The Chemical Show: Where Leaders Talk Business

The chemical industry is navigating its longest down cycle in two decades, with oversupply, weak demand, and tariff uncertainty shaping a challenging landscape for business leaders. Host Victoria Meyer unpacks the third quarter 2025 earnings reports, highlighting five key themes impacting the industry: soft demand, price and margin pressures, disciplined cost control, shifts in supply chain strategy, and the increasing impact of tariffs and trade policy. 
Victoria shares strategies for business leaders looking to finish 2025 strong and prepare for 2026, including focusing on core value segments, strengthening regional supply chains, protecting margins, improving demand forecasting, and prioritizing cash and investment discipline. This episode delivers actionable insights for chemical industry professionals facing tough decisions and searching for clarity in uncertain times. 
 
Victoria explores the following topics: 
  • Industry faces weak demand, uncertainty, and stalled recovery. 
  • Oversupply crisis: Prices and margins squeezed, except in specialty/innovation segments. 
  • Cost discipline intensifies: Cutting spending, optimizing portfolios, reducing dividends. 
  • Firms pivot to regional markets and supply chains to manage tariffs and simplify operations. 
  • Actionable strategies for leaders to drive clarity, control, and growth heading into 2026. 
 
Killer Quote:"Cash is king, right? And that's what we're seeing. And getting smarter with how you're managing cash... This is around being crystal clear who your high value customers and your lesser value customers are and how you serve them. It is looking at your portfolio, your customer portfolio and optimizing it. Optimization gives you strength for your own business." - Victoria Meyer
 
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Creators and Guests

Host
Victoria Meyer
Host of The Chemical Show; founder and President of Progressio Global

What is The Chemical Show: Where Leaders Talk Business?

Looking to lead, grow, and stay ahead in the trillion-dollar global chemical industry? The Chemical Show - the #1 business podcast for the chemical industry - is your go-to resource for leadership insights, business strategies, and real-world lessons from the executives shaping the future of chemicals. Grow your knowledge, your network, and your impact.

Each week, you'll hear from executives from across the industry - from Fortune 50 to midsize to startups. You’ll hear how they're tacking today's challenges and opportunities, their origin story (what got them here!), how you can take and apply these lessons and insights to your own business and career.

We talk:
- Business Transformation
- Innovation
- Digitization of business
- Strategy
- Supply Chain
- and so much more

Founder and host Victoria King Meyer is an expert interviewer - who brings out the best in each guest. She gained her industry experience at leading companies, including Shell, LyondellBasell and Clariant. Today, she is a high-performance coach and advisor to business leaders in chemicals and energy, as well as the host of The Chemical Show podcast, and founder of The Chemical Summit.

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Websites:
https://www.thechemicalshow.com
https://www.thechemicalsummit.com
https://www.progressioglobal.com