James Gallogly: Lyondellbasell CEO

James Gallogly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado in 1974. He went on and obtained a law degree in 1977 from the University of Oklahoma.  This looked like an individual who would go into law practice as a profession. Yet James took a different direction.

He joined the oil industry, Phillips in particular in 1980 and held a number of positions in exploration and production, legal and finance in the early portion of his career; this included international assignments as well. He rose through the ranks eventually becoming senior vice president of chemicals and plastic, vice president of olefins and polyolefins as well as vice president for North America production.

In 2000, James joined Chevron Phillips Chemicals as president and chief executive officer. In 2006, he became executive vice president of Refining, Marketing & Transportation for Conoco Phillips. James was then appointed executive vice president of Exploration & Production in 2008 for Conoco Phillips.

He then joined another company becoming the chief executive officer of LyondellBasell Industries in 2009. He became a member of the management board in 2010.

LyondellBasell is one of the largest plastics, chemical and refining companies in the world. It is involved in the entire petrochemical value chain, from refining to specialized petrochemical products and end uses. The firm manufactures products in 58 sites in 18 countries and has annual revenues of $45 billion.

James while a lawyer by training joined the oil industry and never looked back.