AIChE 2025 Leadership

Victor Bohnert is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in leadership roles across various organizations. Currently serving as the Interim CEO of AIChE, Victor has previously held prominent positions such as the CEO of Innovatis Group, Executive Director at the International Avaya Users Group (IAUG), Executive Director at the VMware User Group (VMUG), and Vice President of Client Management at SmithBucklin Corporation.

Joseph D. Smith works at Missouri Univ. of Science and Technology (MST; previously Missouri Rolla) and leads Elevated Analytics Consulting as Chief Technology Officer.

Anne O’Neal is Manager of Process Safety Culture and Competency at Chevron, and an AIChE Fellow. Her 40-year career includes senior positions in process safety, as well as health, environment and safety.

Alan E. Nelson is the Senior Vice President of Battery Materials at Redwood Materials, and previously was the Chief Technology Officer for Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC), Chief Technology Officer and CEO of New Business Development for Johnson Matthey, Global R&D Director for The Dow Chemical Co., and Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Univ. of Alberta.

Julianne Holloway is an associate professor of chemical engineering at Arizona State University (ASU).

Ana Davis heads Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) in North America for Syngenta, a global agriculture company.

Dr. Norma A. Alcantar is Professor and Associate Dean for Research in the Dept. of Chemical, Biological, and Materials Engineering at the Univ. of South Florida. She is a global pioneer in developing innovative, natural technologies for environmental, medical, and industrial applications.

Stephen P. (Steve) Beaudoin is Professor in Purdue’s Davidson School of Chemical Engineering. He is Founding Director of the Purdue Energetics Research Center (PERC), where he directs multiple DoD-sponsored research centers focused on explosives and propellant engineering.

Jerry Forest has four decades of experience in manufacturing and process safety, with a mission to save lives, protect the environment, and preserve jobs by preventing process safety incidents.

Omolola (Lola) Eniola-Adefeso is the Associate Dean for Graduate and Professional Education in Engineering and the University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Univ. of Michigan.

Hugh James is the Chief Executive Officer at Project Commercialization Group (PCG), Inc. Chemical engineering is challenging, changing, and exciting. Hugh’s long career has taken full advantage of this fact. He has worked in industries including engineering and construction, gas, fertilizers, chemicals, power, pipelines, mining, and venture capital — with experiences ranging from small to Fortune 100 organizations.

Concetta La Marca is a Senior Principal Consultant at the Chemours Co., with 35 years of industrial experience.

Laura Matz is the Chief Science and Technology Officer for Merck, KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, driving innovation and digitalization across the company’s life sciences, healthcare, and electronics sectors.

Dave Parrillo is currently the Vice President of R&D for Dow’s Packaging and Specialty Plastics and Hydrocarbons division.

Raymond Rooks is a principal engineer at AVN Corporation, where he develops new chemical processes, and designs and operates process separation systems, in particular distillation systems, for a range of clients and chemistries.

Jean Tom is a Professor of the Practice in the CBE department at Princeton University, her graduate alma Mata.

David A. Klanecky is recoginzed for his impressive 30+ year career in R&D, operations, and commercial and strategic leadership roles in North America, Europe, and Asia, David brings this experience to his role as the CEO and President of Cirba Solutions, the most comprehensive and trusted battery materials and management provider.

Jessica O. Winter is a Distinguished Professor in the William G. Lowrie Dept. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and past Associate Director of the Center for Emergent Materials, an NSF Materials Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) at The Ohio State Univ.