Board

The Chemistry Australia Board comprises leading Chief Executive Officers and Managing Directors from the Australian chemistry industry. The Board provides leadership to our industry on a range of strategically important issues and ensures that the activities of Chemistry Australia are directed to those areas and services that provide greatest value to members.

	David Hawkins Chair, Chemistry Australia Chairman and Managing Director BASF Australia Limited David has been Chairman and Managing Director of BASF Australia and New Zealand since July 2016. Prior to this, he was Head of Corporate Functions for Australia and New Zealand. This role included the subregional management of Finance, Tax, Supply Chain, Human Resources, Procurement, Real Estate and Information Management, as well as the country management operations of New Zealand. David joined BASF in 1999 to run the Information Technology platform and its broadening to include Supply Chain. In 2004, he was appointed Director of the Service Platform and the directorships of BASF’s Australian companies in 2005. Prior to BASF, David held a number of roles in a world-leading Australian subsidiary of a UK glass manufacturing business, including manufacturing management, strategy, business re-engineering, systems design and implementation. David is a graduate of Monash University with bachelor degrees in Chemical Engineering and Science (Applied Mathematics). He holds a Master of Business Administration from Deakin University and is a graduate member of the Australia Institute of Company Directors.
	Karen Dobson Deputy Chair, Chemistry Australia Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand The Dow Chemical Company As President of Dow Australia and New Zealand, Karen is responsible for Dow’s business and operations, and advancing the company’s strategy and reputation across Australia and New Zealand. Karen joined Dow in 1987 as an engineer at the Altona manufacturing facility in Victoria. In 1988, she moved to Dow Water & Process Solutions (W&PS) as technical sales for Australia. In 1992 she was named Asia Pacific technical leader and relocated to Hong Kong, where she performed a number of marketing and commercial manager roles. In 2002, Karen was named global marketing director for FILMTEC™ Membranes and relocated to Minneapolis, USA. Karen moved to Shanghai in 2007 for a new role as corporate marketing director for Dow Asia Pacific and in 2010 added the role of Asia Pacific regional business development director. Karen was appointed to global business director for Mining Solutions in Dow’s Oil, Gas and Mining business in 2014 and relocated back to Melbourne, Australia. In August 2017, Karen was named global commercial director of Dow Olympic & Sports Solutions where she was responsible for growing the business impact of Dow’s sports sponsorship assets across all of Dow’s businesses. Karen took up her current role in January 2019. Karen holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Melbourne, Australia.
	Stephen Bell Chief Executive Officer Qenos Pty Ltd Stephen Bell completed a PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from the University Of Melbourne and following this, he undertook 2 years postdoctoral research in Boston, USA. Thereafter, Steve joined ICI Australia's Crop Care business in 1987 as a Research Team Leader prior to moving into ICI's Plastics business. With more than 25 years’ experience in the Petrochemical and Engineering Plastics businesses, Steve has a strong track record of delivering growth and improved business performance through differentiation utilising innovation and technology. During his career, Steve has held a range of business management and executive roles. Until recently, Steve had executive responsibility for all aspects of Qenos's commercial operations including Marketing & Sales, Supply Chain, Feedstock & Procurement, Product Technology and the Speciality Products trading business. He was also the Vice President Commercial for ChemChina Steve’s current role is the Chief Executive Officer, Qenos.
	Sanjay Dayal Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Pact Group Holdings Pty Ltd Sanjay Dayal is the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Pact Group Holdings Pty Ltd and has been a member of the Pact Group Board since 1 March 2019. Sanjay joined Pact Group from BlueScope Steel where he held the position of Chief Executive, Building Products, Corporate Strategy and Innovation. This followed several other senior positions in Asia and Australia over a 9-year period with the company. Prior to BlueScope, Sanjay had a very successful career with Orica and ICI, including Regional General Manager for Manufacturing and Supply Chain and General Manager for the DynoNobel Integration, based out of London. Sanjay holds a Bachelor of Technology (Chemical Engineering) from Indian Institute of Technology – Delhi.
	Stephenie De Nichilo Chief HSE & Operations Excellence Officer Incitec Pivot Limited (IPL) Stephenie has over 25 years’ experience in manufacturing, mining and oil and gas industries and was appointed IPL’s Chief HSE & Operations Excellence Officer in December 2021. Stephenie is the Group’s Executive leading the Health, Safety, Environment and Operational Excellence function which provides the standards, assurance, and technical capability to support the business to achieve Zero Harm, Operational Excellence and Strategic Asset Management Planning. Stephenie joined IPL in 2018 as the Group’s Vice President of Corporate HSE and most recently was IPL’s Vice President Global Asset Management, Technology & HSE. Before joining IPL, Stephenie spent 16 years at Santos where she held a number of technical, asset management and operational senior leadership positions. Stephenie has a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree and Master of Business Administration from the University of South Australia.
	Cameron Dunn Managing Director FBT Transwest Cameron joined FBT Transwest as Managing Director in 2009. Prior to this, Cameron has held senior roles within the Transport and Logistics Industry in a career that commenced in 1986 at United Tankers. He has worked in the Industry for businesses providing specialised services for the chemical, plastics and food sectors. A career highlight was in 1998 when he was awarded the Young Western Australian Transport and Logistics Professional of the Year.He is on the Board of the Victorian Transport Association (VTA) and holds the position of Vice President. Cameron is also Deputy Chairman of the National Bulk Tanker Association (NBTA) and on the board of ARTIO – Vic. Cameron completed his education at MBS and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport and the CEO Institute.
	Paul Evans Vice President - Corporate Affairs Orica Limited Paul Evans was appointed Vice President - Government Relations, Social Responsibility and Community at Orica Limited in April 2016. His brief was expanded to cover media, internal and external communications in 2018 in the role of Vice President - Corporate Affairs. His time at Orica follows four years as the Chief Executive Officer at the Winemakers’ Federation of Australia and setting up the first corporate offices in Adelaide for BP Developments Australia. Prior to this, Paul was the Director of Government, Regulation and Community Affairs at Lion Nathan National Foods, where he managed the company’s engagement with policy makers, industry associations, NGOs, government officials and other community-based stakeholders. During his time at Lion (2004 – 2011) Paul was a member of the Leadership Teams for the company’s two largest business units (Lion Nathan Australia and National Foods) and the merger & acquisition management teams for the takeover bids for Coopers Brewing, Independent Liquor and National Foods. In 2007 he was appointed the inaugural Chair of Lion Nathan’s Sustainability Leaders Group. Before his move to the private sector, Paul held several senior Federal departmental and government positions including Principal Adviser to the Minister for Defence, and Chief of Staff to the Assistant Minister for Defence. He won a Secretary’s Commendation for his contribution to the Defence White Paper in 2000 and was a delegate to the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit in 2008. Paul has a Masters Degree by Research in International Politics.
	Ian Hansen Chief Executive Officer Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers Ian Hansen has worked at CSBP Limited for over 20 years, holding management roles in operational and commercial areas of both the chemicals and fertilisers divisions. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director in October 2007, Ian was General Manager of the chemicals business division between 2002 and 2007, and from 2005 to 2007 was also President of the Kwinana Industries Council. Ian is a director of a number of Wesfarmers group subsidiaries. Ian holds a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Chemistry from the University of Western Australia, and is a graduate of the INSEAD Advanced Management Programme.
	Dr Grant Lukey Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Coogee Chemicals Pty Ltd Grant Lukey has been the CEO & Managing Director of Coogee Chemicals since 2015. Coogee is a privately held diversified chemical manufacturer and bulk chemical and fuel terminal storage services provider. Prior to joining Coogee, Grant was the General Manager of a company connected with Fletcher Building Limited that developed and licensed ‘green’ concrete technology. He is currently a director on the Kwinana Industries Council (KIC) and a member of Western Australia’s Ministerial Taskforce – Future Battery & Critical Minerals Industries. Grant completed his Chemical Engineering degree at the University of Melbourne in 1996. He has a PhD in minerals processing and extractive metallurgy, holds a Graduate Diploma of Law and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University.
	Lachlan Pfeiffer Chief Business Development and Sustainability Officer Viva Energy Australia Lachlan joined Viva Energy Australia in 2014 and has held roles with the Group including as General Counsel. From 2018 to 2020, he also served as a Non-Executive Director of Viva Energy REIT (now Waypoint REID. Prior to joining Viva Energy, Lachlan Pfeiffer worked in mergers and acquisitions for Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom (UK) LLP, based in London for seven years. Lachlan started his career in Melbourne working for Norton Rose Fulbright (Australia). Lachlan is a legal practitioner and holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Melbourne University and a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from Monash University. He is also a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
	Russell Schroeter Managing Director SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd Russell Schroeter has been a Board member of Chemistry Australia since 2008.Russell joined SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd in April 2002 as the General Manager and was appointed to the Board in November 2002. During that time SNF (Australia) Pty Ltd has completed the building of an emulsion flocculant plant and commissioned it in June 2003. Prior to joining SNF, Russell worked with Nalco in various sales and marketing roles in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.Russell graduated from the Gordon Institute of Technology in 1976 with a Bachelor of Applied Science.
	Elizabeth Tasdelen Director Indorama Ventures Oxides Australia Pty Limited