Leadership Team

Our leadership team represents decades of industry experience coupled with entrepreneurial spirit and passion for natural chemistry.

Stephen Doktycz

Chief Executive Officer

Steve started as the interim CEO in 2019 and officially took the helm at Vantage™ in 2020. Before joining Vantage™, he spent more than 27 years at The Dow Chemical Company in various globally focused leadership roles in strategic planning, finance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate development, including Corporate Director and Global Director, Corporate and Strategic Development. He then served as the Senior Vice President of LyondellBasell and most recently as Senior Advisor to H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a leading global private equity and alternative assets investment firm.

Steve has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an MBA from Northwestern University and a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Craig Yuen

Chief Financial Officer

Craig joined Vantage as Chief Financial Officer in June 2015. Prior to this, he spent 11 years in public accounting at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP serving middle market manufacturing and distribution companies and 10 years at Northstar Aerospace, a publicly owned industrial manufacturer serving in various roles including Chief Financial Officer, Chief Strategy Officer and Corporate Controller. He has led teams across all functions of manufacturing in growing and turnaround environments.

Craig holds a Bachelor’s in Accounting from the University of Illinois and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

Allison Yake

Chief Technology Officer

Allison joined Vantage as the Chief Technology Officer in April 2016. Prior to this, she spent 7 years in various technology and leadership roles in different business units at E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co. Most recently, Allison was at The Chemours Company, FC. as the Global Technology Manager for their Fluoroproducts Industrial Resins business. She has led cross-functional teams with a focus on new product development, product line renewals, innovation for growth, and process and quality improvements.

Allison holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering with a minor in Biomedical Engineering from Bucknell University, and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University.

Ben Topercer

Chief Human Resources Officer

Ben joined Vantage as the Chief Human Resource Officer in June 2016. Prior coming to Vantage, Ben developed his career with companies including Rexam, Henkel, Eaton, and Premier Farnell. With each role he expanded his responsibilities, all with the common goal of developing a business-first HR solution to help the organization meets its objectives. He has led teams across multiple disciplines of human resources in international manufacturing and distribution businesses.

Ben holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a minor in International Business from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse and a MBA with an emphasis in HR from Marquette University.

Drew Richardson

Vice President of Operations

Drew has advanced within the operations organization, having started in 2002 with Vantage™ (formerly Uniqema) as a management trainee and then as a process engineer at the Oleochemicals site in Chicago. He quickly took on increasing responsibilities with several corporate and plant roles in the U.S. and in the Netherlands within the corporate engineering group. Drew was then promoted into manufacturing leadership positions and has been instrumental in the growth of Vantage™ with expansions at Chicago and acquisition integrations. In his current position, he leads safety, supply chain and production operation organizations globally.

Drew holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Alexander Snell

Senior Vice President, Europe, Middle East and Africa

Alexander joined Vantage™ in August 2020 as Senior Vice President for the Region Europe. Prior to this he served at FoamParter AG as a member of the Board and Executive Vice President Region Europe. From 2002 till 2018 he held various leadership roles at Clariant AG, including Business Director Industrial Applications & Base Products where he led a sales team across Europe, Middle East and Africa. He also spent four years in India executing Clariant´s regional strategy.

Alexander has a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from the University of Münster, Germany and a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in business economics from Fernuniversität Hagen, Germany.

Alberto Laveran

Senior Vice President, Latin America

Alberto consulted for Vantage™ before officially joining us in 2020 to lead our LATAM Region. Prior to his consulting work, he spent more than 20 years with The Dow Chemical Company, holding various roles in finance, business analysis and strategic planning and, most recently, as the Hydrocarbons Business Director for LATAM. His positions have entailed moves to Switzerland, Belgium and the U.S.

Alberto completed a six-year undergraduate/graduate degree program at the School of Economic Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires, as well as graduate work in business economics from Universidad del Sur. He now resides in his original home city, Buenos Aires.

Michael Sabatelli

Senior Vice President Oleochemicals

Michael joined Vantage (formerly Unichema International) as a Technical Sales Representative in July 1998. He then moved into the Strategic Account Manager role and assumed the leadership position of Sales Director in January 2011. Soon thereafter, Vantage named him Business Director before promoting him to Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing, of the Oleochemical division, in July 2015. He carries over 17 years of experience in the Oleochemical industry.

Michael holds a Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering and a Master’s in Business Administration from West Virginia University.

Shane Porzio

Senior Vice President Performance Materials

Shane joined Vantage in March 2019 as a member of the Executive Leadership Team with global responsibility for the Performance Materials division. Prior to joining Vantage, Shane enjoyed a 20+ year career with BASF Group spanning functions such as R&D, Manufacturing, Sales & Marketing, Business and General Management. Shane has experience across diverse market segments and has broad international exposure including assignments in Mexico, Germany, Brazil and Italy. He has a passion for customers, an innovative mindset focused on growth and a motivational leadership style.

Shane holds a Bachelor of Science degree with a double major in Anthropology and Chemistry from Beloit College, an MBA from Wake Forest University, and a Ph.D. in Polymer Science from the University of Akron.

Tim Wilson

Senior Vice President Transformation

Tim, the first to be named to this newly created position at Vantage in 2020, has spent his entire career helping companies navigate and succeed during periods of transformational growth and change. Most recently as a partner at The Boston Consulting Group in Chicago, Tim has worked alongside C-suite executives of Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods companies to develop successful innovation- and growth-focused strategies. Tim has served directly as Chief Transformation Officer with several companies, leading teams in implementing programs that delivered enterprise-wide value and transformational organizational effectiveness.

Tim earned both his MBA and his B.A. in English from Northwestern University.

Sumeet Verma

SVP – Commercial Excellence Consultant

When Sumeet joined Vantage™ in 2021, he already had a deep understanding of our commercial operations. As Executive Vice President for the Mensana consulting group, he worked with our leaders to further our Commercial Excellence initiatives and to refine our overall business strategy. Sumeet has spent more than a decade in various leadership roles with consulting companies, driving sustainable change in large-scale organizations and delivering tangible financial results. He has led teams to bring both operational and commercial improvements in a variety of industries.

Sumeet earned his Honors in Business Administration through the Richard Ivey School of Business at Western University in Canada and lives in Toronto.

Noel Beavis

Senior Executive Advisor

Noel began his career with Vantage™ (formerly Uniqema) as a Technical Sales Representative in 1979. Since then, he has served as Production Manager, General Manager, Vice President Technical, Vice President Operations and, most recently, as Chief Operating Officer. As a veteran manufacturing executive, Noel enjoys facilitating business growth by developing high-performing teams and steering innovative investments. To drive businesses forward, he draws on experience obtained through many internationally diverse and challenging roles. His involvement has led to many cross-functional opportunities in multi-national and private equity environments.

Noel holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Monash University in Australia.