor´s degree in Business Administration and Foreign Trade

David Onyekpe Sr. Research Analyst Global Olefins Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

David Onyekpe is a Senior research analyst in the Global Olefins group at Chemical Market Analytics. He is responsible for coverage of the acrylonitrile value chain and cotton. 

Mr. Onyekpe has been with Chemical Market Analytics since 2016, where he has provided business information assisting clients in diverse projects. Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, David worked at the World Energy Council, where he assessed the impact of policies, in addition to opportunities and limitations that underpin some cross-cutting technologies within the energy Industry. He holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from University College London.

Ashish Pujari Vice President, Asia Aromatics & Fibers Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Ashish Pujari is the Vice President of Aromatics and Fibres at Chemical Market Analytics in Singapore.

Ashish Pujari is the Vice President for Aromatics and Fibers in Asia. He has over 30 years of experience in the petrochemical industry, mainly focused on the polyester and raw material value chain, which stretches from project design, operations, sales & marketing and business development. Over the past 15 years, he has focused on market research and consulting for the polyester and raw material industry. He is responsible for providing thought leadership to the sector and guiding our long-term forecasts.

Ashish works with the Asian petrochemicals industry and coordinates support across the value chains. His current products of focus are Paraxylene, terephthalic acid (PTA) and Polyester, covering the regional dynamics and guiding the global outlook. He also actively continues to focus on sustainability developments in the polyester sector. Ashish has also been instrumental in launching several reports, including the pricing reports for Aromatics in Asia and the Global Polyurethanes & Feedstock report.

Ashish joined CMAI in 2009, with a responsibility to cover the Asian PX and polyester markets and has taken additional responsibilities through our transition to Chemical Market Analytics. Before joining CMAI, Ashish worked for Reliance Industries Ltd. (RIL) in India and was leading the M&A activity in the polyester sector at the time of his exit in 2009. Ashish joined RIL as a fresh engineer in 1994 in the project design and construction group and later progressed to operations. He also worked in sales & business development, becoming the North India regional sales lead for raw materials.

Ashish holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Polymers & Chemical) from the University of Pune, India, as well as an Executive Management diploma from the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Carl Roache Director, Ammonia and Urea Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Carl Roache is the Executive Director of Ammonia and Urea at Chemical Market Analytics.

Carl Roache is the market director of ammonia and urea at Chemical Market Analytics (CMA). He joined the company in 2024 and leads analysis and pricing globally from London, UK.

Before joining CMA, Mr. Roache was EuroChem’s global business development manager for NPK fertilizers, based in Dubai, UAE. From here, he coordinated global NP/NPK sales from the company’s 1.2mn t/yr Antwerp plant. Before this, he was EuroChem’s Asia NPK business development lead, based in Singapore, where he developed and executed an NPK growth strategy, widening commercial territory and facilitating increased sales.

Mr Roache has also worked for price reporting agencies within the fertilizer sector in the UK and Asia, including spells as global nitrogen and potash lead (ICIS) and Europe and Asia regional editorships (Argus Media). He has completed executive strategy, financial analysis, and management training, as well as a first-class honors degree in American and English History from the University of East Anglia, UK.

Mr Roache is an NCTJ/NCE qualified newspaper journalist, starting his career with Northcliffe Media group in the UK.

Daniel Siow Director, Styrenics Polymer (Asia) Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Daniel Siow is the Director for Southeast Asia Styrenic & ABS at Chemical Market Analytics.

Daniel Siow is currently a Director at Chemical Market Analytics. He covers all major styrenic polymers namely, polystyrene, expandable polystyrene and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, with a focus on the Asian regions. He contributes to several advisory services, most notably the Global Plastics & Polymers Report, Global Engineering Resins Report, World Polystyrene Analysis, World Expandable Polystyrene Analysis and the World Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Analysis.

Daniel began his career in the chemical industry with Idemitsu Chemicals, a leading Japanese trading company in Singapore, where he was promoted to a Senior Manager role in 2005. He was involved in business development and strategic marketing of commodity and engineering plastics for the Idemitsu Group of companies. He joined Chemical Market Associates Inc. (CMAI) in 2010 as a consultant. Before joining the chemical industry, Daniel had extensive experience in the field of market research, covering studies such as consumer research, industrial research and B2B market research.

Anthony Song Executive Director, APAC C4 & Elastomers Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Anthony Song is the Executive Director for APAC C4 & Elastomers at Chemical Market Analytics.

Anthony (Young Ho) Song is the executive director for C4 olefins, derivatives, and natural rubber in Asia outside of mainland China at Chemical Market Analytics. He has over 20 years of experience in the petrochemical industry, mainly in the olefins business but also in chlor alkali and aromatics.

Within the Asia region, he works closely with petrochemical, oil and financial industries, bringing support and guidance throughout the petrochemical chain. He is currently the service leader for the Asia C4 weekly report and contributes to the global outlook for C4 and elastomer reports.

Anthony started his career as a petrochemical trader at Hanwha Corporation in Korea. His duties were to trade various gas products, including light and C4 olefins products, in Asia. He has spent about a year in Dubai as a regional expert program by Hanwha Group, researching and developing future strategic programs within the Middle East, from product development to investment portfolio. In 2008, he came to Singapore as a trading team manager at Hanwha International (overseas office in Singapore).

Anthony graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.

Zengwei Yin Principal Research Analyst, China Olefins & Acrylonitrile Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Zengwei Yin is a principal research analyst on the Acrylonitrile team.

Zengwei provides analytical support for the market in Acrylonitrile China at Chemical Market Analytics.

Zengwei has worked for six years for Schlumberger in the UK as an integrated fluids and solids engineer, where he has completed many exploration and development projects for international oil companies such as BP, Shell, Total and CNOOC International.

Zengwei also has a background in chemical engineering; he graduated from Tsinghua University in Beijing.