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

Roger Kearns

President & CEO

NOVA Chemicals

Roger
Roger

Roger Kearns joined NOVA Chemicals as President and CEO in June 2023. Kearns leads the company’s ambition to reshape plastics to be our customers’ first and best choice. He is a senior executive with extensive international and industry leadership experience in the commodity and specialty chemicals spaces. Prior to joining NOVA Chemicals, Kearns was Chief Operating Officer at Westlake Corporation, the global diversified manufacturer of essential products (NYSE: WLK). He joined Westlake as Executive Vice President of Vinyl Chemicals in 2018 after previously serving for 32 years at Solvay, a global leader in materials, solutions, and chemicals. A member of Solvay’s Executive Committee for 10 years, Kearns held progressively senior roles on both the operational and investment sides of the business across a number of international markets, including the United States, Europe, and Asia. Kearns holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech and a MBA from Stanford. He currently serves on the Advisory Board for Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering and is a former member of the Georgia Tech President’s Advisory Board. Kearns also is a board member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste (AEPW) where he formerly served as Chair of the Audit Committee. In addition, he serves as a board member of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), sits on its Board Global Strategy, and serves as chair of the Board Plastics Committee. He is chair of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) America. He has been listed as “one to watch” in the 2024 Top 40 Power Players by ICIS, a global ranking of the leading CEOs and senior executives making the greatest positive impact on their companies and the chemicals industry.

Session Overview
Wednesday, 5 November
12:00
Global strategy ICC Hall A 12:00 - 12:40
Long-term strategies for transforming downstream portfolios

The downstream industry is undergoing a rapid and strategic transformation, driven by evolving market dynamics, technological advancements, and shifting regulatory frameworks. Portfolio rebalancing in conjunction with increased operational efficiency and strategic investments creates pragmatic pathways to decarbonisation and profitability.

Beyond prioritising high-performing assets, visionary energy companies are combining refining and chemicals operations (a crude-to-chemicals model) to enhance operational efficiency and unleash new value streams. In addition to rationalising refining capacity in certain regions, companies are also exploring diversification into low-carbon solutions such as biofuels, renewables, hydrogen, ammonia and investing further into chemicals.

Long-term portfolio strategies, focusing on 5- and 10-year strategies, are essential to unlocking future opportunities that drive shared prosperity while advancing a resilient, low-carbon, high-growth future.

Attendee insights:

Gain insights from downstream industry CEOs on their diversification strategies and how this evolving business model enables greater investment in new industries, drives portfolio expansion and attracts new customers, clients, and products.

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