People

We're doing something different at Baystar, and it starts with our people. Our shared vision is to provide the best custom solutions delivered with a smile.

At Baystar, we’ve assembled an amazing group of people based on experience, expertise, shared values, and the character traits that make us uniquely positioned to serve you. Our team is empowered to move quickly and make decisions to solve challenges and capture opportunities that move our industry forward. The motto around here is “we’ll figure it out,” and that is exactly what we do every day. After all, our product is plastic, but our people are not. And when you meet our people, you’ll understand.

Our leadership

Diane Chamberlain

President

Brad Leesman

Commercial Director

Jari Hatonen

Operations Director

Shauna Meyer

Finance and Business Services Director

Kinga Doris

General Counsel

Leadership bio

Diane Chamberlain

President

Diane assumed the role of president in 2018, bringing a great depth of experience in the petrochemical industry, including a strong operational background in ethylene and polyethylene, as well as leadership in supply chain, sales, business development, technical marketing, and catalyst technology.

Previously, she served as the global business manager of Shell Catalysts and Technologies and general manager of Shell Chemical’s global supply chain. Her previous tenure includes Styrenics business development manager and propylene commercial manager for Chevron Phillips Chemical Company (CPChem). Diane also held leadership and technical positions at ChevronTexaco as customer service and distribution manager, operations engineer, process control engineer and facilities engineer.

Since her appointment, she has overseen considerable growth and development at Baystar, including the start-up of a new 1 million ton-per-year ethane cracker in Port Arthur as well as the nearly completed 625,000 metric ton-per-year PE unit employing Borstar® 3G technology – the largest facility of its kind in the world and a North American first.

Diane is most proud of the diverse team she has assembled and the core values they share as Baystar steps up as a fully integrated ethane-to-polyethylene company that efficiently and safely manufactures innovative, differentiated products for a high-demand market.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering and Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the University of Utah. She earned her Master of Business Administration from Rice University. When not in her office, on the road, or meeting with customers, Diane can be found in one of the plants talking with the operators and technicians.

Leadership bio

Brad Leesman

Commercial Director

Brad joined the Baystar leadership team in 2021, enthused by the opportunity to build a stellar team from the ground up and design a new-era approach to service excellence. He guides Baystar’s sales and marketing, procurement, customer service, supply chain, technical services and logistics for both olefins and polyethylene. With more than 30 years of experience in the polyolefins industry, Brad understands where the gaps are and offers invaluable insights into domestic and international market trends and challenges faced by manufacturers and converters. His leadership experience includes successful tenures in business development, technical sales and marketing, and product management. With a proven track record in developing both international and domestic markets, Brad takes a customer centric view to forging meaningful and long-lasting partnerships. He has worked at Sasol NA, Osterman & Co., General Electric and LyondellBasell (formerly Quantum Chemical) and traveled to 40 countries throughout his career.

Leadership bio

Jari Hatonen

Operations Director

Jari brings a wealth of experience across operations, technology integration, maintenance, research, and development. He has worked in the chemical manufacturing industry since 2006, beginning his career as a Researcher in R&D with Borealis. He worked in several roles with Borealis, including CAPX Investments Technology Development Manager and Borstar Production Manager at the Porvoo, Finland site. Jari moved to Texas in 2018 and became the Production Manager for the Bay 3 Borstar 3G project – to be the largest facility of its kind in the world upon completion. He was named Baystar Operations Director in October 2019.

Jari earned Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Electrical and Chemical Engineering from Helsinki University and a PhD in Applied Math from the University of Oulu in Finland.

Leadership bio

Shauna Meyer

Finance and Business Services Director

Shauna has over 25 years of experience including 10 years in the financial services industry with American General/AIG. Her strong background in finance, budgeting, analytics, systems, and process management are invaluable as Baystar leadership builds a strong foundation for accelerated growth. Prior to joining Baystar, Shauna spent 15 years upstream in the drilling and services sector at Nabors Industries where she was responsible for oversight and leadership of the worldwide operational finance team. She managed both domestic and international teams responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, compliance, and decision support for all drilling and services organizations.

Shauna holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Finance from Indiana University and a Master of Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University.

Leadership bio

Kinga Doris

General Counsel

Kinga has served as General Counsel since February 2020, providing invaluable guidance on all legal, ethics and compliance matters as Baystar increases its facility assets and positions for growth. Kinga has over 25 years of experience advising global energy companies. She was attracted to Baystar based on the company’s values and strategic direction. Prior to joining the leadership team, she served as General Counsel and Joint Company Secretary of Liquefied Natural Gas Limited and Vice President and General Counsel of Pacific Drilling S.A. where she led the company through a NYSE initial public offering. Kinga earned her Bachelor’s (magna cum laude) and Doctor of Jurisprudence degrees from Texas Tech University, and started her career in the Houston offices of international law firms.