SPEAKERS

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.

Zoë Baldwin General Manager, Marketing Americas Shell LP

As General Manager Marketing Americas, Zoë Baldwin is responsible for marketing of Shell Chemicals’ traditional and sustainable chemical products in the Americas along with global leadership for Shell’s Performance Olefins and Performance Surfactants product lines. This includes partnering closely with customers to deliver sustainable growth through the Energy Transition by developing deep market insights and customer-centric solutions.

Based in Houston, Zoë oversees a large organization that is quickly moving forward with building a suite of sustainable customer offerings and circular solutions that meet customers current and future needs.  Previously, Zoë was the General Manager for Shell’s Base Chemicals business for the Americas region where she drove accountability for maximizing the value of the Olefins, Aromatics, Feedstocks and Phenol businesses.

Zoë began her career in Management Consulting based in London, UK and joined Shell as a part of the Downstream Management Consultancy in the Strategy organization. She went on to hold a successive number of roles across the Downstream business in Mobility, Upstream and joined the Chemicals & Products organization.  In 2016, as the General Manager for the Natural Gas Liquids business in Canada, Zoe led a team that generated significant value for Shell’s Canadian midstream business as it identified and cultivated multiple cross-business opportunities in Shales, Integrated Gas, Manufacturing, and Supply & Trading.

Her broad perspective of the industry, coupled with her geographically diverse experience, helps Zoë deeply understand the regionality of chemicals and downstream market value chains and helps her team understand and respond to regional needs and supply challenges.

Zoë earned her Bachelor of Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Toronto and an MBA from Richard Ivey Business School.  Deeply passionate about developing people, working with teams and customers to deliver outstanding results, Zoë has a proven track record of successes.  In her spare time, Zoë enjoys spending time with her family, friends, and her horse.  She also loves travelling and working towards her dream of becoming an amateur showjumper.

Michael Bloesch President, CEO & Founding Partner Next Wave Energy Partners

Michael Bloesch is the President & CEO, and a Founding Partner, of Next Wave Energy Partners.  He has more than thirty years of experience in the manufacture of specialty petrochemical and fuel products in multiple executive management positions.

Mr. Bloesch has a significant track record of conceiving creative petrochemical projects and turning them into successful operating assets and businesses.  He serves on the boards and committees of Next Wave Energy Partners (Board of Directors), South Coast Terminals (Board of Directors), Soltex Chemical (Board of Advisors), Plant Based Products Council (Policy Committee), Advanced Biofuels Association (Low Carbon Fuels Advisory Committee), and the Bagley College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board at Mississippi State University.

Michael earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University and an MBA with a concentration in finance from the University of Houston. He and his wife, Shannon, have three children and live in Bellaire, Texas.

Manuel Carmona Yebra Counsellor for Environment and Oceans EU Delegation to the USA

Manuel Carmona Yebra, as Counsellor for Environment and Oceans at the Delegation of the EU in Washington DC, manages relations between the European Union and the US in a wide range of policies ranging from nature conservation to pollution, circular economy, plastics, oceans and fisheries and the Arctic region.

Manuel has two degrees in Law and Communication and a Master’s Degree in EU Law from the University of Leicester (UK).

He has previously worked at the European Commission in a number of policy fields such as UNFCCC negotiations on adaptation to climate change, climate diplomacy with Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other vulnerable countries, and the links between ocean and environmental issues. Previously, also at the European Commission, he was an international negotiator for the conservation and management of fishery resources in the North West Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, and also EU Head of Delegation for fisheries conservation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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.

Keith Couch Senior Director of Business Development & Integrated Products Honeywell UOP

Keith A. Couch is Senior Director of Business Development & Integrated Projects within UOP’s Process Technologies business. The focus of his organization is to drive bankable project development ranging from single process units to fully integrated refinery and petrochemicals complexes.

Since joining UOP in 1990, Keith has held numerous domestic and international positions across a broad range of manufacturing, technical, service and business management roles. Keith holds 32 patents and has authored 21 industry publications. He has a strong background in both oil refining and petrochemicals and is driving UOP’s thought leadership for the Refinery of the Future.

Keith earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago, Booth School of Business.

Chris D’Anna Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals Enterprise Products

Mr. D’Anna has served as Enterprise Products Senior Vice President, Petrochemicals since May 2018. He has responsibility for all Petrochemical activities. Mr. D’Anna previously served as Vice President, Unregulated NGLs and Vice President, Marine Services. He has also served in other leadership positions in commercial development, NGL marketing, and petrochemicals. Mr. D’Anna has over 25 years of experience in the energy industry and began his career at Union Carbide and Dow Chemical prior to joining Enterprise in 2007. Mr. D’Anna earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Arkansas and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Houston.

Elizabeth Hui Director, Research & Product Development CME Group

Bio coming soon.

Celeste Jones Baumgardt Vice President, Corporate Development Nova Chemicals Corporation

Celeste Jones Baumgardt leads and provides direction over NOVA Chemicals’ business development and M&A/investments to drive revenue, profitability, and asset value growth for the company. Ms. Jones Baumgardt joined the company from Goldman Sachs, where she was a Vice President in their investment banking group. In that role, she focused on providing strategic and financial advice to companies in the energy and transportation sectors across North America and globally. Ms. Jones Baumgardt has spent more than ten years in investment banking and has completed more than $50 billion in M&A transactions.

Michael P. Loeffel Founding Partner Lighthouse Chartering LLC

Michael graduated with Honors from SUNY Maritime College in 2007 with a degree in Marine Transportation. He began his career sailing onboard Chemical Tankers as Third Mate and completed Stolt-Nielsen’s prestigious Operations Trainee program. He held positions in both Operations and Chartering during his 5.5years at the company.

Michael joined Louis Dreyfus Commodities in Wilton, CT in 2012 where he was in charge of Global Ethanol and Molasses Chartering. In addition to procuring freight, overseeing operations and demurrage, and negotiating terminal storage contracts, he played an integral role in trading LDC’s domestic and international Ethanol position. In 2015, Michael moved to Houston, TX to join Tricon Energy LTD as Global Chartering Manager.

Michael is one of the founding partners at Lighthouse Chartering LLC, which was formed in 2016 with a focus on handling logistics and freight solutions for Tricon Energy LTD. and other Charterer’s in the Specialty Chemical space.

Jonah Margulis Head of North America Aker Carbon Capture

Jonah Margulis is in charge of the North American market entry of Aker Carbon Capture. Mr. Margulis joined Aker Carbon Capture in February 2023 and has significant leadership experience from his roles spanning nearly a decade within the Aker group. Most recently, he was responsible for launching and leading the U.S. organization for Aker Offshore Wind and Mainstream Renewable Power in addition to previous roles as U.S. Country Manager, Head of Front-End North America, and General Manager of the Subsea Production Alliance at Aker Solutions.

Mr. Margulis’s primary responsibilities include developing the strategy and operations plan for scaling the business in the region along with building and managing the local team and legal entity. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) and Advisory Board of Texas A&M University’s Subsea Engineering Program while previously serving as Vice Chair of Offshore Wind California (OWC) and multiple API/ISO working groups.

Mr. Margulis obtained his engineering degree from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania and MBA with an Energy Management certificate from the University of Houston.

Byron Miller Chief Commercial Officer South Carolina Ports Authority

Byron Miller leads all sales, marketing and business development efforts at SC Ports, growing and diversifying South Carolina’s cargo base.

Byron joined SC Ports in 1993 and worked in many leadership positions across the organization.  Since he joined the commercial group in 2012, the Port of Charleston earned the title of the nation’s fastest growing top 10 seaport.

Byron held several roles including director of sales where he worked collaboratively with many of SC Ports’ largest customers in the automotive, manufacturing and distribution sectors and helped to develop solutions for their end-to-end supply chain objectives.

A South Carolina native, Byron has been active with various professional associations and community organizations and was previously named the Charleston region’s “Transportation Leader of the Year” and the Propeller Club Member of the Year.

He earned bachelor’s degrees in business and French from The College of Charleston, with a concentration in global logistics.

Ganesh Nagarajan Senior Director, Plastics Waste Management

Dr. Ganesh Nagarajan is the Senior Director of Plastics at WM.  He leads WM initiatives towards increasing recycling, unlocking supply and recovery of plastic from waste streams.  He is additionally responsible for value creation and stake holder engagement.  Prior to WM, Dr. Nagarajan worked at LyondellBasell for over two decades in multiple roles including Application Development, Sales, Marketing & Business Management.  He also supported the development of numerous recycling projects as a thematic expert for the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, as well as an Executive Advisory Board Member of Cyclyx. His international assignments include roles as Marketing and Sales Manager for Northeast Asia and Australia at Basell Asia Pacific Limited and as Managing Director for Basell Polyolefins India Limited.

Tom Paeshuys International Representative for North America The Port of Antwerp-Bruges

Tom currently serves as the International Representative for North America at The Port of Antwerp-Bruges where he serves as the local face of the port and supports marketing, sales, business intelligence, and foreland and hinterland strategy. He previously held roles at Liege Container Terminal, Interferry Boats and head of marketing at Port of Singapore PSA.

Brian Payer Senior Principal, Climate-Aligned Industries Program Mission Possible Partnership - RMI

Brian Payer is a Senior Principal on RMI’s Climate-Aligned Industries Program, where he leads the chemical, refining and low-carbon fuel initiatives to drive low and zero-emission solutions. He leads the low carbon fuels and feedstocks workstream for the Clean Industrial Hubs program of the Mission Possible Partnership. Brian was previously the Vice President of Product Management at Sphera, a global software and data company, leading the Environmental, Health and Safety as well as Sustainability business lines, including carbon management and accounting for heavy industrial customers. He holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Stanford University and UC Berkely, respectively.

Mark Quiner Global Head of Petrochemicals Marex

Mark Quiner is the leading broker of physical and financial olefins in North America. He assists every major producer, consumer and trader in moving physical ethylene and propylene volumes across the US Gulf Coast, and in international product movements. He also brokers exchange-cleared olefins derivatives in the US, Europe and Asia, helping companies across the value chain globally to hedge their price exposure. He is the the global head of petrochemicals at Marex, and manages a team spanning North America and Asia. Marex is a UK-based commodities company.

Priya Ravindranath Senior Manager, Chemical Markets Air Liquide

Priya holds a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering and has more than 15 years of experience as a petrochemical products market expert. Prior to the 5 years at Air Liquide, she spent ~11 years at IHS Markit providing market and strategy consulting for petrochemical companies.
At Air Liquide, Priya leads marketing within the chemicals/ energy transition sector and is responsible for providing expert advice and analysis on the evolution of key industrial gas markets and customers, the relevant customer production technologies, and their industrial gas requirements within the chemical market environment. She is responsible for developing the breadth and depth of knowledge of regional energy transition market trends (chemical industry decarbonization, low carbon ammonia, chemical recycling) by taking into account global complexities of supply demand, trade and market trends. Priya’s extensive experience and deep understanding of the chemicals market, its customers and applications drives the delivery of sustainable value propositions with Air Liquide chemical customers.

Ty C. Reasonover Senior Manager, Trade Development Port Houston

Ty C. Reasonover is Senior Manager, Trade Development at Port Houston. With over 15 years of experience in international trade, vessel operations, and business development.

In his current position, he is responsible for growing the organization’s revenue portfolio, Port Houston’s promotional activities on the U.S. East Coast, and in the EMEA regions, and promotion of the Port’s capabilities for handling containerized and project cargoes.

Ty graduated from Texas A&M University, Galveston Campus, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Maritime Administration. He enjoys outdoor recreation, travel, and family time.

Samu Salo Senior Industry Advisor IFC World Bank

Mr. Samu Salo works as a global advisor for IFC’s projects in chemicals industry and is based in Washington DC. Having worked for 20 years in various sectors of chemicals industry before joining IFC, Mr. Salo now leverages his industry insights in due diligence work for the IFC’s investment projects.

The past few years Mr. Salo has promoted circular economy principles in his line of work and is excited to see a surge of activities in this space, especially around circular economy for plastics. He firmly believes that while circular economy for plastics is not a silver bullet to solve all the global challenges from GHG emissions to marine litter, it is an important piece of that puzzle.

Casey Selecman Director of Powertrain Forecast AutoForecast Solutions LLC (AFS)

Casey has been helping the automotive industry understand the complex world of powertrain forecasting for over 20 years. As the Director of Powertrain Forecasts at AFS, his primary focus is on the North American market, but he keeps a constant eye on external market influences as the world becomes less regional and more global.

Over his career, Casey has worked directly with vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, automotive associations, and regulators to support their unique business challenges. Today, he helps companies navigate industry risk and opportunities by using critical market intelligence to give them an edge in their strategy and business planning efforts. He has also supported both California and US Federal fuel economy and GHG regulations in the early 2000’s and continues to follow all regulations impacting future powertrain requirements.

He has a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Michigan and lives with his wife and three kids in suburban Detroit.

Tom Taylor Senior Procurement Manager Americas Nouryon

Tom is the Senior Procurement Manager Americas.  Tom manages a team of strategic procurement professionals and is currently globally responsible strategy development for the Chlor-Alkali market sector of Nouryon.  The Nouryon ISC Procurement Group sources a full range of Chlor-Alkali related materials for all global regions.

Tom brings over 35 total years of experience in the chemical industry and has 29 years of service with Nouryon.  He holds degrees in both Chemistry and Applied Mathematics.  During his time with Nouryon, Tom has held roles in Sales and Marketing, Site Management and Manufacturing, and Integrated Supply Chain departments.  Tom has spent the last 15 years within the Nouryon Supply Chain and Procurement Organization.

Nicklas Smith Shipbroker/CEO NETCO

As Chief Executive Officer of NETCO, Nicklas Smith leads all commercial, market analysis, and business development activities for the international brokerage house. He has been an active broker and held numerous leadership roles during his 30+ years of service to NETCO. Since its founding in 1984, NETCO has grown from its roots as a lone Connecticut office to a global operation brokering freight contracts for liquid bulk chemicals, vegetable oils, lubricants, clean petroleum products, projects, liquefied petroleum gas, and petrochemical gasses. NETCO’s relationship with vessel owners, traders, and producers gives Nicklas a unique insight into trends and market patterns across the value chain.

Frank Vingerhoets President Katoen Natie

Frank A.Vingerhoets has been the president of Katoen Natie Gulf Coast Inc. For the last 20 years.

With more than 7,0 mio sq ft of warehouses and a 3000 railcar packaging capacity/month in Houston alone they are the biggest logistics service provider for the petrochemical industry in Texas. Katoen Natie operates over 12-mio sq ft of warehouse in the USMCA with locations in Dallas, Baton Rouge, Norfolk, New Jersey, Montreal, Sarnia, Edmonton, Mexico City, Silao, Altamira etc…

As a veteran of the Katoen Natie group with over 32 years of experience in global logistics, he now heads the petrochemical logistics activities of the Katoen Natie Group in the USMCA area.

During his career with the Katoen Natie Group he has held positions in Belgium, Scotland, Singapore, Japan, Canada and the USA.

The Katoen Natie group is the largest global logistics service provider for the petrochemical industry in the world and handles more than 45 mio tones of polymers on a yearly basis.

He holds a degree in Nautical Science of the Nautical university of Antwerp.

David Yankovitz Principal US Chemicals Marketplace Leader Deloitte

With 30+ years’ experience, David develops growth strategies to strengthen the Chemical and Specialty Materials sector. He is known for building enduring client relationships with CEOs and C-Level executives at premier international companies in both growth and cost containment initiatives. David’s breadth of experience encompasses business strategies, innovation, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, supply chain and operations across Energy and Chemicals. High impact results include leading growth strategies, digital transformation, and environmental strategies focused on sustainable products, lowering GHG emissions, sourcing renewable energies, and increasing circularity.

Rajesh Samarth VP & Managing Director, Chevron Lummus Global Lummus Technology

Rajesh Samarth serves as the VP and Managing Director of Chevron Lummus Global (CLG), a joint venture between Lummus Technology and Chevron. In his role, he oversees CLG’s strategic direction, championing innovative technology and catalyst developments that ensure a profitable growth trajectory for the business. Drawing from more than thirty years of industry experience, Rajesh is well-known for his expertise in refining and petrochemicals, particularly in process conceptualization, planning, research and development and detailed engineering. He holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Louisiana State University.

Susan Bell Sr. Vice President Downstream Rystad Energy

Susan Bell is a professional chemical engineer with over 25 years of experience in the petroleum industry.  Her expertise is with refinery planning and optimization.  She is based in Calgary, Canada and has experience with many facets of the oil industry from refinery capital planning, refinery run plan optimization, crude oil market development, commercial negotiations, and mergers/acquisitions.  Susan just joined Rystad Energy in September.

Benjamin Heard COO & President Gulf Coast Sequestration

Benjamin Heard has over a decade of experience in the energy industry, founding companies, leading business development, and providing legal counsel.

As an entrepreneur, he has started retail electricity, energy infrastructure and exploration and production companies. Benjamin led business development efforts in North America for Centrica plc, with a focus on energy technology. He also worked for Centrica in the company’s general counsel’s office.

He began his career at Bracewell LLP in the energy transactional and regulatory practice group. Benjamin has a juris doctor degree from Emory University and a Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude, from Vanderbilt University.

Karl Doenges Executive Director, Charging Analytics Program and Transportation Retail Integration Program Transportation Energy Institute (TEI)

Karl Doenges is the Executive Director of the Transportation Energy Institute (TEI) Charging Analytics Program and the Transportation Retail Integration Program. Karl also represents the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) on the coming disruption in mobility and how that effects EV charging site hosts. In this role, Karl focuses on NACS’ EV charging infrastructure and EV-retail integration programs, TEI’s EV analytics programs and engaging the EV industry.

Previously, he was Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Business Development for Sweetwater Energy, President of Clean Fuel Distribution, Director of Global Marketing at Wagner and Brown, Ltd., consultant for fuel, energy and technology for various companies and Vice President of Marketing and Government Affairs for Gradiant Corporation.

Karl also worked in the United States International Trade Administration, establishing the energy exporting team – coordinating the federal agencies engaged in energy and exports.

Karl is a member of the State Bar of Texas, served on the U.S. District Export Council for the U.S. Department of Commerce, is an international business graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) and Master of Business Administration from Texas Tech University.

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.

Tim J. Cesarek Chief Commerical Officer Gevo

Timothy J. Cesarek has served as Chief Commercial Officer of the Company since March 2018. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Cesarek was the Senior Vice President, Global Business Development, of Enerkem, a waste to chemicals and fuels company, where he was responsible for leading the commercial and project development efforts from 2012 to 2018. From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Cesarek served as Managing Director in the Organic Growth Group and Organic Recycling business for Waste Management, Inc., where he was responsible for directly investing in opportunities for Waste Management to optimize the value of the waste it managed, particularly through waste conversion into biofuels, renewable chemicals, energy and lawn and garden products. Prior to Waste Management, Mr. Cesarek was the President of Koch Genesis Company LLC, an investment arm of Koch Industries, Inc., from 2001 to 2009, specializing in commercial ventures, licensing and early stage investments in the petrochemicals, forest products, polymers, resins and consumer products industries. Mr. Cesarek has over 30 years of business development and private equity experience with over 15 of those years in renewable fuels, chemicals and energy.

April Crow Vice President, External Affairs and Investor Relations Circulate Capital

As a globally recognized Sustainability leader, April has more than two decades of experience working throughout the value chain in a diverse set of roles in Sustainability, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs and Quality.  In 2018 she helped launch Circulate Capital, an investment management firm dedicated to incubating and financing companies that prevent the flow of ocean plastic waste to the world’s ocean and advancing the circular economy where she currently leads Investor Relations and External Affairs.

Previously, she worked as Senior Director, Environment & Sustainability for The Coca-Cola Company providing leadership for the company’s environmental, sustainability and governance platform.

April has been one of the leading industry voices — pushing forward research, coalitions and programs to help understand and tackle the marine debris issue and advancing the Circular Economy.  She has developed and managed programs and collaborative efforts in partnership with government, industry and non-government organizations.  She was instrumental in the founding of the Trash Free Seas Alliance and was a founding member American Institute for Packaging and the Environment. She served on the Executive Committee for the Michigan State University Center for Packaging Innovation, the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, the Ocean Exchange, NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries Business Advisory Council and as an advisor for the New Materials Institute.

An active volunteer and mother of two, she was named to the University of Georgia’s 40 under 40 for her impact in business, leadership, community, and philanthropic endeavors.  She has served as a trustee for the 4-H Foundation, the University of Georgia Alumni Association, the Captain Planet Foundation and Leadership Georgia.

Mitch Toomey Vice President Sustainability American Chemistry Council (ACC)

As Vice President of Sustainability and Responsible Care, Mitch Toomey is responsible for leading the strategic implementation of ACC’s world-class EHS&S performance initiative and executing the industry’s commitment to sustainability – through innovation, collaboration, and technologies that enhance the safety and environmental impacts of ACC member products and operations.

Previously, Mitch served as Director of Sustainability for BASF Corporation and also spent more than 15 years with the United Nations and UN Development Programme (UNDP), where he helped champion the United Nations global social responsibility and sustainability movement. He also led UN engagement and expert dialogues for the 2012 Rio Conference on Sustainability, launched the UNDP Innovation Facility, and served as lead author for the UNDP Knowledge Management Strategy. Prior to joining the UN, Mitch worked in the private sector building two startups.

Mitch earned both an MBA and BA from New York University.

Dan Withers Director Business Development Advario

Mr. Withers joined Advario (formerly Oiltanking) in 2019 as Director of Business Development North America where he is responsible for growth projects including new energy initiatives such as hydrogen and ammonia. He has been in the petrochemical, refining and mid-stream businesses since 1984 and has worked on many projects over the years.  Prior to joining Advario he was president of Cogent Energy Solutions. He spent 20+ years working for Shell Chemical, Koch Chemical and Sterling Chemicals.  He graduated from MS State University with a degree in chemical engineering.

Bob Maughon Executive Vice President, Sustainability, Technology & Innovation and Chief Technology and Sustainability Officer SABIC

Bob Maughon is the SABIC EVP, Sustainability, Technology & Innovation and CTO & CSO.  He oversees a global organization with 19 research centers and a talented team focused on process, product and application innovation to support SABIC’s growth.  Additionally, Maughon has responsibility for Corporate Sustainability, Product Stewardship, Technology Licensing, Technology Ventures, and Chairs the ESG Steering Committee.

Prior to joining SABIC in 2019, Maughon completed a 21 year career with Dow, most recently serving the R&D vice president for Packaging & Specialty Plastics and Hydrocarbons.

Maughon serves as a member for the University of Michigan Engineering Leadership Advisory Board, American Chemical Society Sustainable Development Advisory Council, Alliance to End Plastic Waste Board, AspenTech Executive Advisory Board, and Value Balancing Alliance Steering Committee.

Maughon earned his BA degree in chemistry from Rice University and his PhD in organic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology.

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.

Thomas Asselman SVP Strategy & Chief Strategy Officer OMV

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.

Ken Fukui General Manager ITOCHU Corporation Energy & Chemicals Company

Ken Fukui is the general manager of ITOCHU Corporation Energy & Chemicals Company, basic chemicals department and a member of Hydrogen & Ammonia Project section as well.

I have joined ITOCHU Corporation in 1993, and in my 31st year career with ITOCHU Corporation.

My current role at ITOCHU Corporation with the basic chemicals department is to set our global strategy, and execution of marketing, trading, logistics, and risk control, for aromatics (benzene, toluene, mixed xylenes, para xylene, styrene), ethylene glycols, PET, EO/PO derivatives, MMA, methanol, ethanol, sulfur, sulfuric acid and ammonia.

I am also director of our petrochemical JV plants.

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.

Daniel Gillis Technology Director Chevron Lummus Global

Dan Gillis is the Technology Director for Chevron Lummus Global where he leads technology business development and new technology commercialization activities.

He is regarded as an international expert on hydroprocessing, heavy oil processes, their applications, as well as integrated solutions. He is well known in the industry and has authored numerous papers on all hydroprocessing and residue processing technologies and their role in modern refining.

With the emphasis on energy transition, Dan has more recently been focusing on CLG’s sustainable fuels technology applications and circular solutions where he has been instrumental in developing and commercializing technologies that convert low carbon intensity feedstocks into renewable fuels.

His career spans over 40 years from refinery operations through project development, technology development, and licensing. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from the University of Saskatchewan, Canada.

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.

Ramkumar Shankar Managing Director Chemplast Sanmar Ltd

Ramkumar Shankar is the Managing Director of the Indian Chemical Business (Chemplast Sanmar Ltd (CSL) & Chemplast Cuddalore Vinyls Ltd (CCVL)) of the $1.5 billion Sanmar Group.  With sales of around Rs. 5500 crores, this is a multi-location, multi-product business focused on the chloro-vinyl space. CCVL is India’s second largest Suspension PVC producer while CSL is the largest Paste PVC producer in the country. CSL is also a leading manufacturer of custom manufactured chemicals catering to global innovators and a producer of caustic soda and chlorinated solvents.

Ramkumar Shankar is a finance professional with over three decades of experience in functional and general management areas, and has played leadership roles in industry associations. He is a past  President of the Alkali Manufacturers’ Association of India, the national association representing the caustic soda, PVC and soda ash industries and is currently the Vice President of The Madras Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a leading Tamilnadu industry body with around 187 years of history,  and a member of the National Chemical & Petrochemical Committee of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Matthew Rush Director Petrochemical Marketing Enterprise Product Partners

Mr. Rush is currently the Director of Petrochemical Marketing and is responsible for all domestic and international marketing activities around ethylene and propylene. He joined Enterprise Products in 2010, and has spent the last 10 years in various roles within the Petrochemical group including feedstock procurement, business development, commercial services, and sales. Prior to joining the Petrochemical team he was responsible for Enterprise’s midcontinent wholesale propane business. and prior to that spent multiple years in the distribution/logistics group scheduling various assets and product movements. Mr. Rush currently serves as Vice President of the Northeastern Chemical Association and as a member of the AFPM Petrochemical Statistics Subcommittee. Mr. Rush earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Supply Chain Management with a minor in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Angelo Morales Executive Director, Commodities Sales & Trading Group Morgan Stanley

Angelo Morales is an Executive Director in the Commodities Sales & Trading Group at Morgan Stanley.  Based in New York, he covers a wide range of corporate accounts globally.  Angelo works with clients on tailored risk management programs that seek to mitigate exposure to commodities price volatility.  He has expertise in a wide range of markets, including petrochemicals, energy, carbon, metals, and agriculture.  Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Angelo was a Vice President in the Macro Division at Barclays, where he spent most of his time on risk management solutions and commodities markets.

Thomas Kwan Director Sustainability Research Schneider Electric

Thomas Alan Kwan is Director of Sustainability Research for Schneider Electric’s Sustainability Research Institute. At the Institute he heads industry decarbonization and circularity where he collaborates with prominent universities, national laboratories, coalitions, and NGOs. Prior to his role at Schneider Electric, he led research and development for planet positive materials and products at Unilever and previously served at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He holds a PhD from the Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering at Yale University and was an AGLP Fellow where he advanced thought leadership at the nexus of micro-manufacturing, eco-design, and entrepreneurship. With a background in industry, regulatory, and academia, he is known for synergizing a systems approach with his collaborative character and has been recognized across topic areas, from Intel to the National Science Foundation, for his innovation and leadership. He is passionate about environmental justice and accelerating climate action to ensure the health and prosperity of future generations. 

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.

Kreshka Young North America Business Director, Energy & Climate Dow Chemical

Kreshka Young is Dow’s North America Business Director for Energy & Climate. In this role she is responsible for developing and implementing competitive and reliable energy and climate change strategies for Dow’s manufacturing sites across North America, and for implementing strategic investments and business models to preserve Dow’s competitiveness through the energy transition.  In addition, she leads Dow’s effort to implement a small modular nuclear reactor project at a USGC facility by approximately 2030.

Kreshka holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Alberta and an MBA from the University of Calgary.

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.

Emily McClain Vice President Gas Market Rystad Energy

Emily McClain is a Vice President on Rystad Energy’s Gas Markets team with over 10 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, having served in various technical roles with IHS Markit, Williams and Shell. In her current role at Rystad, she is responsible for providing natural gas expertise focused on the North Americas gas market, including the United States, Canada and Mexico. Her responsibilities include coverage of upstream, midstream and downstream gas as well as pricing analysis across different North American price hubs. She is a frequent commentator on gas market affairs and has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, and other television and radio outlets.

Claudio Galimberti North America Research Director Rystad Energy

Claudio Galimberti is the North America Research Director at Rystad Energy, leading a team of experts in the analysis of Oil & Gas Markets, Power, Renewables, Supply Chain, Shale, Upstream, Downstream, and Energy Transition in the North America region.

He is also the Head of Oil Demand, both short and long term, at global level.

An economist by training, he has worked in the oil industry for over 20 years, starting at Shell Trading in Europe and holding a variety of senior Strategy, Commercial and Analytics roles out of the US over the past 2 decades.

Prior to Rystad, he was with S&P Global Platts as Global Head of Demand, Refining, Agriculture & Risk. He was also at Trafigura as Global Head of Product Analysis.

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.

Yoichi Yasutomi Senior Researcher R&D Sumitomo Chemical Company

Yoichi Yasutomi is a senior researcher of R&D at Sumitomo Chemical Company in Japan. After graduating from Kyushu University with a degree in science, he joined Sumitomo Chemical in 2011. During his career at Sumitomo Chemical, he has been involved in the development of polymerization catalyst of polypropylene, industrialization study of bulk product, and development of new applications for poly methyl methacrylate. More recently, he has been working on the development of chemical recycling technology for polymethyl methacrylate.

Go Yoshida Deputy Manager MMA Division Sumitomo Chemical Company

Go Yoshida is a Deputy Manager of MMA Division of Sumitomo Chemical Company, Limited.

After graduating from Osaka City University with degree in business administration, he has joined Sumitomo Chemical since 2007. During his carrier in Sumitomo Chemical, he has engaged in domestic sales and export of polypropylene, starting-up of the sales and marketing function in Petro Rabigh project in Saudi Arabia, business and procurement strategies planning for polymers at Automotive Materials Division after coming back from Saudi Arabia as well as business planning at MMA Division. More recently, he is engaging in marketing of recycled plastics to make the society more sustainable, which is the responsibility and commitment of Sumitomo Chemical as one of world-scale chemical companies.

Eiko Ito Assistant Manager R&D Sumitomo Chemical Company

Eiko Ito is an Assistant Manager of R&D at Sumitomo Chemical Company in Japan. Since joining the company, she has consistently focused on development of polyolefin materials to reduce environmental impact of plastics. In addition, she serves as a researcher in the field of polyolefin packaging. Over the years, she has engaged with polyolefin packaging manufacturers, not only in Japan but also globally, seeking their perspectives.

Marcy Sanderson Vice President X - Energy

Sanjay Moolji Global Business Director - Polymers Tricon Energy Ltd.

Mr. Sanjay Moolji is the Global Business Director of Tricon Energy Ltd for their Polymer business and the Global Product Director & Head for their polypropylene business and is based out of Houston, Texas in the USA.

He has been with Tricon Energy Limited since July 2009 and has been a key member and architect of Tricon polymer business Globally.

Prior to his current assignment, he was the General Manager for Exports of Reliance Industries Limited for Polymers Sector. In Reliance he had been in International marketing for polymers in various positions including overseas assignments in Indonesia and China.

Sanjay had his early education in India and is an Economics Graduate from the Calcutta University and has more than 35 years of Global experience of Sales & Marketing and Product management experience in a spectrum of industries ranging from Polymers, Industrial Chemicals, Consumer Durables, Pharmaceuticals and Bulk Drugs.

He is widely traveled and has participated in various international forums and conferences as speaker.

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.

Almir Viana Cotias Filho Head of Vinyls Business Braskem

Chemical Engineer professional with more than 25 years of experience in the Chemical industry, and with background in manufacturing, supply-chain, marketing & sales of petrochemicals and business leadership in a multi-cultural environment.

In Braskem since 2000 working in different positions as Head of Aromatics& Fuels, Managing Director of Braskem Singapore, Head of Sales for Petrochemicals in US, Marketing & Planning Director, Specialty Chemicals Business Leader and more recently in charge of the Vinyls Business.

Also important to mention the participation in associations as Brazilian PVC Institute (President of the Board) and Trata Brazil Institute (Board Member), entities related to promote PVC applications and sanitation development respectively

During my professional journey I learned how chemicals and polymers could help to increase people´s life quality and sure that this industry is part of the solution for the challenge we have to create a better and sustainable world

Graham Copley Co-founding Partner C-MACC

Graham is co-founder of C-MACC, a strategy, and research-based consulting company focused on the chemical industry and based in Houston.  Graham is a past senior executive with direct experience in business and people management, M&A, finance, consulting, and strategy in both the Chemical/Material Science and Energy Industries (and adjacencies) and Investment Banking and Securities.

Previously Graham was co-founder of Pentant LLC and Head of the Industrials and Basic Industries Research at SSR LLC.  Pentant purchased SSR in 2013.  Pentant, founded in 2012, is a focused advisory and consulting business, with strong roots in the global chemical and financial industries.  In one engagement Graham took the role of CEO and Lead Board Director BioNitrogen Holding Corp – and steered the company through a chapter 11 restructuring.

Prior to Pentant Graham was an executive director and head of US Equities for Macquarie Capital USA and built an equity platform from scratch which involved two acquisitions.  During that time Graham was a Board director of Macquarie Securities USA (the broker-dealer); a Compliance committee director; a 401K advisory board director; a member of the US management committee of Macquarie, and the Director of the “women in Macquarie” advisory group.

Prior to Macquarie Graham was Head of Global Equity Research at HSBC. The group included around 185 analysts and associates globally, plus support, plus an offshoring operation in India with an additional 100 analysts.  The onshore research was run out of 12 global offices.

Graham’s chemical industry focus began with a chemical engineering degree from Imperial College London and early career with BP Chemicals, progressed for a further 9 years in consulting through CMAI (Chemical Market Associates Inc.) CMAI sold to IHS Markit in 2011 (and is now split between S&P Global and CMA (part of OPIS), and ultimately at Sanford C. Bernstein for 8 years as a chemical research analyst in the financial services industry, where he achieved consistent top-ranked recognition.

Rick Beuttel Vice President Business Development, Hydrogen Bloom Energy

Bob Oesterreich Vice President Global Sales, Hydrogen Chart Industries

Bob Oesterreich is the Vice President of Global Hydrogen Sales for Chart Industries. Bob is responsible for executing Chart’s global hydrogen equipment sales strategy in the hydrogen energy markets. His responsibilities include identifying new markets for growth, developing key partnerships, identifying strategic investments, and creating new product offerings along the hydrogen energy value chain.

Bob has over 24 years of experience in industrial gas applications, and business development across a variety of industries, including hydrogen energy, steelmaking, aluminum and photovoltaics. Prior to joining Chart, Bob spent 10 years developing the US hydrogen energy business for a major industrial gas company. This included developing new hydrogen supply chains, building and operating hydrogen hubs and vehicle fueling stations. Bob holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering.

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.

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.

Andrew Cunningham Director, Global Sourcing- Directs & Indirect Rayonier Advanced Materials

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.

Lauren Foster Senior Writer Barron's

Bio coming soon

Avi Salzman Senior Writer Barron's

Bio coming soon

Lisa Street Executive Director, Head of Carbon & Climate Markets OPIS, A Dow Jones Company

Ms. Street, Executive Director, Head of Carbon and Climate Markets at OPIS, is an expert in developing pricing solutions for environmental commodities markets. Her current work focuses on bringing transparency to the voluntary and compliance carbon markets as well as decarbonization strategies so that energy transition and climate action leaders can make informed business decisions. Ms. Street launched the OPIS Carbon Markets Report for daily compliance carbon market pricing in 2014. More recently, in December 2020, she launched the OPIS Global Carbon Offset Report, debuting world’s first daily pricing suite for voluntary carbon credits. Ms. Street has more than 15 years’ experience with Price Reporting Agencies. She holds a BS in Journalism from the University of Houston and a certificate in Yale’s Financing and Deploying Clean Energy Program.

Ben Scriber Director, North America NGLs OPIS, A Dow Jones Company

Ben Scriber, the Director of Natural Gas Liquids and LNG, joined OPIS, A Dow Jones Company, in 2015. With over 20 years of experience in the North American NGL industry, Ben has experienced several bearish and bullish markets, and witnessed the ever-changing evolution of the NGL industry, including the growth of Mont Belvieu and its importance in the global NGL market. Prior to joining OPIS, he was a retail and wholesale supply manager for AmeriGas, the largest propane retailer in North America, and began his career as an analyst for a startup company called Chalkboard, which was then acquired and absorbed into the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE). As a balance, Ben also actively serves on the board of the LPG Charity Fund and the Petrochemical Feedstock Association of the Americas.

Kathy Hall Executive Director PetroChem Wire by OPIS

Prior to joining OPIS by Dow Jones, Kathy was the founder of PetroChem Wire, a daily news and pricing service dedicated to the US olefin and polymer markets. The company’s ethylene and propylene assessments serve as benchmarks for futures contracts that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) and are widely used by the petrochemical and plastics industries as a reference in supply contracts and also spot market transactions.

In addition to its daily reports, PetroChem Wire also publishes weekly reports about PVC and also recycled plastics. The OPIS PCW Recycled Plastics Weekly has published continuously since 2010.

In 2018, OPIS acquired PetroChem Wire. Kathy now serves as OPIS’ executive director for global petrochemical products. Prior to founding PetroChem Wire, Kathy spent more than 10 years as an editor and manager at Platts, focused on petrochemical markets.

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.

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.

Philip Wagner Principal Research Analyst McCloskey by OPIS

Phil Wagner is a Principal Research Analyst at McCloskey by OPIS, leading research and forecasting for US and international coal, natural gas, and steel raw materials markets.

Mr. Wagner has been covering coal and natural gas markets for over 11 years with prior research roles with IHS Markit’s coal, metals, and mining team, Doyle Trading Consultants, a boutique energy research firm that specialized in the coal sector, and market analysis and strategy roles at Alpha Natural Resources, a US based coal producer.

In addition, Mr. Wagner has held positions in finance and business development for a nonprofit children’s hospital, and various marketing, strategy, and business development roles at Lafarge North America, a raw materials supplier to the construction and building materials industry. Mr. Wagner holds a Bachelor of Science from York College of Pennsylvania.

Dave Pettit Managing Editor Dow Jones & Co.

Dave Pettit, managing editor for strategy and operations of Dow Jones & Co., works with leaders across Dow Jones — including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s Group, Risk & Compliance and OPIS — to develop content initiatives that enhance the reach and influence of Dow Jones journalism. He also oversees content for the Barron’s Roundtable TV show, a collaboration with Fox Business. Previously, he was managing editor of Barron’s Group, where he developed news initiatives and oversaw standards. Before joining Barron’s Group, Dave held senior roles at The Wall Street Journal, most recently editor for editorial ventures. He held a variety of top editorial positions at WSJ.com and was part of the original team that launched the Journal website. He began his career as a reporter, covering Wall Street, investing and securities regulation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Nick Vafiadis Vice President, Global Plastics & Polymers Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Nick Vafiadis is the Vice President of the Plastics & Polymers business at Chemical Market Analytics.

Nick is a 30-year veteran of the chemical industry and manages Chemical Market Analytics’s global plastics practice. His daily responsibilities encompassed analysis, consulting, and reporting on the global polyolefins market, as well as managing the operations associated with producing and developing the report. Concurrently, he contributed to single-client projects and studies related to the polyolefins industry. In his earlier assignments, he was responsible for consulting duties associated with the Chlor-alkali and vinyl product chain. He contributed to the Monomers Market Report, the Chlor-Alkali Market Report, and the Global Plastics & Polymers Market Report.

Nick has been with IHS Markit base chemical business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), and its predecessor CMAI since 2002. Before joining CMAI, he had spent twelve years with Vista Chemical Company (now Condea Vista Chemical Company), where he held assignments in marketing, product management, and sales management in both the vinyl and surfactant business areas. Mr. Vafiadis holds a Management BBA from The University of Texas at Austin, United States.

James Williamson Vice President, Global Financial & Capital Markets Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

James Williamson is the Vice President for Financial & Capital Markets at Chemical Market Analytics.

Based in London, U.K., James is responsible for developing the base chemical business into the FCM client base. He is responsible for the development and publication of the Chemicals Advisory Service (CAS), a product designed to primarily meet the needs of the Buy-side investment community, utilizing the in-depth market knowledge and analysis from the chemicals franchise.

Before joining the IHS Markit Base chemical business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), James worked as a chemicals consultant for c.10 years, before moving into equity research and sales covering the chemicals sector for over 20 years, including time at UBS and Morgan Stanley.

After graduating from Imperial College, with a BSc in Mining Geology, James currently lives just outside London with his family.

Chuck Carr Vice President, World Analysis Strategic Team Lead Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Chuck Carr is Vice President of the strategic team at Chemical Market Analytics.

Chuck is responsible for providing strategic leadership for the global chemical supply/demand analytics and World Analysis publications. Prior to his current position, he was the global business leader for the Inorganics team, senior director of Global Olefins, and service leader for the North American Light Olefins Market Advisory Service at Chemical Market Analytics. His focus for the past 10 years has primarily been on olefins and the analysis of the propylene and propylene derivatives markets for hundreds of global customers.

Chuck’s expertise encompasses the oil and gas and chemicals industries, including refinery engineering/operations, purchasing, plastics logistics, and olefins commercial activities. Prior to joining the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics) in 2011, he served as director of propylene studies in the olefins group of Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) since 2006. Previously, he was with Total Petrochemicals USA for more than two decades.

He received a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas.

Robin Waters Executive Director, Global Circular Plastics Sustainability Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Robin Waters serves as Executive Director of Chemical Market Analytics focused on planning and analysis for the advisory services that cover polyethylene and polypropylene.

Mr. Waters brings more than three decades of industry experience to his role as Director of plastics planning and analysis. His responsibilities at Chemical Market Analytics cover polyethylene and polypropylene, including support for both market advisory services as well as single client projects and studies related to polyolefins. He served as project lead for “Plastics Pathway to Sustainability”, the multiclient study on plastics sustainability issued in November 2018 and is project lead for “Changing Course: Plastics, carbon and the transition to circularity” an expanded multi-client study on plastics sustainability to be issued in 2020. Mr. Waters joined Chemical Market Analytics in 2012 as Director of Polyolefins-North America. Previously, he was with LyondellBasell in commercial management roles in polyethylene and polypropylene for 15 years, including new business startups and third-party marketing agreements, regional sales management, strategic planning, and contract management. He began his career at DuPont, initially as a business analyst for supporting the global elastomers business followed by technical, sales, and business management assignments for a variety of films and resins in packaging markets. Mr. Waters holds a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the University of Georgia and an MBA from the University of Miami, both in the United States.

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. Prior to 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 then held senior consulting and research positions at IHS Markit legacy companies PFC Energy and CMAI.

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 where he leads a group focused on analyzing 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 with an emphasis 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, 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 as well as presented at numerous Olefins and Elastomers Conferences around the world.

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

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.

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

Joel Morales is the Vice President at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones company.

Joel joined the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), 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 prior to 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.

Eddie Kok Executive Director, Global Vinyls Service Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Eddie Kok is Executive Director of the Inorganics Group at Chemical Market Analytics

Eddie has global responsibility for the Vinyls Market Advisory Service. He has more than 20 years of experience in the chemical industry, holding broad responsibilities including regional sales, marketing, business development, and product management. Eddie joined Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) in 2004 as a consultant. Eddie has responsibility for providing market coverage and analysis for the chlor-alkali and vinyls market in Asia. Eddie has a good grasp of the global chlor-alkali and vinyls sector dynamics and is the go-to person for data and market intelligence in Asia.

Before CMAI, at IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), Eddie broadened his responsibility and assumed the team leader role for the Vinyls Market Advisory Service. Over the years, he has worked on numerous chlor-alkali and vinyls projects around the Asia-Pacific region, providing analytical and planning support to clients.

Eddie holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Campbell University, North Carolina, United States.

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

Nick Kovics is the Vice President at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Kovics leads the global chlor-alkali market advisory team and holds specialized expertise related to pulp-bleaching chemicals including sodium chlorate and hydrogen peroxide.

Nick Kovics brings 25 years of chemical industry experience to the Chemical Market Analytics Inorganic chemicals insights team. He joined Chemical Market Analytics in 2017 as Global Bleaching Chemicals Global Service Lead. Mr. Kovics went on to lead the Global Lithium & Battery Materials team before being promoted to Chlor-alkali Chemicals Global Service Lead in 2020.

Mr. Kovics has a varied background having worked in upstream energy, new energy, and electrochemical. He held a range of functional roles in several companies prior to joining the IHS Markit base chemicals business (now known as 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. Nick’s career continued in the electrochemical sector when he joined Canexus and held positions in chlor-alkali chemicals and sodium chlorate marketing.

Nick holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering, an MBA, and is a Canadian Certified Professional Accountant.

Francesco Martella Associate Director, EMEA Chlor-alkali Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Francesco Martella is currently the Associate Director for the EMEA region for Chlor-alkali, also in charge of the global sodium sulfate market.

Prior to joining IHS Markit base chemical (now known as Chemical Market Analytics), Francesco has matured a long experience in the Technology industry as a Business Development Analyst in the Strategy, Operations, and M&A division at Salesforce. Before that, he worked in Milan as a Consultant at Oracle and People. Francesco holds a master’s degree in Economics and Management of Innovation and Technology from Bocconi University and has recently completed an Executive Education course on Data Analysis for Management at the London School of Economics. As an Economics and Analytics expert, Francesco brings with him strong technological and economic expertise, together with a deep knowledge of the industry.

Ana Lopez Director, Americas Chlorine & Vinyls Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Ana Lopez is the Director for Chlor-alkali & vinyls 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 coverage for the sodium sulphate global market.  She contributes to the monthly reports on those topics and has presented on several occasions 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 as well as petrochemical commodities markets.

Prior to 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.

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.

Paulo Pereira Executive Director, North America Caustic Soda Research Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Paulo Pereira is the Executive Director of the North American Light Olefins business at Chemical Market Analytics.

Paulo joined Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS in December 2022 as Executive Director, North America Caustic Soda Research. He is a native of Santos, Brazil, and graduated in 1984 from Maua Engineering School in Sao Paulo, Brazil with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering. Upon graduating, Paulo joined Dow Chemical at the Guaruja site in Sao Paulo state.  After 22 years in Dow Chemical Epoxy and Polyurethane operations in Brazil, the U.S., and Italy, Paulo joined Dow’s Technology Centers division, leading the global Polyurethane and Alkoxylation technology teams. In 2019, he was seconded to Sadara Chemical Company in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia as Technology Director and subsequently repatriated to the U.S. in 2021.  Paulo’s extensive knowledge of the chemical industry and chlor-alkali derivative markets adds to the already industry-leading expertise of Chemical Market Analytics global chlor-alkali research team.

Leonardo Mancilla Director, Latin America Polyolefin Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Leonardo Mancilla is a Director in the Polyolefins group at Chemical Market Analytics.

He leads polyethylene and polypropylene market coverage for Latin America. Before joining the Chemical Market Analytics Polyolefins team, Leonardo worked as a contractor for almost eleven years coordinating the research and production of the QuiMax Latin American report and its consulting service. After the merger of the QuiMax into the Global Plastics and Polymers Report (GPPR), Leonardo continued supporting the Latin American sections for the GPPR. He began his professional career in Pequiven, Venezuela, where his last job was Process Engineer in the Olefins plant. He also worked for Dow Chemical’s Emulsion Polymers business with roles in all the phases from Manufacturing to Business Planning. Before joining the QuiMax Report team in 2011, he worked as Operations Manager for chemical transport companies like ITT, Flexitank, and ITQ Inc. Leonardo holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University at Kingsville, United States.

Gordon Kuo Associate Director, Asia Vinyls Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Gordon Kuo is the Associate Director for the Global Chlor-alkali/Vinyls team at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Kuo is the associate director of the Global Vinyls/Chlor-alkali team at Chemical Market Analytics. He specializes in the polyvinyl chloride (PVC), vinyl chloride monomer (VCM), and ethylene dichloride (EDC) markets in Asia and contributes to several reports on these topics. He has many years of experience and an in-depth understanding of the vinyls industry. He held multiple roles with Taiwan VCM Corporation (TVCM) and China General Plastics Corporation (CGPC), a USI Group member. His previous responsibilities include salt/ethylene/EDC procurement, VCM sales in Asia, VCM/PVC production and operation management, marketing and cost analysis, and integrated vinyls business strategy. He holds a master’s degree in chemical engineering from National Taiwan University, Taiwan.

Prem Chitkara Executive Director-Polyester Fibers and Glycols & EO Derivatives Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Prem serves as Director for the Polyester and Glycols & EO business for Europe, Middle-East, and African markets.

Prem has the responsibility of polyester fibers, glycols & EO derivatives business for Chemical Market Analytics (CMA) at Dow Jones for the EMEA region. Prem has more than 28 years of rich and diverse industry experience globally in manufacturing, technical, expansion projects, sales & marketing, and business development, supporting him in his current role. He holds a degree in Textile Engineering and has earned an MBA degree as well. He has also completed an Executive Management Development Program from IIM Bangalore in India and also a Business Sustainability Management program from Cambridge University in the UK. Before joining CMA in 2017, Prem worked with Reliance Industries Limited for 23 years at different locations in India and Germany. He was based in Frankfurt from 2008 to 2017 where he was responsible for establishing Reliance’s Polyester business in the EMEA region.

William Chen, Ph.D Executive Director, Asia Olefins Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

William Chen is Executive Director at Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS, a Dow Jones Company.

He has expertise in industrial experience, including R&D, sales, and professional consulting services. He leads Asia Olefins business with research responsibilities for providing insight into the dynamics associated with the ethylene, propylene, C4 & 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. Write analyses for Weekly, Monthly, and Annual reports (Market Advisory Services and World Analyses). William also Leads the Asia Olefins business for strategic growth as well as provides ongoing commercial management. Focus on nurturing relationships with clients 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 as part of clients’ commercial and strategic decision-making processes. Within Chemical Market Analytics, William also has been involved in many petrochemical consulting projects and multiple client studies, including China Coal Chemical Study, Global Propane Dehydrogenation Research, and Refinery-cracker/aromatic complex feasibility study.

Prior to Chemical Market Analytics, William worked for ChemChina. At the company, William started as a chemical engineer in the 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 Ph.D from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and majored in Polymer Chemistry and Physics. William is based in Beijing China.

Wilson Loh Director, Asia Chlor Alkali Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Wilson Loh is the Director for Asian Chlor-alkali  at Chemical Market Analytics.

Wilson focuses on the Asian chlor-alkali markets and brings over 20 years of experience in chemical distribution and trading. His experience includes working for Chemical Industries (Far East) Limited, Univar Singapore, and as General Manager for Singapore and Asia for Basic Chemical Solutions Far East.

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

Brian Lee is the Executive Director for Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone at Chemical Market Analytics.

Brian is responsible for covering Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone market analysis and the market reports on Asian Aromatics.

Mr. Lee serves as an executive director at Chemical Market Analytics responsible for covering Styrene, Phenol, and Acetone market analysis and the market reports on Asian Aromatics.

He contributes to various market advisory publications and supports consulting activities. His distinguished career has spanned more than 25 years in the petrochemical and chemical industries.

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 also hosted the Asian conference including speaking. Mr. Lee started his career with Samsung C&T Corporation where he worked for 16 years both in Asia and Europe. He was responsible for trading and marketing BTX, Styrene, PX, and 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.

Lina Suarez Executive Director, North America Caustic Soda Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Lina Suarez is the Executive Director for Chlor-alkali & vinyls 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.

James Nicholson Executive Director, America Benzene, Pygas & Reformate Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

James Nicholson is the Executive Director for America Benzene, Pygas & Reformate at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Nicholson is the Research and Analysis executive director responsible for market coverage of Benzene, PyGas, and Reformate in North America.  He has 30 years of industry experience with 29 years having served Lyondell Chemical in a variety of roles including optimization, olefins feedstocks, trading, and multiple commercial roles where he was most recently Business Director – Aromatics and Oxygenated Fuels, Americas.

Henry Warren Director, EMEA Chlorine & Vinyls Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Henry Warren is the Director of the Inorganics Group at Chemical Market Analytics.

Mr. Warren is an integral member of the Vinyls Market Advisory Service. He performs market analysis of the polyvinyl chloride (PVC) industry and its precursors – ethylene dichloride (EDC) and vinyl chloride monomer (VCM). He is a key contributor to the annual World Analysis – Vinyls and the in-depth monthly vinyls service.

For most of his career, he has covered hydrochloric acid, chlorinated solvents, caustic potash, and caustic soda, but his focus has continued to center on vinyls. He joined Chemical Market Analytics when it acquired Harriman Chemsult, a highly regarded consultancy specializing in the chlor-alkali and vinyls segment.

Mr. Warren has a degree in economics and he entered the field of chemical market analysis in 1996, analyzing feedstocks and several polyolefin value chains in Europe, North America, and Latin America. Along with the stakeholder relationships he has built over several decades, his in-depth understanding of the industry contributes to the unparalleled level of insight that Chemical Market Analytics brings to this sector.

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.

Ashish Pujari Vice President, Asia Aromatics | Global Polyurethane Feedstocks | Polyester Fibers & Feedstocks | Polyester Stream Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Ashish Pujari serves as Vice President of Aromatics and Fibres in the Chemicals team at Chemical Market Analytics in Singapore.

Mr. Pujari has responsibility for the Asian Aromatics business and Global Fibres and Feedstocks business and is the service leader for subscription services covering the global Polyester, and the Asian Aromatics value chain. He also provides commercial leadership to the Polyurethanes Service within the Base chemicals group. Apart from the regular market and outlook updates, Mr. Pujari also leads initiatives in creating and updating the long-term outlook for the polyester value chain. He has also been involved in numerous consulting studies since joining the firm. Prior to joining Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) in 2009, Mr. Pujari gained 15 years of experience with Reliance Industries Limited in India. He started his career as a project and operations engineer and was involved in the startup and commissioning of the Hazira complex on the west coast of India. He shifted to the commercial role in mid-1998 and worked as a business analyst for Reliance’s executive management before shifting to a sales and marketing role, handling Fibers Intermediates. Mr. Pujari holds a B.E. in chemical and polymer engineering from Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune, India, and completed his Executive MBA, at the Indian Institute of Management (IIMB), Bangalore, India.

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.

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.

Utpal Sheth Executive Director, Asia Plastics & Polymer Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Utpal Sheth serves as the Executive Director for Research and Analysis at Chemical Market Analytics

Mr. Sheth led the regional Plastics Team in Singapore. He brings with him extensive industry experience and knowledge of 28 years in Asia and the Middle East. As a part of his current assignment, apart from leading the Weekly Regional Plastics Service, he contributes to various Market Advisory services as well as supports various consulting activities as an expert in the Polyolefins business.

He joined CMAI (now division of Chemical Market Analytics) as Director of Polyolefins / PVC for the Middle East and Indian Subcontinent at our Dubai office in October 2007. In July 2014, he has relocated to Singapore to lead the Plastics Service in Asia – Middle East. Prior to joining CMAI, Utpal had worked in the Sales and Marketing functions at Petrochemical Companies in India and the Middle East.

He is a Plastics Engineer and Master in Business Administration (Marketing). Apart from English, he can communicate in Hindi and Gujarati.

Matthew Thoelke Executive Director, EMEA Ethylene & Propylene Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Matthew Thoelke is the Executive Director for Olefins and Derivatives in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Chemical Market Analytics.

During his time with Chemical Market Analytics (formerly part of IHS Markit base chemicals business), and CMAI, Martin took a variety of roles across a broad range of product areas. With over 20 years of experience, Matthew acts as the key resource within the business for understanding and insight into the olefins sector of the petrochemical industry, for these key regions, he works closely with the petrochemical, oil and financial industries, bringing support and guidance throughout the petrochemical chain. Current specific responsibilities include the European/Middle East Report Olefins and primary input and support for the World Ethylene and Propylene Analyses.

Previously within CMAI, Mr. Thoelke has worked in both olefins and aromatics consulting in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with key responsibilities in olefins, but also in aromatics markets. His previous role had a primary focus on butadiene and elastomers, in which subjects he remains a globally recognized industry speaker and expert. His responsibilities included input to the Global Outlook – Feedstocks, Elastomers Report, European Market Report Aromatics, Aromatics Market Report, and taking the lead role in analyzing olefin and derivative markets in support of the long-term planning outlooks in the World Analysis.

Educated at Cambridge University Mr. Thoelke received a BA and MA in Material Sciences before completing a Diploma in Manufacturing Engineering (ACDMM).

Marcelo Wasem Director, Americas Purified Terephthalic Acid | Polyethylene Terephthalate Chemical Market Analytics by OPIS

Marcelo Wasem is the Director for Americas Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) at Chemical Market Analytics.

Marcelo Wasem is responsible for the coverage of the Purified Terephthalic Acid (PTA) and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) markets in the Americas. He is responsible for the development of detailed supply/demand analysis, cost analysis, global price discovery, and price forecasting for PTA and PET. Furthermore, he is also co-author of some Chemical Market Analytics reports in the Market Advisory Service scope.

Prior to joining Chemical Market Analytics, Mr. Wasem worked in petrochemical companies in Brazil, developing different roles in areas like supply chain, feedstocks, energy, and commercial, acquiring expertise through more than two decades of experience in the petrochemical industry. After moving to the United States, he developed some consultant projects on waste tire recycling.

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.