Dr Patricia Vangheluwe graduated from the University of Leuven (Belgium) in 1984 with a PhD in Organic Chemistry, followed by a post-Doctorate at the University of Pretoria (South Africa). She also holds a master degree in Controllership from the Vlerick Management School (Ghent, Belgium).

She joined Shell in 1989 and held various positions from manager to Senior Vice President in Shell, Montell, Basell and LyondellBasell in the fields of research, marketing, strategy, communications and human resources. She worked in Belgium, Germany, South America and South Africa and travelled extensively around the world.

In October 2010 she joined PlasticsEurope to lead their pan-European Technical Department. Together with expert teams, she manages and coordinates the scientific content to support the association’s mission.