World Chemical Forum

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March 17–18, 2027  |  Houston, TX

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Pivoting for Profit:
New Pathways for Global Chemicals

The global chemical industry is at a critical inflection point, demanding a decisive shift from defensive survival to aggressive margin capture. As overcapacity pressures, fractured trade corridors, and evolving feedstock dynamics reshape the global landscape, the World Chemical Forum 2027 is the definitive arena for leaders ready to execute the ultimate playbook.

This year’s forum cuts through the noise to deliver hard-hitting, actionable strategies for structural resilience. World Chemical Forum 2027 brings together a powerful cross-section of the entire value chain—from upstream energy producers and global chemical conglomerates to downstream converters, brand owners, and the private equity titans financing the future.

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World Chemical Forum by the Numbers

650+

Attendees

100+

Speakers

300+

Companies

35+

Countries

 

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Past World Chemical Forum Speakers

Dr. Raja M. Almarzoqi

Chief Negotiator, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

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Chris Jahn

President & Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council

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Udo Lange

CEO, Stolt Neilsen

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Rebecca Liebert

President & CEO, The Lubrizol Corporation

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Justine Smith

Executive Vice President of Commercial, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

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Jim Teague

Co-Chief Executive Officer and Director, Enterprise Partners

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Dr. Raja M. Almarzoqi

Dr. Raja M. AlmarzoqiChief Negotiator, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The GCC Chief Negotiator, the Chief Economic Advisor at the Ministry of Economy and Planning, a faculty member in the Economic Division at Prince Saud Alfaisal Institute for Diplomatic Studies, and an Expert at the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He plays a pivotal role in advancing economic security as a cornerstone of national security strategy.

Previously, he served as the President of the Gulf Monetary Council (GMCO) and as an Economic Advisor at the IMF in Washington, D.C., where he was responsible for private sector policies across the Middle East and Central Asia, leading IMF missions to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. He also held the position of Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of the Monetary Union Unit at the General Secretariat of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Dr. Almarzoqi boasts extensive consulting experience with major international organizations, government agencies, and private sector entities, including the World Bank, ARAMCO, the General Investment Authority (SAGIA), the Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones (MODON), Alkhabeer Capital, Euro Praxis in Spain, among others. He has also served as an independent director on the boards of several investment funds licensed by the Capital Market Authority.

In the academic realm, Dr. Almarzoqi has taught and lectured at premier institutions such as the MIT Sloan School of Management in the USA, Thunderbird School of Global Management, and King Saud University in both undergraduate and graduate programs. He has also conducted training sessions for parliamentarians and Shura Council members across the Middle East and Central Asia.

Dr. Almarzoqi is a prolific author with a rich portfolio of specialized economic studies, research papers, and books on economic integration, monetary union, economic modeling, macroeconomic analysis, monetary and fiscal policies, and international finance. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics (with a supporting specialization in Finance) from Oklahoma State University, an M.A. in Applied Mathematical Economics from the University of Michigan, and a B.A. in Economics from King Saud University.

Chris Jahn

Chris JahnPresident & Chief Executive Officer, American Chemistry Council

As President and CEO of the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Chris is responsible for advancing ACC’s mission to advocate for the people, policy, and products of chemistry that make the United States the global leader in innovation and manufacturing. Chris has been named by The Hill as one of Washington, DC’s “Top Lobbyists” and by the Washingtonian as one of DC’s “Most Influential People” for representing the U.S. business of chemistry and its customers within the halls of Congress.

In 2021, Chris partnered with Harris County officials in Houston to expand an extensive state-of-the-art air monitoring system to continuously track and evaluate air quality. The partnership included a $1 million donation from ACC’s foundation for mobile and stationary monitors. In 2020, Chris spearheaded ACC’s role as a founding partner of the Future of STEM Scholars Initiative (FOSSI), which provides scholarships for students pursuing STEM degrees at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Chris received the AIChE “Doing a World of Good Medal” and the CME STEM Leadership Award™ for his commitment to supporting a skilled, diverse workforce. Also in 2020, Chris oversaw a strategic review of Responsible Care®, the chemical industry’s environmental, health, safety and security (EHS&S) performance initiative, resulting in enhancements to the Responsible Care Process Safety Code and Responsible Care Security Code.

Prior to joining ACC in 2019, Chris served as President and CEO of The Fertilizer Institute, president of the National Association of Chemical Distributors, and president of the Contract Services Association. He began his career on Capitol Hill, including time as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Craig Thomas (R-WY).

Chris earned an MBA from the University of Maryland and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Columbia University in New York.

Udo Lange

Udo LangeCEO, Stolt Neilsen

Dr Udo Lange joined Stolt-Nielsen Limited as Chief Executive Officer in September 2023.

With more than 25 years of experience in the international trade industry, including expertise in global freight forwarding, road freight, express and parcel, shipping, customs brokerage, contract logistics and airline catering, he has held senior positions with Lufthansa, Deutsche Post DHL, Exel and DB Schenker.

During his time at Fedex, Dr Lange held several leadership roles, including president of Healthcare, Logistics and Americas International at FedEx Express, where he led a team of more than 50,000 in over 80 countries. During Covid-19 he was appointed to the White House task force on supply chain disruption.

In August 2025, Dr Lange was elected non-executive Chairman of Freightos (CRGO), the leading digital platform in the cargo space, connecting customers, forwarders and carriers to simplify trade.

Dr Lange holds a PhD in economic science from the University of Duisburg, Germany and an MBA from the University of Kaiserslautern, Germany. He is also an alumnus of the Harvard Business School and a member of the WSJ CEO Council and the Arts Club of London.

In 2020 he was named one of the ‘Top 10 Logistics Leaders’ globally by Supply Chain Digital, the industry’s leading magazine.

Rebecca Liebert

Rebecca LiebertPresident & CEO, The Lubrizol Corporation

Rebecca Liebert is President and Chief Executive Officer of The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway Company. She leads the premiere global specialty chemicals company in pursuing its mission to continually innovate, solve its customers’ most complex challenges and deliver sustainable solutions to advance mobility, improve well-being and enhance modern life.

Prior to Lubrizol, Rebecca was Executive Vice President at PPG Industries, a global paint, coatings and specialty materials company. She joined the company in June 2018 leading the automotive OEM coatings business, including the company’s
mobility initiatives. Her most recent responsibilities included leading PPG’s global industrial segment, Asia Pacific region oversight, and functional responsibility for global procurement, resin and industrial segment manufacturing.

Prior to PPG, Rebecca served as President and CEO of Honeywell UOP, a leading international supplier to the petroleum refining, gas processing, petrochemical production and major manufacturing industries. During her career with Honeywell, she also served as Senior Vice President and General Manager, catalyst absorbents and specialties, UOP; Senior Vice President and General Manager, gas processing and hydrogen; and Vice President and General Manager, electronics materials. Prior to joining Honeywell, Rebecca served as President of Reynolds Food Packaging, Alcoa KAMA. Rebecca began her career as a Development Engineer with Nova Chemicals. She held several positions of increasing responsibility during her tenure at Nova.

Liebert serves as the Chair of OxyChem and on the boards of the American Chemistry Council and the National Association of Manufacturers. She also was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for her leadership in developing and executing innovative initiatives to strengthen and advance the manufacturing industry. Rebecca earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Kentucky; a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Carnegie Mellon University; and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University

Justine Smith

Justine Smith Executive Vice President of Commercial, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

Justine Smith is executive vice president of commercial at Chevron Phillips Chemical Company.

Smith holds executive responsibility for the company’s commercial product lines, including polymers, specialties and petrochemicals, and the supply chain organization. She also oversees the company’s businesses in Europe and Asia. She is responsible for the supply chain and enterprise readiness functions for the Golden Triangle Polymers joint venture, where she also serves as a board member. Additionally, Smith is the lead board member for Chevron Phillips Chemical’s Saudi Arabia joint ventures. 

Smith previously served as senior vice president, petrochemicals, at Chevron Phillips Chemical. Prior to joining the company in 2020, she was vice president of intermediates, amines and specialties for BASF Corporation. During her tenure with BASF, she held numerous roles of increasing responsibility, including vice president of global oilfield solutions; vice president of regional business management plastics additives in Asia Pacific; and head of strategic marketing and projects in Asia Pacific. She began her career with Air Products, where she held various engineering and commercial operations roles.  

She currently serves on the board of directors for the Montgomery Country Food Bank. 

Smith received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Villanova University. 

Jim Teague

Jim TeagueCo-Chief Executive Officer and Director, Enterprise Partners

For many years, Jim Teague has been a leader in the energy and petrochemical industries.  Since 1999, Jim has held various executive positions with Enterprise Products and currently serves as Co-Chief Executive Officer and a director of Enterprise GP.  Before taking the responsibility of Co-CEO, Jim held several key executive officer roles at Enterprise including Chief Commercial officer, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer.

Immediately after his college graduation, Jim entered officer candidate school and served our country during the Vietnam War as a member of an attack helicopter squadron and as a Naval intelligence officer.  Upon completion of his military service, he joined Dow Chemicals as a pharmaceutical sales representative.   After a short period of time Jim was promoted to Dow’s hydrocarbon division where he ultimately became the head of global feedstocks.

Jim’s passion for people, business, and strategy led to his success at both Dow Chemicals and Enterprise Products.  For nearly 25 years Jim Teague has played key roles in the vast growth of Enterprise’s footprint and presence in global markets.

Gain exclusive insights and connect with leading experts in the energy and chemicals industry—explore our distinguished lineup of speakers at this premier chemical conference.

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Why Attend WCF?

Innovate

INNOVATE

Explore what’s next.
From breakthrough technologies to scalable sustainability, WCF showcases the people and ideas redefining what’s possible.

Evolve

EVOLVE

Stay ahead of change.
Gain clarity on shifting policies, volatile markets, and changing expectations—so your strategy stays one step ahead.

Thrive

THRIVE

Turn insight into impact.
Leave equipped with the tools, connections, and foresight to accelerate growth in an unpredictable world.

What Our Attendees Are Saying

“World Chemical Forum delivered an outstanding experience with an excellent lineup of speakers from leading companies, insightful presentations, engaging Q&A sessions moderated, and valuable networking opportunities.”
“I would describe it as a jam-packed couple of days to learn everything there is to know about the industry, to hear from some of the best minds in the industry, and to get to meet people who can really help shape the future of the industry.”
“It is a well attended event and it's a good opportunity to understand the key issues that are facing the industry going forward.”
“I was impressed by the caliber of attendees. Connecting with senior leaders and having thoughtful, in-depth conversations made the networking especially valuable.”
“The beauty of this event is it covers the full chemical value chain from producers to customers to investors.”

Thank You to the Valued WCF 2026 Sponsors and Partners

 

Foundational Sponsors


Deloitte


Polymer Alliance Zone

 


Strategic Sponsors


Heartland Polymers


McKinsey

 


Industry Sponsor


Alberta’s Industrial Heartland

 


 

Conference Sponsors


American Chemistry Council


Arcanum Infrastructure


Bolo AI


Citroniq


FM


HCLTech

 


HexaGroup


NuScale Power


Port Houston


Qemetica


Satellite Chemical


Sinansys


 

Association Partners


APLA


CIQyP


EPCA


FECC


IPA

TCIA

Vinyl Council of Australia

 


 

Media Partners


ACS


 Allstream


 Asian Glass


BIC


 Chemical Industry Review


 Chemical Search


Plastics Technology


Polymer Update


The Chemical Daily


The Chemical Show


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