Lori J. Ryerkerk

Lori J. Ryerkerk is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer & President of Celanese Corporation, a Fortune 500 global chemical and specialty materials company based in Dallas, Texas. Celanese is a leader in the development and production of materials used in most major industrial and consumer applications. Ryerkerk was named CEO in May 2019.

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.

Previously, Ryerkerk was the Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing, the largest business in Shell Downstream Inc. She led a team of 30,000 employees and contractors at refineries and chemical sites worldwide.

Before joining Shell in 2010, she was Senior Vice President, Refining, Supply and Terminals at Hess Corporation, where she was responsible for two refineries, 21 terminals (and distribution network) and supply and trading. Prior to that, Ryerkerk spent 24 years with ExxonMobil where she started her career as a process technologist at a refinery and took on a variety of operational and senior leadership roles around the globe.

Ryerkerk is a graduate of Iowa State University, where she completed her Chemical Engineering degree. She actively supports a variety of organizations in her hometown of Beaumont, Texas.