Nova Chemicals names Roger Kearns as new president and CEO

Roger Kearns. Photo Credit: Nova Chemicals Corp.

Calgary-based polyethylene (PE) maker Nova Chemicals Corp. has appointed chemical industry veteran Roger Kearns as its new president and CEO effective June 12.

Kearns succeeds Danny Dweik, who has served as Nova’s interim president and CEO 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 Co. Dweik had replaced Luis Sierra, who served as Nova’s president and CEO since mid-2020.

Kearns most recently served as the chief operating officer of material supplier Westlake Corp. During his tenure at Westlake, which began in 2018, he also served as executive vice president, performance and essential materials, where he led the acquisition of Hexion’s global epoxy business; and as executive vice president of vinyl chemicals.

Kearns holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech and an MBA from Stanford. He spent the first part of his career at Solvay, where he held progressively senior roles on both the operational and investment sides of the business and across a number of international markets including the U.S., Europe, and Asia.

“Roger has impeccable industry knowledge, operational depth and a proven track record in driving performance improvements, combined with the ability to mobilize and lead large organizations,” Nova chairman Ahmed Yahia Al Idrissi said in an April 6 news release. “We are confident he’ll deliver Nova’s 2030 vision of becoming North America’s leading sustainable [PE] producer.”

As part of this plan, last month Nova announced an investment of up to $4 billion on sustainable and circular projects in a new ESG (environmental, social and governance) campaign. By 2030, Nova plans to generate 30 per cent of its PE sales from recycled content.