Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE

تحت رعاية صاحب السمو الشيخ محمد بن زايد آل نهيان، رئيس دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة

Supported by

Charlie Tan

CEO

Global Impact Coalition

Charlie
Charlie

Charlie is Chief Executive Officer at the Global Impact Coalition (GIC), a CEO-led cross-industry accelerator platform founded by some of the world’s leading chemical companies. GIC is focused on enabling new business models and investment in proof of concepts that drive net zero and circularity objectives. Charlie works closely with the CEO Advisory Board and Executive Committee, composed of c-suite leaders from GIC member companies, and he guides a team of partners and collaborators to drive projects from ideation to spin-off. Previously, Charlie was at the World Economic Forum, where he led the incubation and development of the Global Impact Coalition as a spin-off from the Low Carbon-Emitting Technologies (LCET) platform. Prior to the Forum, Charlie spent over a decade in commodities trading and building successful start-ups within the energy and shipping spaces. One of these included setting up a global shipping oil waste collection and recycling business, aimed at increasing waste traceability and transparency standards. This successful business was active in 35 ports in 22 countries with a truly global sustainability footprint. Charlie has a BSc in Business from Imperial College London and a CFA Certificate in Investment Management. Charlie has been featured in publications by The Financial Times, Business Matters, Sustainable Plastics, Energy Connects, Chemical Engineering, among others, and has written several articles for the World Economic Forum’s highly regarded Agenda blog. He is a regular speaker at global events including Reuters Sustainability Conferences, ADIPEC, Economist Impact Sustainability Week, ESF and Davos, and he has been on leading podcasts including Radio Davos, Energy Voice, and Edie’s Sustainability Uncovered. In addition, Charlie co-wrote a globally recognized policy whitepaper on chemical sector decarbonization endorsed by industry CEOs and regulators.

Session Overview
Tuesday, 4 November
12:55
Downstream & Chemical Conference Room A 12:55 - 13:35
Downstream and chemical resilience: the role of strategic mergers and joint ventures

The race to secure market position, enhance supply chains and future-proof operations is driving a wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint ventures (JVs) across the downstream, petrochemical and refining sectors. Companies are repositioning their portfolios to strengthen resilience and unlock new revenue streams, but with rising pressure on standalone assets, how critical is site integration to long-term viability? These deals present opportunities for cost efficiency, low-carbon innovation and operational synergies, but also introduce challenges such as regulatory scrutiny, geopolitical risks and market demand fluctuations. Stricter environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies and trade tensions are further complicating cross-border transactions, requiring companies to adapt to shifting regulations and integration hurdles. 

Attendee insights:

Learn how M&A and joint ventures are transforming downstream markets, reshaping refining strategies and petrochemical investments, and discover which players are leading the next phase of growth.

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