Leadership

Dr. Randy Pogue

President and Chief Executive Officer

Dr. 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. 

Dr. Pogue began his career at The Dow Chemical Company as a senior 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.  Dr. Pogue joined AmSty at the formation of the joint venture in 2008.   

Dr. 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. 

Larry Somma

Vice President - Chief Financial Officer

Larry Somma is Vice President - Chief Financial Officer. He was appointed to the position in 2024.

Mr. Somma comes to AmSty with more than 35 years of experience in various finance and treasury roles of increasing responsibility, including 8 years at LyondellBasell as Vice President - Corporate Treasurer and then Vice President - Finance Strategy and Transformation, where he led a team of over 450 professionals implementing initiatives including digital transformation, automation, data analytics, and FP&A process improvement.

More recently, Mr. Somma has served as Chief Financial Officer of Purecycle Technologies since 2021, including leadership of human resources, procurement, information technology and enterprise risk management.  

He holds a B.S. and M.E. in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Buffalo.  Outside of professional life, Mr. Somma is an accomplished endurance athlete, having completed more than 35 marathons and Ironman triathlons.

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 AmSty employee since the company was formed in 2008.

Mr. Kammerer holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue 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 of 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. He 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.  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, Safety and Security

Tim Watson is the Vice President of Environmental, Health, Safety, and Security (EHS&S) at AmSty, appointed in 2020. Since joining AmSty in 2009, Tim has led the development of EHS&S performance improvement and compliance programs, ensuring global safety, process safety risk management and environmental integrity.

Before AmSty, Tim was the EH&S Business Operations Leader for Dow Chemical's Building Solutions business. His career at Dow began in 1986, where he held various manufacturing leadership roles in the US and in Germany. 

Tim holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. His extensive experience and dedication to EHS&S excellence have made him a respected leader in the field.

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.

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. Ms. Jones joined the Dow Human Resource Development group as an Implementation Leader and HR Site Services Leader, responsible for Houston area locations. In 2007, Ms. Jones joined Praxair with oversight of the North America Gas Division and partner support to Praxair Services, Amko, and Customer Service. In 2008 Ms. Jones 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, Ms. Jones held various professional positions at the Rio Grande State Center, the Texas Engineering Extension Service, and the University of Houston.

Ms. Jones 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.

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.

Alice Schmieg

Director – Corporate Finance and Strategy

Alice Schmieg is the Director – Corporate Finance and Strategy. Most recently she served as Interim Chief Financial Officer and 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.