Leadership

Randy Pogue

President and Chief Executive Officer

Randy Pogue is the President and Chief Executive Officer of AmSty.  He was appointed to this position in 2020 after serving as Senior Vice President – Styrene and Corporate Services since 2015 and Vice President - Styrene, Feedstocks and Corporate Services since 2008.  His role with Corporate Services included responsibility for the Supply Chain, Customer Service, Information Technology, and Purchasing functions of the company. 

Mr. Pogue began his career at The Dow Chemical Company as a Sr. Research Chemist in the Hydrocarbons Research group.  He subsequently held a variety of positions of increasing responsibility in Research and Development, Supply Chain and Business Management.  Mr. Pogue joined AmSty at the formation of the joint venture in 2008.   

Mr. Pogue holds a Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Drury College, as well as Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Physical Chemistry from the University of Oklahoma. 

Agnes Kamps

Chief Financial Officer

Agnes Kamps is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at AmSty.  She was appointed to this position in January 2021. 

Ms. Kamps comes to AmSty with more than 20 years of experience in corporate accounting and finance, with 15 of those years in positions of increasing responsibility in the finance organization of Siemens, a global industrial technology company.  At Siemens, Ms. Kamps worked in the US and served as a Director in corporate finance in the Building Technologies Division, a Country Controller for the Motion Control Business Unit, and most recently she was the Head of Finance for the Process Automation Unit within the Digital Industries Operating Company.

Ms. Kamps earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting degree from Robert Morris University as well as Master of Business Administration, Business Management degree from Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.

Jonathan Kammerer

Vice President – Operations

Jonathan Kammerer is the Vice President – Operations of AmSty.  He was appointed to the position in 2019 after serving as the Director – Polystyrene Operations since 2018 and Allyn's Point Plant Manager.  Mr. Kammerer also served as Site Services Leader at the Hanging Rock plant, after originally joining Dow Chemical in 1992 at the Allyn’s Point plant.  He has been an original AmSty employee since the company was formed in 2008.

Mr. Kammerer holds a bachelor of science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.

Frank Wright

Vice President – Feedstocks and Energy

Frank Wright is the Vice President – Feedstocks & Energy at AmSty. He was appointed to this position in 2015 after serving as Vice President - Styrene & Feedstocks since 2012.

Mr. Wright began his career with The Dow Chemical Company working the lower Gulf Coast both onshore and offshore as a Service Supervisor in acidizing, cementing and fracturing of oil and gas wells. He transferred to Dow’s Technical Service and Development group focused on Reaction Injected Molded Urethanes for Automotive applications in Freeport, Texas. Mr. Wright then moved to Midland, Michigan, for Dow’s Commercial Development Program and was deployed as a Seller. Mr. Wright continued his career as an Marketing Analyst and Product Manager in Dow’s Specialty Chemicals Department. He later returned to Texas managing Sales and Distribution for Dow's Chemicals and Performance Products Department.

In 1993, he was named Polymer Modification Market Development Manager for the Dow/Exxon Mobil Joint Venture, Dexco Polymers. While at Dexco he was named Business Development Manager and then Commercial Manager for sales and marketing with P&L responsibilities for the Polymer Modification and Asphalt Modification businesses. In 2000 Mr. Wright was named Commercial Manager for Dow’s Hydrocarbons and Resources Aromatic Derivatives business. In 2003 Mr. Wright was the Sr. Commercial Manager for EB/Styrene and Cumene adding responsibilities for the Americas region in 2004. In 2009 Mr. Wright joined the Dow / Chevron Phillips joint venture AmSty as Director – Feedstocks.

Mr. Wright holds a Bachelor's degree from Texas A&M University.

Tim Barnette

Vice President – Polymers and Sustainability

Tim Barnette is Vice President – Polymers and Sustainability of AmSty. He was appointed to this position in 2012.

Previously, Mr. Barnette served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexpak Corporation, a global leader in precision-molded package and content manufacturing for the music, cinematic, and videogame industries. Prior to joining Nexpak, Mr. Barnette was Vice President, Sales & Marketing, with packaging manufacturer Atlanta Precision Molding Company, Ltd., a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corporation and Sumitomo Heavy Industries.

Before working in the packaging market, Mr. Barnette worked as a commercial executive in Huntsman Chemical Corporation’s polystyrene and polypropylene businesses; in Chesapeake, Virginia and in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Barnette entered the petrochemical industry in 1981 as a polyethylene product engineer in Freeport, Texas with The Dow Chemical Company, before moving into commercial roles marketing polyethylene, polystyrene and specialty styrenic resins in Dow’s Atlanta office in 1984.

Mr. Barnette holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree from The Georgia Institute of Technology.

Joe Hulett

General Counsel and Vice President – Human Resources

Joe Hulett is General Counsel and Vice President – Human Resources of  AmSty. He was originally named to the position of General Counsel in 2007 and in 2014 also became Vice President - Human Resources.  Additionally, he is the Corporate Secretary and manages Corporate Communications and Public Affairs.  Previously, Mr. Hulett held various assignments in the Intellectual Property and Commercial legal groups of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, supporting a wide range of business units and technologies.

Prior to joining Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, Mr. Hulett was an Intellectual Property Litigator with the law firm of Fish & Richardson in their Houston, Texas, and Boston, Massachusetts, offices.  He was also Chief Patent Counsel at Plug Power, Inc., a leading developer of hydrogen fuel cell technology, in Latham, New York.

Mr. Hulett earned a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.  He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Houston Law Center.

Tim Watson

Vice President – Environmental, Health and Safety

Tim Watson is the Vice President – Environmental, Health and Safety of AmSty.He was appointed to the position in 2020 after serving as the Director – Environmental, Health and Safety, EH&S Director, and EHS&S Leader since 2009. While at AmSty, Mr. Watson has led the development of EH&S performance improvement and compliance programs since the formation of the company. Prior to joining AmSty, Mr. Watson was the EH&S Business Operations Leader for the Building Solutions business at The Dow Chemical Company.

Mr. Watson began his career with The Dow Chemical Company in 1986 as a Production Engineer at the Los Angeles Operation. He worked in various manufacturing leadership roles in the Epoxy, Polystyrene, Fabricated Products businesses before assuming the role of Site Logistics Leader. In 1997, Mr. Watson moved to Dow’s operations at Schopau, Germany where he assumed the role of Operating Discipline and Training Manager for the polypropylene project in the Engineering Plastics business.

In 1999, he relocated to Freeport, Texas to join the U.S. polypropylene project in the role of Manage Production Work Process Leader for the company’s Engineering Plastics Business.In 2004, Mr. Watson was named the EH&S Business Operations Leader for Dow Chemical’s Building Solutions Business, and subsequently joined AmSty during the joint venture formation in 2008.

Mr. Watson holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Karen Oldakowski

Controller

Karen Oldakowski is the Controller of AmSty, since 2014, and previously served as Interim Chief Financial Officer.Ms. Oldakowski also previously served as Assistant Controller and Finance Manager at AmSty, and was instrumental in developing many of the company’s important financial functions during the early years of AmSty.

Prior to joining AmSty, Ms. Oldakowski served as a former “Big 4” auditor with Deloitte & Touche LLP in Houston, primarily dealing in the Real Estate and Healthcare industries. She also worked at Drypers Inc., with responsibility for the North American region and Weingarten Realty Investors, one of the nation’s premier REITs where she oversaw M&A and joint-venture accounting.

Ms. Oldakowski holds a bachelor of business administration degree in Accounting from the University of Houston.

Lisa Jones

Director – Human Resources

Lisa Jones is Director – Human Resources for AmSty, where she has served since 2014.She started her career in 1999 as a Human Resources Liaison supporting Union Carbide facilities in the greater Houston area, which was acquired by Dow Chemical Company in 2001. Lisa joined the Dow Human Resource Development group as an Implementation Leader and HR Site Services Leader, responsible for Houston area locations. In 2007, Lisa joined Praxair with oversight of the North America Gas Division and partner support to Praxair Services, Amko, and Customer Service. In 2008 Lisa returned to Dow to join the AmSty joint venture team as a Human Resources Generalist. Since then she has been promoted to positions of increasing responsibility at AmSty, and currently is responsible for AmSty’s Human Resources operations.

Prior to joining the chemical industry, Lisa held various professional positions at the Rio Grande State Center, the Texas Engineering Extension Service, and the University of Houston.

Lisa holds a Bachelors of Business Administration Degree with College of Business Administration Honors and a Masters Degree in Human Resources from Texas A&M University.

Bill Griebel

Director – Supply Chain and Customer Service

Bill Griebel is the Director – Supply Chain and Customer Service of AmSty. He was appointed to the position in 2020 after serving as the Director – Supply Chain since 2014. Mr. Griebel joined AmSty in 2013 after an 18 year career with The Dow Chemical Company across various roles in Supply Chain Leadership, Planning, Consulting and Six Sigma.

Mr. Griebel holds a bachelor of arts degree in International Relations from the University of Redlands, California.

Alice Schmieg

Director – Strategy and Business Excellence

Alice Schmieg is the Director – Strategy, Procurement and Business Processes.  She previously supported the company’s strategic efforts through her business analytics and financial reporting expertise.  Ms. Schmieg joined AmSty in 2008 after many years at General Motors where she held various roles in engineering and finance.

Ms. Schmieg holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.