Televantos Receives AIChE's Government and Industry Leaders Award

John Y. Televantos, Partner at Arsenal Capital Partners, a private equity firm focused on the specialty industrial, healthcare, and specialty financial services sectors, will receive the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Government and Industry Leaders (AGILE) Award. The award is given by AIChE to leaders who have made significant contributions to the chemical engineering profession and whose innovations have made a significant impact within the industries that employ chemical engineers. Dr. Televantos will also deliver the welcoming Keynote Address at AIChE’s 2017 Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety in San Antonio, Texas.

The meeting, to be held at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from March 26 to 30, will consists of nearly 200 sessions across ten topical conferences, and will explore areas of interest to practicing chemical engineers, with a focus on developments in energy, manufacturing, and industrial safety. Over 2,000 practitioners and company leaders from around the world are expected to participate.

Televantos will set the stage for the engineering conference with his talk entitled “Chemical Engineers Can Do Anything” on Monday morning, March 27. At the conclusion of his presentation, Televantos will receive the AGILE Award in recognition of his technical contributions to polyol manufacturing, as well as for his leadership at Arsenal Capital — one of the industry’s most active investors in middle-market chemical businesses.

In announcing Televantos’ selection as AIChE’s 2017 AGILE Award recipient, June Wispelwey, Executive Director, praised Televantos’ leadership in the urethanes industry, his business acumen, his countless innovations, and coaching of young professions. She also commented on his leadership as co-chair of the AIChE Foundation’s “Doing a World of Good Campaign,” which focuses on endeavors that employ chemical engineering expertise to create positive solutions to those global issues which affect all of society. “John’s dedication to the success of the chemical engineering profession — and his personal and professional commitment to the advancement of the remarkable achievements of chemical engineers — make him highly worthy of AIChE’s AGILE Award honor,” Wispelwey said. “AIChE is gratified by John’s ongoing commitment to the chemical engineering profession and we are honored to have him as our conference keynote speaker.”

Televantos earned a PhD in chemical engineering from University of London, and in 1977 began his career in silicones research at Union Carbide. There he developed cost- and waste-efficient processes for the manufacture of methyl chloride and siloxane. After progressing through management positions at Union Carbide, he joined ARCO Chemical, where he became vice president of strategy and development. At ARCO, Televantos led a team that developed and commercialized a breakthrough technology for manufacturing polyols — a key raw material for polyurethanes — that opened the door to the creation of new higher-performance plastics. That technology has since been licensed by major polyol manufacturers worldwide, leading to significant reductions in waste and emissions.

Prior to joining Arsenal Capital in 2006, Televantos also served as President of Aqualon Company, President and Founder of Helios Chemical Company, and CEO of Foamex International.

At Arsenal, Televantos is co-head of the firm’s specialty industrial practice. During his tenure, he has led with his team more than 100 acquisitions in the chemicals and materials space. In addition to serving on the boards of many Arsenal-owned companies, he is Lead Director on the board of Balchem Corporation.

For more information about AIChE’s Spring Meeting and Global Congress on Process Safety, visit http://www.aiche.org/spring.