Washington — The American Chemistry Council announced June 25 that Christopher Jahn, president and CEO of the Fertilizer Institute, will become its new top executive.
Jahn will take over for departing ACC President and CEO Cal Dooley, who first announced his retirement in April 2018, but in June 2018 delayed that move for a year to help the industry craft a strategy around public concerns over plastic waste.
In January, the industry announced a $1 billion initiative, the Alliance to End Plastic Waste. Dooley has been president and CEO of ACC since 2008.
The June 25 statement on Jahn's hiring said he will take over at ACC in October. ACC said Jahn will work closely with Dooley and ACC senior executives and board members on the transition.
Jahn joined the Washington-based fertilizer industry trade group as its top executive in 2013, after serving as president of the National Association of Chemical Distributors for seven years.
Prior to that he had been president of the Contract Services Association and worked on Capitol Hill, including as chief of staff to then-Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo.
ACC, which is also based in Washington, did not address the plastics issues directly in its statement on Jahn's hiring but said the industry faces a more challenging political environment.
"Chris immediately stood out for not only having a keen understanding and appreciation of the many opportunities and obstacles facing the U.S. chemical industry, but also for having a vision for helping us navigate through what is an increasingly challenging political landscape and rapidly shifting stakeholder and value chain expectations," said ACC Board Chairman Jerry MacCleary, who is also chairman and CEO of Covestro LLC.
"His demonstrated leadership on the industry's traditional issues is coupled with his intuitive grasp of our emerging issues," MacCleary said. "He understands our need to both build on and reimagine the chemical industry's leadership role in advancing a safer, cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future."