IHS Chemical Executive Briefing at NPE 2012

Howard Rappaport

Senior Director, Plastics - IHS Chemical

Howard joined CMAI in August 1999. Prior to joining CMAI he had over 20 years of experience in the plastics and polymers industry, holding various management positions in commercial development, business management, product management, sales/marketing, and customer service. Company affiliations included: American Hoechst, Huntsman Chemical, Webster Industries, Cain Chemical, Occidental Chemical, Himont- Montell Polyolefins and Westlake Polymers. He has extensive experience with numerous thermoplastic materials, fabricating processes, and markets, including LDPE, LLDPE, HDPE, PP, PS, EPS, Nylon, UHMW, and PTFE. Howard has also been involved in the business planning, and commercial development of major start-ups of new capacity in the polyolefins business, as well as spearheading several cross functional business teams consisting of R&D, manufacturing, sales/marketing and technical service. Howard has been an active member in the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE), the Flexible Packaging Association (FPA), the Society of the Plastics Industry (SPI), the American Plastics Council (APC) and the Film and Bag Federation (FBF).

Howard is responsible for CMAI’s Global Commodity & Engineering Plastics practice and manages global polyolefin's coverage. He collaborates with CMAI’s Asian, Middle East and European offices to contribute to the Global Plastics & Polymers Report, Monomers Market Report, World Polyolefins Analysis, and World Light Olefins Analysis, as well as various single client studies for CMAI’s Business Advisory Services.

Nick Vafiadis

Business Director - Polyolefins

Nick is a twenty year veteran of the chemical industry who joined CMAI in April of 2002. In his first assignment for CMAI, Nick was responsible for consulting duties associated with the Chlor-Alkali and Vinyls product chain. In this role, he contributed to the Monomers Market Report, the Chlor-Alkali Market Report, and the Global Plastics and Polymers Market Report.

In January of 2007, Nick was named CMAI’s Business Director for Polyolefins and Service Leader for the Global Plastics and Polymers Report. His daily responsibilities include analysis, consulting, and reporting on the global polyolefins market as well as managing the operations associated with producing and developing the Global Palastics and Polymers Report. In addition, Nick contributes to single client projects and studies related to the polyolefins industry.

Prior to joining CMAI, Nick spent twelve years with Vista Chemical Company, which later became Condea Vista Chemical Company. During his tenure with Vista Chemical, Nick held assignments in marketing, product management and sales management in both the vinyls and surfactant business areas. Nick graduated from The University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Management.

Esteban Sagel

Director, Polypropylene, Americas

Esteban joined CMAI in 2006 as Director of Polyolefins – North America. He brings to his role over 13 years of industry experience, which has provided him with the opportunity to work throughout the industry’s value chain. Esteban began his career in Spain with Repsol Quimica in 1994 as an Account Manager for Specialty Plastics, moving from there to the packaging industry as Caribbean Sales Manager with Tetra Pak. He later joined New Castle Industries as a Latin American Sales Manager for plastic processing equipment, completing his cycle of experiences in the producer and converter side of the industry.

Since then, he has worked for a diverse group of industry management consulting firms, including Townsend Tarnell as a Polyolefins Analyst for North and Latin America and Nexant Inc. as a Senior Consultant and Manager Latin America for the Chemicals division. He also worked as an external consultant with ExxonMobil Chemical’s Strategic Marketing Research Group.

In 1994 Esteban earned a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering and an Industrial Management Diploma from the Institut Quimic de Sarria in Barcelona, Spain, and an MBA from Rice University’s Jones School of Business in May of 2003.

Adrian Beale

Director - Global Engineering Resins

In 1993 Adrian became the Business Manager for Gantrade Corporation’s European Styrene and Acrylic Monomers business. In 1997 he was promoted to the position of General Manager of Gantrade Europe Ltd. In addition to his trading and management responsibilities, Adrian actively worked on the origination and execution of corporate acquisition opportunities in the European chemical industry.

Adrian then moved to Goldman Sachs in London as Vice President, Equity Research for the European Chemicals Team. Here, he was responsible for analyzing the major public chemical companies in Europe and making investment recommendations to institutional investors based on fundamental analysis of the industry and financial analysis of specific stocks.

Adrian joined CMAI in August 2003 as Director of Europe & Middle East Aromatics with responsibility for CMAI’s European Market Service for Aromatics. In August 2007 he moved to the CMAI Headquarters in Houston as Director – Benzene, Phenol & Derivatives and assumed responsibility for CMAI’s North American Aromatics Market Service. In 2008 Adrian became Director – Global Engineering Resins and launched CMAI’s Global Engineering Resins Service covering polycarbonate, ABS, nylon, PBT, POM and polypropylene.

Adrian also participates in proprietary studies for CMAI contributing his expertise in the aromatics and engineering resins industry areas.

Chase Willett

Director of Polyester and Polyester Raw Materials

Chase graduated from North Carolina State University in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering. He started at Eastman Chemical Company in 1987 in plastic resin sales with responsibility for polyolefin, polyester specialty, and celluslosic resins in the Chicago area. In 1992 he joined Eastman’s specialty plastics group as a global market manager for medical packaging. In mid 1993 he became the product manager for polyester specialty plastics for the Americas and Europe with responsibilities for demand forecasting, product allocation and pricing.

In 1996 Chase relocated to Singapore to take a position in Eastman’s Container Plastics Business organization as the Business Unit Manager for PET bottle resin in Asia Pacific. In this assignment Chase developed and executed strategies for the PET business in the region, which included grass root project analysis and the negotiation of PET toll conversions. Chase also had responsibility for the day to day tactical aspects of the PET business such as sales, pricing, and product management along with profit and loss responsibility for the business unit.

In 1999, Chase returned to Kingsport, Tennessee as the Procurement Manager for paraxylene, ethylene glycol and other polyester raw materials for Eastman’s U.S. plants. His responsibilities included price negotiation, commodity analysis and the development and negotiation of long term supply contracts.

Chase joined CMAI in September 2000 as Director of Polyesters and Polyester Raw Materials. Chase covers para-, ortho-, and meta-xylene; PTA/DMT; PET packaging resin for CMAI. Chase co-authors the Aromatics Market Service, and Global Plastics and Polymers Service, the Global Fibers and Feedstocks Service, and the PET Stream Market Service.

Paul Blanchard

Director, Engineering Resins

Paul joined Chemical Market Associates, Inc. (CMAI) in 2007 as a Senior Consultant focused on expanding CMAI’s engineering plastics practice area. Paul brings with him over 30 years of experience in the engineering plastics business.

Prior to joining CMAI, Paul’s earlier positions include:

• Product Manager, Compounds at Albis Plastics.
• Product Marketing Manager at LNP Engineering Plastics, Inc.
• Director of Sales, Marketing and Technology for Clariant Performance Plastics
• Several positons over a 20 year career at General Electric Company’s Plastics Business, including:
  • Industry Manager, Compounders and Secondary Markets
  • Marketing Manager of Packaging Programs
  • Product Manager positions in Noryl® Resins and Valox® Resins
  • Paul began his career with GE in Finance where he held multiple positions, the last of which was Manager Finance, Composite Polymers Operation