NOVA Chemicals Corporation recently announced the appointment of Roger Kearns as president and CEO, effective June 12.
Kearns most recently served as chief operating officer of Westlake Corporation, the global diversified manufacturer of essential products with 15,000 employees.
Kearns succeeds Danny Dweik, who has served as interim president and CEO of NOVA Chemicals since October 2022. Dweik will remain a member of NOVA’s board of directors and return to his role as head of industrials and business services at Mubadala Investment Company. NOVA is wholly owned by Mubadala, which is based in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
In a statement, NOVA Chemicals said Kearns is a senior executive with extensive international leadership experience in the commodity and specialty chemicals environments. During his tenure at Westlake, he formerly served as executive vice president of performance and essential materials, driving large-scale revenue growth and leading the acquisition of Hexion, a global epoxy business.
“NOVA Chemicals consistently proves its ability to deliver innovative solutions to complex challenges, and I am thrilled to lead the company toward a more sustainable future,” Kearns said in a news release.
Kearns holds a degree in chemical engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Stanford University. He spent the first part of his career at Solvay, where he held progressively senior roles on the operational and investment sides of the business and across a number of international markets, including the United States, Europe, and Asia. In 2018, he joined Westlake as executive vice president of vinyl chemicals.
Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, NOVA Chemicals said it aspires to be the leading sustainable polyethylene producer in North America. It has nearly 2,500 employees worldwide.