Argus Methanol & Ammonia Conference

René Laursen

Director, Global Sustainability, ABS

Mr. René Sejer Laursen Holds an M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Denmark in 1989.
He has worked for MAN B&W Diesel since 1998 and has been among others, been project manager on developing the very first ME-GI, a dual fuel 2-stroke marine engine operating on natural gas. From 2010 introducing also the methanol, ethane gas and LPG as marine fuel for shipping market. Launched the concept for engine burning ammonia back in 2017.
From 2020 René is working for ABS in the Global Sustainability Group as Director with responsibility for fuels and new technologies and has among others been leading the ammonia safety project for EMSA, comprising 6 reports in total.

Dr. Matthias Stein

Director Chemicals Market, Air Liquide

Carlos Torres

Global Head of Methanol & Strategic Relationships, Bunker Holding A/S

Amit Goyal

Senior Director - Low carbon Services, North America, DNV

Amit Goyal is the senior director of low-carbon services for north America at DNV. His technical expertise is in thermal-catalysis, particularly hydrogen production and its conversion to derivatives. Before joining DNV, he was the director of technology at Modern Hydrogen, a Bill-Gates-backed start-up that works on methane pyrolysis for the distributed production of hydrogen. He was also the director of sustainable chemistry and catalysis at the Southern Research Institute, where he worked on various anything-to-liquids (XTL) projects. At DNV, he develops solutions for green and blue hydrogen, methanol, SAF, synthetic methane and low-carbon ammonia. He guides customers on GHG policies, validation and verification to meet regulatory and voluntary requirements, feasibility studies, strategic planning, technology and business roadmaps, mitigation planning, process engineering, techno-economic analysis and new technology evaluation. His research ideas have generated more than $40mn in federal funding, 20 patents and patent applications, and four licensed technologies.

Brian Davis

Chief Executive Officer, C2X

Lara Naqushbandi

Chief Executive, ETFuels

Tim Cesarek

Operating Partner, Ara Partners

Tim Cesarek has over 40 years of leadership, business development and investment experience; 25 of those years in the renewable energy, fuels and chemicals industry. Mr. Cesarek currently is an Operating Partner for Ara Partners, a $6.6 billion private equity fund. In that role, Tim serves as the Executive Chairman of BioVeritas and Chairman and CEO of Gidara Energy, both companies license technology for the conversion of waste and residues into fuels and chemicals.
Prior to his current role, Mr. Cesarek was the CEO of Synata Bio where he led a team to develop, build and operate a commercial scale first of kind gas fermentation plant in China. Mr. Cesarek has also been the Chief Commercial Officer of Gevo, an alcohol to fuels and chemicals business and Chief Commercial Officer of Enerkem, a waste to chemicals company.
Before Tim’s start up operational roles, he led the corporate venture efforts of Waste Management, investing in various waste conversion technologies and prior to Waste Management he led the corporate venture and open innovation arm of Koch Industries.
Mr. Cesarek has a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration.

Lawrence Navin

VP External Affairs, Methanol Institute

Lawrence Navin joined the Methanol Institute in June 2013. Lawrence's background includes having worked for the US Chamber of Commerce's US-India Business Council, the US Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and in the US Senate. Lawrence’s role with MI includes managing the Institute’s government and public affairs activities in the Americas and Europe, and to direct the Institute’s communications and social media activities. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations from the University of Delaware, and a Master of Arts degree in International Commerce and Policy from George Mason University.

Jakob Krummenacher

VP of Clean Energy, LSB Industries

Jakob Krummenacher, VP of Clean Energy at LSB Industries, leads the clean energy strategy, which includes driving initiatives to lower the company carbon footprint, improving environmental sustainability, and developing markets for future low carbon products, like using ammonia as a fuel in marine applications and power generation. Mr. Krummenacher has over 17 years of experience in the energy and chemical industry, most recently with CF Industries where he was an integral part of the Clean Energy Solutions team. He began his career with BP, where he held various positions of increasing responsibility in the chemicals, oil trading, and energy trading businesses. Mr. Krummenacher has ample knowledge of commodity markets, energy trading, corporate development, technology, and strategy. Mr. Krummenacher holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota, and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Dave McCaskill

Vice President, Methanol and Derivatives Service, Argus

Dave McCaskill has been invested in the petrochemical industry for over 35 years. Beginning his long career with Celanese Chemical in 1975, Dave started as a chemical engineer at their Pampa, Texas plant, and steadily progressed through a series of positions ranging from planning, supply chain, field sales and marketing within the organization. Noted positions included Business Manager Ethylene Oxide/Ethylene Glycol and the last several years with the company as Business Manager Methanol & Derivatives. In 2000, Dave moved into the consulting sector and worked with another leading industry consulting organization, heading their Global Methanol service for 10 years. Joining DeWitt & Company in 2010, as Vice President Methanol & Derivatives, Dave continues to be focused on all commercial aspects of the methanol industry—supply, demand, capacity, pricing, cost structure, etc. Dave graduated from the University of Kansas, with a degree in chemical engineering, in 1975.

Steven McGinn

Associate Editor, Argus

Cassidy Staggers

Senior Analyst, Argus

Becky Zhang

Asia Methanol Lead Consultant, Argus

Becky Zhang works for Argus in a role of Asia petrochemical analyst, mainly covering Asia’s olefins and methanol markets. She has over ten years of real-time market editor work, familiar with chemical market dynamics particularly on China market and has wide industrial networks. She has also spent two years particularly in consulting service as a project manager focusing on China market and led projects in various industries, including refinery, olefins, polymers, coal and methanol. Becky is also a regular presenter at olefins and methanol conferences and forums. Becky is a chemical engineering graduate from East China University of Science and Technology, and holds two masters’ degrees in Environmental and Energy Engineering from the University of Sheffield (2001-2002) and Entrepreneurship from the University of Nottingham (2002-2003).

Roel Salazar

Methanol and Derivatives Consultant, Argus

Roel Salazar, is the Methanol and Derivatives Consultant for Argus DeWitt. Roel is responsible for assessing US Methanol spot prices and monthly indexes. Roel is also instrumental in preparing the Annual Global MTBE Report and MTBE Monthly Outlook. Roel joined DeWitt & Company Inc. in 2005 as an Olefins Analyst supporting the Ethylene, Propylene, and Butadiene services. Mr. Salazar joined the Fuels and Octane team in 2011 and has steadily built key client relationships with US MTBE consumers, producers and traders while helping them analyze the global MTBE and Octane markets. Roel’s previous experience includes managing system development projects in several industries. His petrochemical experience includes working at one of Mobil’s ethylene cracker in Houston between 1996 -1997. Mr. Salazar holds an undergraduate degree in Information Systems from the University of Houston.

Tessa Weiss

Manager - Heavy Industry, RMI

Tessa Weiss is a manager at the global clean energy non-profit RMI, where she leads initiatives to scale markets for low-emission fuels and commodities. She specialises in hydrogen and its downstream applications, including clean ammonia, and focuses on bridging supply, demand and infrastructure to unlock investment. Tessa has advised policymakers, corporate leaders and investors on market design, procurement strategies and techno-economic pathways to accelerate the adoption of clean fuels. Her recent work expands into carbon management and corporate sustainability, including efforts to increase demand in sectors such as plastics and food production. She has led collaborations with the U.S. Department of Energy and industry coalitions to shape hydrogen demand signals and financing mechanisms. Tessa holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and works to translate complex energy systems into actionable strategies for industry transformation.