Editorial: Silvio Ghyoot

Dear members,

On 15 June, I took over the position of Executive Director of Petrochemicals Europe and I am really honoured to have been chosen to do so. I believe the European petrochemicals industry has a major role to play in the transition to a more sustainable economy and I intend to leverage my expertise and support the industry through this journey.

I have extensive experience in the oil and petrochemical industry, with expertise in catalysts and polymer additives. I worked for over 20 years for Albermarle Corporation, a global specialty chemicals company where I last served as President of the Catalysts Business Unit.

Since I am passionate about the chemical industry, I want to remain active in this field. Meanwhile, I have become increasingly aware of the environmental challenges that the world is facing today, and I would like to focus more on sustainability in order to contribute to a better world. Before joining Cefic, I was exploring the possibility to work in the areas of renewable energy, alternative chemical sources, or biotechnology. I saw the opportunity to work for Cefic as a way to combine the world I am familiar with and the ambition I have for the future.

Long before I even considered stepping into Cefic, I had the fixed idea  in mind “I would like to help the chemical industry to be there forever”, but without knowing what to do about it. So, no need to say how thrilled I was when I saw  the Mid-Century vision which Cefic published earlier this month. It provides the ideal framework to achieve the ambition of making the industry last forever. Since petrochemicals are the basis of the solutions Europe is looking for, I think I am at the right spot to help in the transition to a more sustainable economy.

I strongly believe I will spend the rest of my professional career making this happen together with you all and I  look forward to working with you to reach our common goals.

Silvio Ghyoot