Our organisation

Hartwig Michels joined BASF in 1992 where he started his career in the Finance department. Having held senior managing positions in Controlling and Global Marketing in Germany and Singapore, he headed different global and regional business units. In 2008, he became President of BASF’s Procurement. 

Hartwig Michels was appointed President Region Europe & MEA in 2013 and assumed his current position as President Petrochemicals Division in 2017.

He has a background in banking and studied Business Administration at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Richard Roudeix is currently responsible for LyondellBasell’s Olefins business for the Europe region and the president of LyondellBasell companies in France. He has held roles in France, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and the USA, with business experience in Europe, North America and Asia with LyondellBasell and predecessor companies Basell, Elenac, Montell and Shell.  A significant proportion of his career has been in the polymers business. Richard is a graduate of the Ecole des Mines engineering school and of a post-graduate program from French Petroleum Institute.Since 2012, Richard has been appointed Chairman of the Association of Petrochemicals Producers in Europe (now renamed Petrochemicals Europe)

Over his 30 year long career in the Eni petrochemical business, Mr. Chiappani has held positions entailing growing responsibilities within industrial operations , sales, marketing, business service, technical assistance

Valued for his solid expertise in industrial operations management , mainly in Styrenics and Intermediates in Mantua site , from 2010 to 2012 Mr. Chiappani moved up to serve as site Director in Ferrara , which enabled him to enhance his experience across-the-board, by building competence in handling the polyethylene and elastomers businesses.

In 2012, Mr. Chiappani became an integral part of the Versalis Executive Team successfully by taking up the position of Executive Vice President of the Styrenics Business Unit , reporting directly to Versalis’ CEO and holds stewardship of both the unit commercial functions - sales, marketing, business service, technical assistance - and industrial operations  ,he has been instrumental in exceeding all performance targets until 2014, when he took on the new challenge of spearheading the Elastomers Business Unit. As Head of elastomers business was also in charge of the JV (with Lotte Chemical ) in Korea    ( Lotte Versalis Elastomers ) and Director of the Board of Chinese subsidiary Versalis Pacific Trading, with offices in Shanghai and Singapore and Director of the Board of Versalis Americas Inc., with head offices in Houston, Texas.

From July 2019 Head of the Intermediates Business Unit.

Marco Chiappani holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bologna.

Kate Johnson was appointed General Manager Intermediates EUAF with effect from January 1^st. 2017. Based in the Netherlands, she is accountable for the commercial delivery, and P&L, for a range of Chemical products in EUAF (Solvents, propylene oxide-related products, Ethylene Oxide, Styrene Monomer and Higher Olefins and Derivatives) with a team of about 100 people in a variety of commercial roles. The challenge in the role comes from the variety of markets as well as leading the community.

Kate joined Shell in the UK in 1986 after completing a chemistry degree. Her career in Shell has been largely in Chemicals - in commercial roles in different product lines, as well as in projects. Outside of Shell Chemicals, but within Shell, Kate has enjoyed stints in crude oil trading, Group Finance, procurement and the Shell bitumen and sulphur businesses.

She is recognized for driving performance and growth with an energizing and collaborative style with ability to quickly adapt to new situations and lead teams to respond.  She is a challenging but caring leader who builds environment of trust.

She also has a passion for diversity – representing the Downstream Businesses in the Shell Netherlands executive committee for the Shell women’s network as well as having been on the steering committee for D&I for the European Petrochemicals Association.

John McNally was born in the UK but was raised and educated in the USA. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1982 and a PhD in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1987.  

He has worked in the petrochemical industry for 27 years, first for BP and then INEOS, in a variety of Technical, Operational and Commercial Management roles in 5 countries. 

His most recent previous role was as Chief Operating Officer for INEOS Bio based in Florida, USA. He was appointed Chief Executive Officer for INEOS Olefins and Polymers, UK in August 2014. In the past four years, he has overseen over £500m of investment in the Grangemouth petrochemicals complex.

John is married and has two sons in university.  He currently resides with his wife in London near the INEOS UK Headquarters, but splits his time between the London and Grangemouth offices.

1986 German High School Degree Abitur

1988 Start career in HELM AG

1988 – 1990 Apprenticeship

1990 – 1991 Product Manager Polymers

1992 – 1998 Head of Department Polymers

1998 – 2006 Managing Director HELM Great Britain Ltd., London

2006 – 2009 Executive Manager Division Olefins & Glycols

2009 – 2019 Executive Director Business Unit Derivatives

2020 onwards Member of the Executive Board Business Line Chemicals

Chet M. Thompson

President, American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers

Chet Thompson began his role as president of the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers AFPM) in May 2015. Thompson leads a staff that advocates for petroleum refiners and petrochemical manufacturers before Congress and the Executive Branch on a broad range of public policy issues. AFPM, under his leadership, works to emphasize the importance of petroleum refiners and petrochemical manufacturers and their positive impact on U.S. manufacturing, jobs growth, energy independence and national security.

Prior to joining AFPM, Thompson was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Crowell and Moring LLP, where he was chairman of the Environment & Natural Resources Group, one of the country’s premier environmental practices. His practice included counseling, litigation, and regulatory and legislative representation for a wide array of clients under major environmental statutes, including the Clean Air Act; the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, the Resource Conservation Act; and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, Liability and Recovery Act. While at Crowell Morning he represented AFPM as external counsel for nine years.

Thompson previously served as deputy general counsel at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) where he provided legal advice to the Agency’s administrator, general counsel and program offices. Before joining EPA in 2004, he spent 10 years at Collier Shannon Scott PLLC, where his work focused on the Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

Thompson has been recognized as one of the leading lawyers in the U.S. by Chambers & Partners, and was awarded a Certificate of Accommodation by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2006. Thompson holds a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and a J.D. from the Catholic University Columbus School of Law. He and his family reside in Potomac, Maryland.

• 2015 – today  –  Covestro Deutschland AG Leverkusen, Procurement Global Logistics.
• 2010 – 2015  –  Bayer AG Leverkusen, Procurement, Global storage, bulk shipping and plant logistics.
• 2006 – 2010  –  Bayer AG Leverkusen, Procurement Global Plant Logistics.
• 1989 – 2006  –  Bayer Antwerp NV – different operational & site logistics management functions.
• 1988 – 1989  –  Steinweg NV Antwerp – shipping clerc.
• 1985 – 1986  –  Lloyd insurance  NV – insurance clerc.

• Swiss, married, two children
• Master degree in Corporate Finance
• 15 years with Bertschi, several positions as e.g. Head Merger & Acquisitions, MD of Nordic Bulkers (100% subsidiary of Bertschi), Group CFO, Head market entry MiddleEast and Plastics Hub Strategy Europe
• Most recent 5 years Managing Director of Business Unit Liquids Europe

Since August 1^st , 2018 Group CEO of Bertschi

Guy Bessant was appointed President, Stolthaven Terminals, a division of Stolt-Nielsen Limited, in March 2015. Prior to relocating to the Netherlands, he had more than fifteen years of experience in the chemical and transportation industries within the Asia Pacific and Middle East region having held senior management positions in Sasol, Covestro and Stolt-Nielsen.

He holds a BA in Modern Chinese Studies with Management from the University of Leeds (U.K.), a postgraduate diploma in International Commercial Law from Northumbria University (U.K.), and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde (U.K.).

Mr. de Vries holds a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from the Twente University and an INSEAD Certificate in “Finance for Executives”. He joined SABIC in 2003, achieving a wealthy experience both in Supply Chain, Logistics as well as Business Management in the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.  As Director Global Foam & Lightweight he drove the implementation of innovative foam and lightweight solutions into the market, leading a global and multidisciplinary team (Marketing, Technology and Sales) towards unmet needs in the Packaging, Automotive, Consumer Goods and the Construction markets. Prior to SABIC, Mr. de Vries worked as Site Logistics Manager and Production Office Manager at DSM in Geleen (the Netherlands). I am sending you enclosed a more detailed bio for your information.

Ismail Mahmud

Global Chemicals Director, Royal Vopak of the Netherlands

Ismail has been with Vopak for 17 years and is currently Global Director for Vopak’s chemicals business with offices in HQ located in Rotterdam. Prior to this role (since the last 4 years), Ismail was located in Singapore for 10 years where he held the positions of Commercial Director Asia and Managing Director Singapore. Prior to Vopak, Ismail worked for Engro Chemical (previously an ExxonMobil Affiliate) for a period of 8 years.

Currently, Ismail is responsible for sales, marketing and commercial activities in Vopak for all chemical related storage activities. Currently about 50 of the 76 terminals owned and operated by Vopak worldwide are for chemical businesses. His experience in logistics and tank storage services spans over multiple regions with specific focus on Industrial Terminaling, where he leads one of Vopak’s core strategies in this service market segment.

He is a Mechanical Engineer from Lehigh University, USA and an MBA in Finance from St. Joseph’s University, USA.

Mr. Perra graduated as Mechanical Engineer with a specialization in Maintenance Engineering at the University of Cagliari (Italy). He started his career as Site Manager Deputy and Responsible for Industrial Services Department at Polimeri Europe and since 2009 held several positions at Eni-Versalis, including those of Site Manager of the Ferrara (2012-2016) and Brindisi (2016-2019) sites.

After having studied in Belgium, France, Spain and Italy, Frederick started his career in The Netherlands, working for a large German corporation in the waste sector learning that every single aspect of that business was constantly monitored and measured to enable improvement.

By coincidence Frederick learned that the ‘rail & intermodal freight’-sector was still being operated relying very heavily on manual efforts leaving a big opportunity for improvement.

After 10 years of corporate experience, it was time to start up his own business to fill in the gap discovered in the rail sector. Thus Ovinto was born in 2010 with a mission to optimise the complete supply chain regarding rail & intermodal cargo. This because if we would only put 4% extra in rail freight, we would immediately reduce road transport by more than 9% having a phenomenal impact on mobility and CO2 emissions.

In the last 9 years Frederick has grown the company from a small startup focusing on the monitoring of extremely hazardous goods towards a reference player providing a technology platform to optimise rail & intermodal freight towards large chemical industries such as INEOS, Evonik, Sabic, LyondellBasell, Covestro… and working together with partners such as SAP, Deloitte and the European Space Agency.

1992-date                                 HAPAG-LLOYD AG

MANAGING DIRECTOR HAPAG-LLOYD OVERSEAS TRANSPORT S.A. (HLOT)           

HAPAG-LLOYD AREA TURKEY Izmir (2015-date) 

• Area Manager of Area Turkey (Turkey and Greece)

SENIOR DIRECTOR GLOBAL OPERATIONS & TERMINALS Hamburg (2009-2015)

• Develop global terminal strategies together with Hapag-Lloyd Regions and Ship Network

DIRECTOR OPERATIONS ITALY Genoa (2006-2009)

• Manage, steer and support the Operations teams

MARINE OPERATIONS DIRECTOR REGION EUROPE Hamburg (2005-2006)

• Coordination, cost effective management of the Marine Operations Region Europe

MANAGER PORT TERMINAL OPERATIONS ITALY Genoa (2001-2005)

FOCAL POINT OPERATIONS MALTA Malta (1999-2001)

PORT TERMINAL OPERATIONS BELGIUM Antwerp (1992-1999)

Peter van Egerschot is Logistics Director for Dow Europe since March 2018. He joined the Dow Chemical Company in 1997 in Terneuzen, Netherlands, and has since then worked in a variety of roles in supply chain planning, improvement and logistics. Prior to his current role, he was responsible for managing the supply chain for Dow’s Polyurethanes business in EMEAI as of 2012.

Peter holds a masters degree in mechanical engineering from Eindhoven University of Technology, a post masters in logistics management systems from the same university, and a MBA from Northwood University in Midland, Michigan (US).

Jean-Marc VIALLATTE, 45 years old, is a graduate engineer from IFMA (Institut Français de Mécanique Avancée) in France and from Cambridge University in the UK. He holds a Master’s in mechanical engineering and automated production systems, and an APICS certification.

In 1997 he joined the American group Avery Dennison as customer logistics Project Manager, before heading the introduction of an ERP system for France. He later held a number of Lean Sigma heavily oriented operational posts in plants, being consecutively production manager, plant manager and operations manager France.

In 2006 he joined the Hamelin group as Subsidiary General Manager before becoming Group Managing Director in charge of operations, supply chain and information systems. In this position he oversaw the complete transformation of the group, and put in place a new organization based on standardized processes and an SAP solution rolled out across the group’s 50 sites on the five continents.

In 2013 he joined the Tarkett group as supply chain Vice President for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, creating the group’s supply chain function, and later became the group’s Global supply chain Director in charge of the transformation.

Peter Devos is Managing Director at ECTA, the European Chemical Transport Association.

In 1988, he graduated as AgroEngineer from the University of Louvain, Belgium and holds a second master in Industrial and Business Management.

After a Supply Chain career of more than 25 years at Monsanto in different leading supply chain functions and disciplines across Europe, Peter started up his own independent company in 2016. As independent Supply Chain Practitioner, he is now focusing to further improve the Chemical logistics processes and this together with all stakeholders across the Chemical Supply Chain.

_{I hold a degree in Business, Economics & Media Communications and have 13 years experience working within a HR capaicty within the Chemical and Oil & Gas sectors, with the last 5 years spent in a Regional Management role within Huntsman Corporation. I lead a multinational team to support the business with recruiting and retaining the best talent for our organisation who can support the growth and development of Huntsman as a gloal business.}

_{My role in Huntsman encompasses, Talent Management, Early Careers / Internship Programs, Talent Analytics, Employer Branding and HR Project Management across our EMEA region.}

After graduating from Imperial College London with a degree in Chemical Engineering in 2008, Lucia began working for Repsol, on their graduate training scheme, obtaining a masters specialised in Petroleum Refining & Petrochemicals from the Instituto Superior de la Energía.

Since then she has been holding several positions in the company, including:

- Senior polyolefin healthcare specialist, Technical Service and Development 2019- present

- Polypropylene Film & Fibers specialist, Technical Service and Development 2013-2019

- Production engineer, Puertollano Refinery, 2009-2013

She is currently in charge of project development and serves as technical advisor to customers worldwide withexpert product, processing and application knowledgefor all Repsol Healthcare Polyolefin products. In her role she also works closely with account managers and product managers in developing and implementing product portfolio strategies and identifying opportunities to drive growth and create value in the field of medical and pharmaceutical applications.

Having graduated in science from the University of Edinburgh, Gina’s career in petrochemicals spans the last 35+ years.

After a short period in biomedical research, she spent 10 years at Exxon Chemical in marketing, steam cracker operations, and shipping both in the UK and the Brussels international HQ.

During her time at Exxon she was a founding member of WISTA (Women In Shipping and Trading Association), with 5 industry friends. WISTA has since grown into a global organisation offering training, support and networking opportunities to women in the industry.

The last 26+ years have been spent working in international trading, having founded the trading and logistics company, Integra in 1989.

In addition to her Integra trading company and main board positions, Gina sits on the board committees of the SCIC (Singapore) and GPCA (Mid East), BTS Tankers Singapore, a charitable medical foundation in Europe, and is president of the board of governors of the German European School, Singapore.

Gina is a regular speaker at conferences on shipping, logistics and petrochemicals for the main consulting companies.

In Asia as part of her commitment to social welfare, training and education she talks and works with companies to develop strategies for social impact investing both at local start-up and government body levels.

On a personal level, Gina is married with 2 school aged children and is currently studying for her diploma in fashion jewellery design and manufacturing at JDMIS in Singapore. In her spare time she is busy co- writing a book on Scottish social history in conjunction with the Scottish and Celtic history dept. of the University of Edinburgh.

Christoph´s career in Logistics started in 2005 when he joined GeoLogistics, today known as Agility

Logistics Solutions BV. Since then he has developed into his current role as National Operations Manager, Germany & Netherlands. 

In his current role he focuses on operational excellence by making sure working instructions are up to date and lead internal audit processes. Furthermore, he leads carrier and customer reviews with a high focus on key performance indicators (KPI). As the market demands efficiency, especially on OTIF – On Time in Full – he leads a project team looking for smart logistic solutions to improve the supply chains of customers whilst also focusing on reducing the environmental footprint. Christoph also leads a project in Germany and the Netherlands to reduce paper use and improve productivity while smartly implementing computer systems and aligning internal KPI measurements. This has already allowed the company to spread work over boundaries to ensure a high level of service is maintained, even during high order levels. 

In his first few years with Agility Christoph worked for multiple divisions within the company such as Airfreight / Sea freight / Overland / Fairs & Events and within the project department. Beside these responsibilities he also completed a Bachelor of Business Administration, graduating in June 2014 with the title of State Certified Business Economist.

Born in 1984, Alain Hadorn has finished his studies with a Master of Arts in Law and Economics in 2009 and worked in a leading business law firm in Zürich thereafter. He passed his bar exam in 2013. By January 2014, Alain Hadorn joined the Bertschi Group and has undergone a complete logistics traineeship program incl. planning, a period as truck driver, leading a dispatch-department as well as tender and HR management. Since 2015, Alain Hadorn is Project Manager Quotations for the Business Units Liquids of the Bertschi Group, and as such also Deputy Commercial Manager of this BU. He is married and father of 2 boys.

Derya Kurus-Ebermann is Business Director for C4 & Heavy Cracker Products in Europe at BASF.

The industrial engineering graduate has been with BASF since 2006 in several roles including supply chain and business management.

She also worked on the economic feasibility assessment of investment projects for BASF’s operating divisions Performance Materials and Intermediates.

Derya is passionate about mastering the complexity and fast-changing environment of the chemical industry.

Laurence Pavillard is holding a Master degree in Organization and Human Resources from the Pantheon-Sorbonne University (Paris 1). Over her thirty-year career within the Total Group, Laurence held different positions in the HR department with responsibilities for training, recruitment, compensation and benefits or workforce management. From 2010 until 2018, she was responsible for school relations and partnerships for the Marketing & Services Division. She is currently the Head of Diversity, HR Campaigns and Studies unit within the Career management department of Total Refining & Chemicals division.

Pilar brings over 20 years of progressive experience in corporate and business HR functions where she provided thought leadership, tactical design, delivery and oversight to a variety of state-of-the art and transformational HR, talent development and employee engagement initiatives across global locations.

In her current role, she is responsible for leading Repsol´s overall corporate culture strategy, diversity and inclusion and employee engagement initiatives. Committed and passionate about collaborative strategic development of innovative and socially responsible solutions to support business goals.

Pilar is an Executive Coach and holds a Bachelor´s degree in Psychology and a master in Human Resources from IE Business School. She serves the Board of the International Human Capital Organization and actively participates in several organizations committed to promote and highlight the valuable contribution of diverse and inclusive workplaces.

Paul Ruigt started his career with SABIC in 2006 where he currently holds the position of Category Manager for Shipping & Barging. He previously worked in the Supply Chain Polymers department and held a position within SABIC’s Company Procurement department. 

Paul holds a Master degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from the Technical University Eindhoven.

Anne van Dassen Müller, Chief HR Officer at Stolt-Nielsen Group

Since 2012, Mrs. Müller has been responsible for HR worldwide (6500 full time employees), actively supporting the strategic growth of Stolt-Nielsen Ltd and ensuring the optimal allocation of human resources. Previously Ms. Müller held the role of European HR Director for JohnsonDiversey, where she was in charge of supporting the transformation of the company from a decentralised to a centralised European organisation and ensuring the attraction and retention of talent during the process.