Asian American Career Ceilings: An Indian American Corporate Journey

The next Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceilings Initiative webcast will feature a fireside chat entitled “Asian American Career Ceilings: An Indian American Corporate Journey” with Bob Patel, President of Standard Industries, a privately held global industrial company operating in more than 80 countries with over 20,000 employees, Mr. Patel will talk about his immigration to the U.S. at an early age, the influences of his family on his educational and career choices, and his upward journey as a senior executive and then CEO of a number of large U.S. companies. He will also discuss the obstacles he overcame in his career, his view of the career ceiling environment now and in the future, and his advice about how Asian Americans can achieve success in corporate America. Mr. Patel is the recipient of many awards, including the prestigious Society of Chemical Industry award this year. In his award recognition, the Chair of the Society of Chemical Industry stated, “Bob has earned a well-deserved reputation for being a transformative leader in our industry. For well over a decade, he has been at the leading edge of the most pivotal issues facing our industry, particularly the effort to eliminate plastic waste from the environment. As a co-founder of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, he collaborated with other leaders to bring organizations from across the value chain together to identify meaningful solutions.”

Peter Young, Chair of the Asian American Career Ceilings Initiative and a Committee of 100 Member, will be the moderator. The webinar will be held on June 1, 2023, from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm Eastern Time / 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Central Time / 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm Pacific Time. In addition to the fireside chat, there will be a Q&A and a virtual networking session at the conclusion of the event. There is no fee for the webcast.

Speaker:

▦  Bob Patel

President, Standard Industries

Bob Patel is the President of Standard Industries, a privately-held global industrial company with 20,000 employees across more than 80 countries. As President of Standard, Bob works to identify and pursue opportunities to expand the Standard Performance Materials portfolio and take a global view of Standard’s Building Solutions and Performance Materials platforms to promote innovation, harness operational synergies, create efficiency, develop talent, and provide strategic guidance to all operating CEOs.

Prior to this role, Patel served as CEO of W.R. Grace & Co., a business owned by Standard Industries. Before joining Standard, he served as the Chief Executive Officer at LyondellBasell. He previously held leadership positions around the globe of increasing responsibility at LyondellBasell, Chevron Corporation, and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company for more than 30 years.

Patel earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The Ohio State University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Temple University. He serves on several boards, including the Houston Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, Halliburton Company, and is a member of the Business Council.

▦  Moderator and Chair of the Committee of 100 Asian American Career Ceiling Initiative: 

Peter Young, CEO and President, Young & Partners, Committee of 100 Member

Peter Young is CEO and President of Young & Partners, a boutique investment banking firm focused on the life science and chemical industries. He manages the firm and is actively involved in client transactions and financings. Under his leadership, Young & Partners has established and maintained its position as a highly regarded firm serving the corporate strategy, M&A, restructuring, and financing needs of clients worldwide. He was previously head of industry groups at Salomon Brothers, Schroders, and Lehman Brothers, a senior private equity executive with J.H. Whitney & Co., and a senior member of Bain & Co., the corporate strategy firm.

Mr. Young received a BA in Economics from Yale, an MS in Accounting from NYU, and MBA from Harvard Business School where he graduated as a Baker Scholar. He is a CPA and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. He serves on a number of boards of directors, both corporate and non-profit, and is a board member of Société de Chimie Industrielle, a leading life science and chemical industry non-profit organization and on the Editorial Advisory Board of Pharmaceutical Executive.