Commentary: Jim Ratcliffe wins ICIS Kavaler Award

INEOS Chairman Jim Ratcliffe has been recognised by his peers for outstanding achievement in the chemical industry INEOS

The 2016 ICIS Kavaler Award, sponsored by The Chemists’ Club, and in association with The Valence Group, will be awarded to Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of INEOS, in recognition for outstanding achievement as voted on by his peers.

This unique global chemical industry award will be presented to Mr Ratcliffe at a black tie dinner ceremony on Wednesday, September 14, 2016, at the Metropolitan Club of New York, in New York City.

The winner of the ICIS Kavaler Award is selected by his/her peers – the senior executives in the ICIS Top 40 Power Players listing – a global ranking of the leaders making the greatest positive impact on the chemical industry.

“I am delighted to receive this award on behalf of INEOS. We live in challenging times and it is essential that our industry responds rapidly to those challenges. That is what we have been trying to achieve in INEOS and I’m proud for all of our employees that those efforts have been recognised by our peers,” said Ratcliffe.

“Jim Ratcliffe has led INEOS as one of the most creative and intrepid chemical companies worldwide. By investing in his long-term vision, INEOS is the first ever to import US ethane for local petrochemical production. The company is also on the forefront of shale gas exploration in the UK and has been a key consolidator in the European polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sector,” said Joseph Chang, global editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

In the award selection process, ICIS and The Chemists’ Club invited each of the ICIS Top 40 Power Players for 2015 to vote for three individuals on the ballot, based on newsworthy achievement in one or more of the following categories:

■ Profitability/shareholder value

■ Mergers and acquisitions (deals or integration)

■ Projects/capital investment

■ Innovation – technology, product, business process with an impact on industry and society

Previous winners of the ICIS Kavaler Award include Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris (2015), former LyondellBasell CEO Jim Gallogly (2014) and former PPG Industries CEO Charles Bunch (2013).

The award is a revival of the Kavaler Award, which was presented by Chemical Market Reporter to leading chemical CEOs from 1990 to 1999, including Jon Huntsman Sr, founder, chairman and CEO of Huntsman, and Frank Popoff, chairman and CEO of Dow Chemical.

Arthur Kavaler, who served for 46 years as reporter, editor and eventually publisher and editor-in-chief of Chemical Market Reporter – one of the three publications incorporated into ICIS Chemical Business – passed away at the age of 91 on 18 January 2012. Kavaler, a probing reporter and an editor with unwavering conviction, had a major impact on chemical industry journalism.