Industry News

American Chemistry Council Appoints Celanese CEO Lori Ryerkerk to Vice Chair Post

Nov. 6, 2023

Ryerkerk to take over as board chair in 2025

By Jonathan Katz

The American Chemistry Council (ACC) said Nov. 3 that Celanese Corp. CEO Lori Ryerkerk will take over as board vice chairman on Jan. 1 and board chairman in 2025.

ACC selected Ryerkerk during its latest board of directors meeting. Ryerkerk currently chairs the board’s chemical management committee. Ryerkerk will also chair ACC’s finance, audit and membership committee. She’ll serve in this capacity for one year, followed by a one-year term each as chairman of the executive committee and chairman of the board.

In her role, Ryerkerk will help deliver ACC’s Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA, agenda, said Karen McKee, president of Exxon Mobil Product Solutions and outgoing chairman of the ACC board.

“I’m confident that Lori will help take our advocacy on TSCA implementation and improving EPA’s chemical risk assessments to the next level,” said McKee, in a prepared statement. “With Lori’s wealth of experience and knowledge of our industry, ACC is well-prepared to continue to make progress as Lori joins the officer’s rotation.”

Ryerkerk indicated that in her new role she intends to uphold ACC's opposition to many of the environmental and chemical safety regulations introduced by the Biden administration.

“It’s an honor to take on this additional responsibility to advocate for the people, policies, and products of chemistry,” said Ryerkerk in a prepared statement. “Celanese values the partnerships and shared vision that ACC helps make possible for our industry, including our collective approach to combating regulatory overreach through ACC’s Chemistry Creates, America Competes initiative. U.S chemical manufacturers are critical to achieving our shared goals of growing our domestic manufacturing base, strengthening our supply chains, and leading the world to a sustainable future through our unparalleled ingenuity. I look forward to working more closely with lawmakers and the EPA to share industry’s story while also calling for regulations that are driven by science and independent, transparent peer review.”

Ryerkerk joined Celanese as its CEO in April 2019. She previously served as executive vice president of global manufacturing of Royal Dutch Shell where she was responsible for all chemical and refining assets globally. Before joining Shell in 2010, Ryerkerk worked for Exxon Mobil for 24 years where she held positions in management, strategy and operations and at Hess Corp.