Shaival Mehta
Global Sales Manager, Performance Olefins and Derivatives
ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company

Raised in Nigeria, Shaival graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Masters in Chemical Engineering in 1994 and Masters of Business Administration from Purdue University in 2004.

Shaival began his ExxonMobil career with Advanced Elastomer Systems, a Joint Venture between Exxon and Monsanto. He started as a Process Research Engineer at the Wadsworth Plant in Akron Ohio. Since then, he held various Commercial, Marketing and Technical roles in the Elastomers Business. In 2004, he was transferred to Singapore where he served as the Product Manager for Polyethylene and drove the commercial start-up of our Fujian JV. In 2009, he moved to Houston in Supply Chain, Planning and Business Transformation roles and subsequently joining the Intermediates in 2013 where he has held various Marketing and Technology roles.

In 2021, he assumed his current position as the Global Sales Manager for Plasticizers, LAO and CI Alcohols.

Outside of work he enjoys golf, cooking, and serving at the Houston Food Bank.

Michael Zamora
Senior VP Chemical Products
ExxonMobil

Mike Zamora is Senior Vice President of Chemical Products at ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company, located in Houston, Texas.

He is responsible for leading the growth of high-value chemical performance products in the company’s customer focused global business units including intermediates, olefins, polyethylene and polypropylene. A strategic priority of the portfolio is leading the industry in sustainability and addressing society’s ambitions for a lower-carbon future.

Prior to his current position, Mike was Senior Vice President of ExxonMobil Chemical Company, overseeing basic chemicals, integration and the company’s future growth. Mike received his Bachelors of Science degree in Chemistry from Georgetown University in 1991. He obtained his Ph.D. in Materials Engineering from the University of Florida in 1997. Upon graduation, Mike accepted a position with ExxonMobil as a product development engineer in Technology in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Over the next several years he worked between Houston and Baton Rouge in various commercial and operational management positions. In 2005, Mike moved to Brussels and became the European Aromatics Marketing Manager. He returned to Houston in 2007 when he assumed the role of Senior Planning and Strategy Advisor for the Chemical Company. In 2008, Mike became Site Manager at the Baytown Olefins Plant in Baytown, Texas. Following that assignment, Mike was appointed Vice President, Basic Chemicals, ExxonMobil Chemical Company in April 2011. In 2014, he joined ExxonMobil Refining & Supply Company as the Global Optimization Manager. In early 2017, he returned to ExxonMobil Chemical Company as Manufacturing Director, Americas.

Mike assumed his current position in April 2022. Mike is a member of the Society of Chemical Industry Executive Committee, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste Executive Committee and the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI) Advisory Board. He also serves on the advisory boards for both the University of Florida's Department of Materials Science and Engineering and the ExxonMobil Foundation.

Mike is married and has two children.

Chris Birdsall
Director, Economics & Energy
ExxonMobil

Chris Birdsall is the Director of Exxon Mobil’s Economics and Energy Division.

In this role, he leads a team of economists, modelers, and researchers that explore economic and energy topics. The work underpins Exxon Mobil’s Global Outlook, which forms the basis for the corporation’s strategy, business plans, and research programs.

Mr. Birdsall has a degree in Chemical Engineering with highest honors from the University of Florida. He joined ExxonMobil as an engineer in 1996, and has progressed through a number of manufacturing, technology, and commercial roles over the last 25+ years. He has held management positions in ExxonMobil’s Polymers, Basic Chemicals, Lubricant Basestocks, and Technology Licensing businesses.

Outside of work, Mr. Birdsall serves on the industry advisory board for the International Energy Agency, and the advisory board for the chemical engineering department at the University of Florida. He is also a proud supporter of the United Way and Desire Street Ministries for their work serving communities in need.

Mr. Birdsall has been married to his wife, Julianne, for over 25 years, and together they have two children.

Philippe Ducom
President
ExxonMobil Europe

Philippe Ducom has been appointed President, ExxonMobil Europe since August 1, 2018. He is based in Machelen, Belgium.

Philippe joined Exxon Chemical France in 1989 as an engineer at the Notre-Dame de Gravenchon Chemical plant in Seine-Maritime. Between 1989 and 2018, he held various positions in manufacturing, business analysis, planning, sales and marketing, supply chain and general management in Europe, the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia.

Philippe was born in Rueil-Malmaison in France and attended secondary school in Grenoble (Isere). He graduated from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris.

He is married and has a son and a daughter.

Jennifer Port
Chief of Process Sustainability
ExxonMobil

Jennifer is currently Chief of Process Sustainability in ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company supporting ExxonMobil’s ambitions to lead in sustainability and the energy transition. Her current focus areas include GHG abatement, life cycle analysis, and circular and renewable feedstocks.

Jennifer has 28 years of experience in a broad range of technology and management roles within ExxonMobil. Her career has spanned multiple areas in chemical process technology including new technology deployment, pyrolysis furnace design, major project development, and energy systems analysis. Recent roles have included Chief Engineer supporting ExxonMobil Chemical Company Major Growth Ventures, and Technology and Planning Manager for the Gulf Coast Growth Ventures project, a mega-cracker complex joint venture with SABIC near Corpus Christi, TX.

Jennifer is co-inventor on 10 patents and holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas.

Andres Vargas
Global Plasticizer Technical Advisor
ExxonMobil

Andres Vargas is a Chemical Engineer and holds a MBA from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid.

Andres has over 20 years of experience in ExxonMobil, started his career in Colombia and then moved to Europe, where he has held positions in sales, marketing, supply chain and technology. With main expertise in the Intermediates business in the areas of application technology and marketing. Andres had the responsibility for the marketing activities of the Oxo business in EMEAF from 2016 to 2018 and most recently was the senior market development lead for Fluids before taking over the position of Global Plasticizer technology advisor last April.

Miguel Angel Prieto Arranz
Director Specialty Chemicals
Cefic

Miguel Angel Prieto Arranz, is a chemist by training and studied in the “Universidad Autónoma de Madrid” (Spain) and “Universität Konstanz” (Germany).

Since November 2012, he is working in Cefic (the European Chemical Industry Council) where he is currently director in the “Specialty Chemicals” industry group responsible for Cefic’s “Food&Feed-” and “Plastics Additives- cluster.

Miguel is the primary contact point towards EU authorities (including EFSA) and other international organizations (such as the UN FAO/WHO Food Standard Programme Codex Alimentarius) on food, feed, and food contact materials-related issues. Miguel is also Cefic’s delegate in the” Commission Expert Group on the Implementation of the Drinking Water Directive”¹.

As the coordinator of Cefic’s scientific and regulatory activities in the area of food, feed and food contact materials, Miguel assesses and contributes to the development and implementation of European technical provisions and standards in several food areas. Additionally, Miguel has substantive experience in developing and implementing EU and industry funded RD&I projects in the food industry, as well as in safety and toxicological evaluation. Furthermore, Miguel is Cefic’s delegate in the EFSA stakeholder and related discussion groups (Chemical Occurrence, Emerging Risk, etc.) and is a member of the European Commission Advisory Group on Sustainable Food Systems, and actively coordinates Cefic input to discussions. Finally, Miguel is a Board Member of the “EU Specialty Food Ingredients” association on behalf of Cefic.

Before joining Cefic, he worked for more than four years in FoodDrinkEurope (the association of the European food manufacturing industries) as food policy, science and R&D manager dealing with food contact materials and food ingredients. Prior to that he worked as R&D manager at the Technology Transfer Center Bremerhaven (ttz-bremerhaven) in Germany.

Audrey Debande
Sustainability Business Development Manager
INEOS Inovyn

Audrey Debande started her professional career in 2009 as Product Stewardship / Analytical Engineer at INEOS Nova. In 2012, she moved to the Global Regulatory Affairs group of INEOS Styrolution, specializing on Healthcare. In 2016 she moved to Product Management where she implemented the bio-attributed concept for Styrenics. Audrey joined INEOS Inovyn in 2021 as Sustainability Business Development Manager, supporting Chlor-Alkali and Vinyl businesses to develop their sustainability activities in line with regulatory and market requirements.

Audrey holds a master degree in Chemistry and an Executive MBA from ESCP Europe.

Sarah Debbiche
Senior Public Affairs Manager
VinylPlus

Sarah Debbiche Krichen is the Senior Public Affairs Manager for VinylPlus, the European PVC industry’s commitment to sustainable development. Her work focuses on policy developments impacting PVC in Europe and beyond. She has ten years of experience in public affairs and communications, a deep understanding of chemicals, circular economy and construction regulation, and a view of the broader EU sustainability policy landscape.

Sarah started her career at the European Small Business Alliance in Brussels and then moved to the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) in Helsinki. Eventually, she came back to Brussels and became the Public Affairs Manager for the campaigning association Fire Safety Europe. Before joining VinylPlus, Sarah worked at the consultancy BCW as Director in the Sustainability practice, supporting clients on a broad range of policy issues.

Frederik Donkers
VP Intermediates
ExxonMobil

Born in the Netherlands, Frederik graduated from Rijks Universiteit Groningen with a Masters in Chemical Engineering.

Frederik began his career with Exxon Chemical as a Process Engineer at the Rotterdam Plasticizers and Intermediates plant in 1997. Since then, he has held various commercial, supply chain and marketing roles in the Intermediates, Refining, PE and Basic Chemicals businesses while stationed in Brussels and Houston. In 2013, he transferred to Canada, where he served as the Sarnia Chemical Plant Manager.

In 2015, Frederik returned to Houston in Commercial, Planning and Business Development roles before assuming his current role as Vice President Intermediates for ExxonMobil Product Solutions Company in April 2021.