Petrochemical Heritage Award
Without petrochemistry, we wouldn’t be missing just gasoline for our cars: we’d be missing such things as nylon, linoleum, and Plexiglas. The Petrochemical Heritage Award was established in 1997 to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to this vital field.
The Petrochemical Heritage Award recognizes those whose contributions to public understanding are noteworthy, who have displayed significant entrepreneurship in the petrochemical profession or industry, and who have been active in philanthropic and/or communal affairs. It is presented with the Founders Club each year at the International Petrochemical Conference, held by the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
2025 Honoree: Lori Ryerkerk
Lori Ryerkerk, retired chairman, chief executive officer, and president of Celanese Corporation, will receive the 2025 Petrochemical Heritage Award on March 24, 2025, in San Antonio, Texas, at the International Petrochemical Conference.
Celanese is a Fortune 500 global chemical and specialty materials company based in Dallas, Texas. Ryerkerk was named CEO and a member of the board of directors in May 2019. She was appointed chairman in April 2020 and retired on December 31, 2024.
Ryerkerk’s expertise in the energy industry spans three-plus decades. She combines deep technical and commercial skills with a passion for the manufacturing business. Her unwavering focus on safety, environmental, and social performance is the foundation on which she has overseen some of the most technically complex operations in the industry.
Ryerkerk is a graduate of Iowa State University, where she completed her chemical engineering degree. She currently serves on the board of directors of Eaton Corporation, a leading provider of power management technologies and services, and previously served on the board of Axalta Coating Systems, a leading provider of liquid and powder coatings. She also actively supports a variety of organizations in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.
Previous Winners of the Petrochemical Heritage Award
- Karen McKee (2024)
- Jim Fitterling (2023)
- Aloke Lohia (2022)
- Jim Teague (2021)
- Albert and James Chao (2019)
- Gary K. Adams (2018)
- David Weidman (2017)
- Stephen Pryor (2016)
- James Gallogly (2015)
- Frank Popoff (2014)
- Jim Ratcliffe (2013)
- Marvin Schlanger (2012)
- Raj Gupta (2011)
- Hiromasa Yonekura (2010)
- Mohamed Al-Mady (2009)
- Peter Huntsman and Dave Swalm (2008)
- Dan Duncan (2007)
- J. Virgil Waggoner (2006)
- T. T. Chao (2005)
- William McMinn Jr. (2004)
- Harold A. Sorgenti (2003)
- Herbert E. Doan (2002)
- Jon M. Huntsman (2001)
- Ralph Landau (2000)
- John R. Hall (1999)
- John T. Files (1998)
- Gordon Cain (1997)
About the Sponsors
The Founders Club was founded in 1981 by a group of petrochemical-industry executives who participated in the establishment of the Petrochemical Committee of the NPRA (now AFPM) and ultimately generated the International Petrochemicals Conference (IPC) as a separate identity within NPRA. The Founders Club today is a select group of individuals with a minimum of 25 years of distinguished service in the petrochemical industry. The club proudly advances the legacy inherited from these original “Founders” as contributing stewards of the petrochemical industry with a respect for the past (legacy), activities for the present (networking), and support for the future (recognition).
American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is a trade association representing high-tech American manufacturers of virtually the entire U.S. supply of gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, other fuels and home heating oil, as well as the petrochemicals used as building blocks for thousands of vital products in daily life.
Featured image: Union Carbide’s First Chemical Operation, Clendenin, West Virginia, undated painting by Roy H. Brown. Science History Institute
