Petrochemical Heritage Award
Hiromasa Yonekura
2010 Petrochemical Heritage Award
Hiromasa Yonekura
Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd., received the 14th annual Petrochemical Heritage Award on Sunday, 28 March 2010, at the Grand Hyatt in San Antonio, Texas.
The award was presented at the CHF/NPRA Symposiusm on Entrpreneurship and Innovation in the Petrochemical Industry, held as part of the 2010 International Petrochemical Conference hosted by the National Petrochemical Refiners Association (NPRA).
About Hiromasa Yonekura
Hiromasa Yonekura is chairman of the Sumitomo Chemical Company. He joined the company in 1960 and served as representative of its New York office from 1969 through 1972. He was appointed general manager of the foreign department in 1983 and of the corporate planning office in 1986.
In 1991 Yonekura became director and general manager of the Organic Chemicals Division. Over the years he acted as general manager of a number of areas, including the basic chemicals administration office of the Organic and Inorganic Chemicals divisions and the planning and coordination offices of both the Basic Chemicals Sector and the Petrochemicals and Plastics Sector.
In 1995 Yonekura was named managing director of the planning and coordination office of the Basic Chemicals Sector and the Petrochemicals Division of the Petrochemicals and Plastics Sector. In 1998 he was appointed senior managing director of the corporate planning and coordination office. He became president of Sumitomo Chemical in 2000 and has served as chairman since 2009.
Yonekura received a law degree from the University of Tokyo. He received an M.A. and a Ph.D., both in economics, from Duke University.
About the Petrochemical Heritage Award
CHF and the Founders Club established the Petrochemical Heritage Award in 1997 to recognize individuals who made outstanding contributions to the petrochemical community; to inspire achievement; and to promote public understanding of the modern sciences, industries, and economies. Past recipients of the award include Mohamed Al-Mady, vice chairman and CEO of the Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC); Peter R. Huntsman, president and CEO of the Huntsman Company; Dave C. Swalm, founder of Texas Petrochemicals Company; Dan L. Duncan, chairman, Enterprise Products partners; J. Virgil Waggoner, former president and CEO of Sterling Chemicals; Ting Tsung ("T. T.") Chao, founder of the Westlake Chemical Corporation; William A. McMinn, Jr., former president of Cain Chemical; Harold A. Sorgenti, former president and chief executive officer of ARCO Chemical Company; Herbert D. “Ted” Doan, former chairman and CEO of the Dow Chemical Company; Jon M. Huntsman, founder of Huntsman Corporation; Gordon Cain, well-known chemical engineer and business entrepreneur; John T. Files, founder and chairman of the Merichem Company; John R. Hall, chemical engineer and former president, chairman, and CEO of Ashland; and Ralph Landau, cofounder of Halcon/Scientific Design Group.
About the Founders Club
The Founders Club was founded in 1981 by a group of petrochemical industry executives who participated in the establishment of the Petrochemical Committee of the NPRA and ultimately generated the International Petrochemicals Conference (IPC) as a separate identity within NPRA. The Founders Club today is a select group of individuals with a minimum of 25 years of distinguished service in the petrochemical industry. The club proudly advances the legacy inherited from these original "Founders" as contributing stewards of the petrochemical industry with a respect for the past (legacy), activities for the present (networking), and support for the future (recognition).
About the National Petroleum Refiners Association
NPRA was established in 1961 as a result of the merger of the National Petroleum Association and the Western Petroleum Refiners Association. It is the oldest continuing oil-industry association in the United States, dating back to 1902, with the founding of the National Petroleum Association. NPRA represents virtually all refining and petrochemical producers in the United States and has a significant number of non-U.S. companies as members.
About the Chemical Heritage Foundation
The Chemical Heritage Foundation (CHF) fosters an understanding of chemistry’s impact on society. An independent nonprofit organization, we strive to
- Inspire a passion for chemistry;
- Highlight chemistry’s role in meeting current social challenges; and
- Preserve the story of chemistry across centuries.
CHF maintains major collections of instruments, fine art, photographs, papers, and books. We host conferences and lectures, support research, offer fellowships, and produce educational materials. Our museum and public programs explore subjects ranging from alchemy to nanotechnology