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Celebrating four years of chemical insights, Victoria Meyer takes a unique look back at what started as an ambitious idea and has now transformed into the number one business podcast in the chemical industry. Reflecting on the journey from 2021 to 2025, Victoria shares her personal and professional growth, marking pivotal shifts that have shaped both her career and the wider chemical landscape. From energy policies to digital transformation, Victoria discusses the ever-evolving dynamics of the industry and her mission to foster meaningful connections and insights through The Chemical Show.
This special anniversary episode offers listeners an engaging reintroduction to Victoria herself, diving into her background in chemical engineering, her passion for growth, and her role as an entrepreneur, media business owner, and executive coach. As she outlines the past and future of The Chemical Show, including industry trends and the strategic direction of the chemical industry at large, Victoria invites her audience to continue the journey of learning, connecting, and innovating together.
This week, we explore these topics in detail:
- Victoria Meyer's background and origin story
- The evolution of The Chemical Show: 2021 to today
- Industry resilience and adaptation
- The power of community and connection
- The future of The Chemical Show
Killer Quote: "I believe that people learn from people. And that's one of the fundamentals of The Chemical Show, that we are all going through the same stuff. And it's really nice to know that, number one, we're not alone. Number two, it's how others are approaching opportunities and challenges..." - Victoria Meyer
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***Like what you hear? Leave a rating and review.
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Creators and Guests
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.
Follow us on LinkedIn for the latest!
Websites:
https://www.thechemicalshow.com
https://www.thechemicalsummit.com
https://www.progressioglobal.com
Welcome to The Chemical Show, the
podcast where Chemical means business.
I'm your host, Victoria Meyer,
bringing you stories and insights
from leaders driving innovation and
growth across the chemical industry.
Each week we explore key trends,
real world challenges, and the
strategies that make an impact.
Let's get started.
Victoria: Welcome back to the Chemical
Show where Chemical Means business.
Thank you for joining us today.
I am so excited to share
with you that drum roll.
This is our four year anniversary
episode, four years, and
what a journey it has been.
So first of all, thank you.
Thank you for joining us along the way.
Thank you for being a loyal
listener, for being a new listener.
Thank you for being an early
listener, for sharing it with a
friend, with a colleague, and more.
Since starting the Chemical Show
in 2021, it has really changed the
game and it has changed my business.
It's changed my relationship
with people across the industry.
And I think, and I hope that it has
really made a difference for you,
for others in the industry, for
companies, for leaders and more.
So thank you as part of our four year
anniversary, I really wanna take this
opportunity to do several things.
Number one, reintroduce myself.
People are like, how often do you have an
introduction call or introduction podcast?
I'm like, eh, not very often.
So let me, I'm gonna use part
of the time today is just to
share a bit more about myself.
As you know, if you're a loyal
listener of the Chemical Show, you
know, I always start with Origin
story and I'm gonna start with my
origin story and what got me here.
It's gonna be a bit of a then and now
reflection on the chemical industry
and where we were four years ago and
where we are today, and very different
places and yet also very similar.
And the word I wanna plant in your
mind is resilience, because we
talked a lot about resilience.
In 2021, we launched the podcast
and we are talking a lot about
resilience today in 2025.
And then thirdly, I wanna share with
you just more about the chemical show,
where we are and where we are growing
to be because, um, as I said, I.
This journey that started four years ago?
Well, first of all, it started
probably before then, but the podcast
has been an inflection point, for
myself, for my business, and for you.
I hope so.
Once again, thank you and let's get going.
So first of all, um, I'm gonna start with
a bit about myself and, and if you guys
are familiar with the Jay-Z Song, uh,
public Service announcement, you know,
allow me to reintroduce myself well.
I'm gonna reintroduce
myself to you so you know.
Who am I?
Victoria King Meyer.
I am today the host and the founder
of The Chemical Show, the Chemical
Summit, and an executive advisor and
coach across the chemical industry.
Where I started my journey though,
was where a lot of people, and
the industry started, right?
So I'm a chemical engineer
by training with an MBA.
I pursued a career in the
chemical industry and in chemical
engineering, much like many other.
Of students and many of my
guests who were like, well, I
was good at math and science.
I like problem solving.
And that led me to be
encouraged to study engineering.
I grew up on a farm in northern Illinois.
In fact, you guys who are watching this
on, YouTube or seeing clips may notice.
Hey, that looks like a
different recording environment.
It is.
I'm actually, at a podcasting
conference in Chicago and recording.
This episode and where I'm
sitting today is not far from
where I went to university.
So I went to Illinois Institute of
Technology in Chicago, to study
chemical engineering, and it's
not far from where I grew up in
a small town outside of Chicago.
Grew up on a farm where you
really learn these skills of
problem solving and hard work.
I spent my summers bailing hay
and milking cows and doing all
those farm kid things, before I
went off to college in Chicago at.
I, IT as I mentioned, and, um, and started
a career in the chemical industry, right?
So everything from project engineering
to manufacturing, at companies including
Amaco back when there was an amaco.
Most of it's now Ineos, as you
guys know, and Lyon de Bassell
or predecessor company to that.
And then, took a pause
and went and did an MBA at.
The Kellogg School at
Northwestern University.
'cause part of my story is I always knew
I was starting in engineering and then
moving into management, whatever that
meant at the time my post MBA career
took me to Houston, where I joined
Shell and I spent a big part of my
career inside of Shell Chemicals, doing
everything from strategy to m and a.
Selling businesses, buying
businesses, running businesses,
turning around businesses, and
finally starting businesses.
And so part of my story and where
you see my focus, when I talked
to certain, uh, people across the
industry or attend certain events
is a big part of my time at Shell.
I was global marketing manager for
the NEODOL alcohols and ethoxylates,
so the surfactant space, soapy stuff.
That's where I got really well-versed
and well-known and understanding of,
um, ACI and its members companies.
And so it's one of my go-to places.
I love it.
It's like going home, back
in convening and with people
across the surfactants business.
I also spent a lot of time in
polyethylene, including early in my
career in manufacturing, and then later
starting up Shell's polyethylene business.
Which as people might have heard me say,
you know, it took 13 years to start up.
I wasn't there the whole time.
Went from Shell to Clariant and then
left Clariant in 2017 and kicked
the tires on a few things and said
I can do more value outside of
companies and inside of companies.
And that's where I started Progressio
Global and my consulting business, working
on strategy and growth, helping companies
in and adjacent to the chemical industry.
Grow their businesses, implement
strategies more effectively with their
employees and with their customers.
And for me personally, it's always
been about, growth people, um, people
both inside the company and outside the
company and creating that customer focus.
Along the way.
Um, and when you.
Our, a consultant and a professional
service provider, you know, people
say, oh, you should build authority.
Well, one of the ways to build
authority, as they say, to become
known is through podcasting.
I had fallen in love with the medium
of podcasting, and in 2021, I decided
to launch The Chemical Show Podcast.
And in fact, I, um, some of you guys have
heard this story, I was actually on a
goal setting retreat with my husband in
November, 2020 and out for a walk and had
been thinking about this, wanting to start
a podcast, not sure what it was gonna be
about, and this moment of clarity came
and it's like, it's The Chemical Show.
Keep it simple.
Um, went back to our hotel room,
bought the website right away.
It was available, it was, let's go.
Um, spoke to one of my business
coaches a couple days later who said,
Hey, I can, would you like me to
introduce you to my podcast company
that I work with that helps, you know,
can help you launch your podcast?
And I said, yes.
And the rest, as they say is history.
I'm gonna get to a little bit more
about The Chemical Show and the
business and what that is, but really
coming back to me, and this is part
of my, you know, reintroduction of
introducing you to Victoria and what
gets me going and why do I do what I do.
I love to engage with people.
You guys can see this, I believe.
That people learn from people.
And that's one of the fundamentals
of the Chemical show, that we are
all going through the same stuff.
And it's really nice to know
that, number one, we're not alone.
I.
Um, number two, it's how others
are approaching opportunities and
challenges, and that ties into what
we're doing on The Chemical Show.
It ties into what we do with The
Chemical Summit, which I can explain
more about in a little bit, and
also some of the mastermind groups
that I've launched, including the
Chemical Executive Mastermind.
So if you don't know
about that, stay tuned.
You're gonna be hearing more, not
just on the Chemical show, but
as you, as we go out in our email
campaigns and, and outreach, et cetera.
I started as a chemical engineer dipping
my toes into the chemical industry.
And today what I would tell you is
fundamentally I'm an entrepreneur.
, I'm a media business owner.
I'm a coach, and I'm a public speaker, and
those are the things that I love to do.
My core values, and these are the
things that come through on the
Chemical show, in the Chemical
Summit, in my coaching and speaking.
And the other things I do
is number one, connections.
I love building connections,
connecting people with each other,
helping make those connections.
Number two, insights.
This idea again, that we can
all learn from each other.
And for me, a big part of my
DNA is continuous learning.
, as I mentioned earlier, I'm at a
podcasting conference and I talk to
somebody, they're like, why are you here?
I'm like, to become better.
To become better to, for myself,
for you, my listeners, um,
and the chemical community, as
well as inside the chemical show.
And to become better with
that in my business and more.
And then three is growth.
And I'm very growth oriented.
And, you know, everything I have
done along the way really is
about growing businesses, growing
people, and achieving growth.
So that's me.
oh, next step.
I'm looking at my notes 'cause
I've, you know, wrote down what I
wanted to talk to you guys about.
I had this question recently, so I
ran into somebody and event Slack
Victoria, like, what do you do?
Like, what's really, what do you do?
And so what I would tell you is when
I started The Chemical Show, this
actually has marked a pivot for me.
I do very little consulting today,
like you still consulting a little bit.
I do advisory work there.
So what I would say is, number
one, I have a media business.
The chemical show, that also it has an
extended network beyond that and there
will be some additional podcasts coming.
So stay tuned.
And with this media business,
I collaborate and consult with
companies and leaders on how to
make an impact through new media.
So you guys have heard some
of the sponsorship ads, um,
and messages throughout.
I talk to companies that are gonna
have guests on The Chemical Show
about how do we make a more effective
story for them, for you
and to create that impact.
So that's number one.
Number two, I host an
event, The Chemical Summit.
So if you do not know about The
Chemical Summit, I'm just gonna tell
you that is a place that you need to be.
This is the third year
for the Chemical Summit.
It is held on September 30th and
October 1st in Houston, Texas.
It is a small conference, and I really
mean that it is small, 150 people.
Um, and it's about
connecting leaders together.
So we have stories on the stage and
speakers on stage, but more importantly,
building connections in the audience
amongst attendees who are talking
about, Hey, what just happened up there?
Do you believe that?
How are you guys approaching that?
Because once again, I believe
people learn from people and
we are all in this together.
The third piece of my business
portfolio is executive coaching.
I do one-on-one coaching with executives
and an exclusive executive mastermind,
Chemical Executive Mastermind, which
is a 12 month small group program
where we're bringing in leadership
learnings as well as creating a
peer group advisory, ecosystem to
help leaders become better leaders.
One of the things that.
Became really apparent to me when I moved
from big corporate Shell to Clariant
and then to working with small companies
is all too often leaders are alone.
Right?
We kind of forget that.
There are other people doing the same
thing, learning from each other and more.
And so back to this people learning
from people and helping people grow.
Um, the Chemical Executive Mastermind
is that third part of that ecosystem.
The fourth is strategic advisory work.
So I haven't fully left corporate behind.
Um, and it's really a much more
focused on helping startups move
into commercialization, helping
companies and leaders in transition,
and really applying my network.
The knowledge that I've built through The
Chemical Show, the community and more.
Um, and then the fifth thing
is professional speaking.
Whether at corporate events, at
conferences coming in and engaging,
sharing insights, wisdom, knowledge,
helping you grow, helping your
businesses become more, That's
that reintroduction part.
That's kind of the part one of this.
And, um, if any of that resonated
with you, send me an email.
Uh, let me know.
If you have any questions, let me know.
Happy to answer those for you.
My podcast journey.
So The Chemical Show, let's
talk about, we're doing the
look back on The Chemical Show.
You guys might remember episode
number one, April of 2021.
And my first guest was Brad Beauchamp,
who is the CEO of Carpenter Company.
I reached out to Brad.
He was one of the first guys I went
out to and said, Hey, would you be
willing to do this podcast with me?
And he said, yes.
And by the way, we did our interview
and he promptly introduced me to a
dozen people, many of whom were also
on that first year of the podcast.
So I owe big kudos and big thanks
to Brad for being the number
one guest, and helping launch,
and grow The Chemical Show.
So, Brad, if you're listening, thank you.
Um, today's episode is episode number 210.
Awesome.
Hard to imagine when we, I just began,
uh, that I would get to this 210 point.
I'm proud to say that we are
the number one business podcast
in the chemical industry.
We're recently recognized by Plastics News
as a 2025 social media account to follower
and um, I'm really excited that people.
Reach out to me, approach me, talk to
me at conferences and elsewhere and
say, Hey, you are doing a great job.
I can't believe it's you.
I love your podcast.
I loved this episode.
Or I like this.
You know, people tell me different things.
One person said, I, I
love the origin stories.
You know what?
Me too.
I love, you know, this aspect
of when you talk to this leader.
Me too.
The reality is I have a great
job, um, and a great business.
And frankly, I think of it as
a real privilege to be able to
speak with leaders, have great
conversations, ask them questions
that maybe you would like to ask.
Um, get to know them better
and get to share their stories.
And, that is really just
a huge blessing to me.
People ask me, here's the next
question that people ask me sometimes.
Who's your favorite guest?
I would say, I don't
have a favorite guest.
Um, you are all my favorites.
And you know, I will tell you every
episode, every guest brings different.
Aspects of value and fun.
And while that was cool, I
can't believe they did that.
I can't believe they said
that I'm so appreciative of
what they're going through.
Um, what I really enjoy and, and
this is true, people across the
chemical industry, and you know this
is I get to talk to smart people and
with interesting topics every day or
every week, and that's really great.
Um, how do I find guests?
So that's always a good question too.
Recommendations and referrals.
So people will reach out and
say, Hey, I really suggest
that you talk to this person.
I'm like, great.
Make an introduction.
companies reach out to me and say, Hey,
we'd like to talk and be on the podcast.
I'd like to have a guest on the
podcast and say, great, let's talk
about what that is and how that fits.
Um, or I, we reach out and find them..
So in wide variety of ways,
a lot of it is referrals.
'cause as you guys know, a warm referral
is better than a cold call any day.
, so let's talk a little bit
about the then and now.
And this is, I wanna just switch
and pivot to that piece of,
um, of the podcast episode.
So when we started, when I started
The Chemical Show, , April of 2021.
You think about where the chemical
industry was then we were one
year into the Covid pandemic.
Um, in some ways maybe there was,
it was a bit of the heydays, right?
So business felt pretty good.
In many parts of it.
There was a lot of demand.
Conversations were dominated
by supply chain, right?
Both the whipsaw of plants, of
consumer behaviors of work from home,
which changed co consumer behaviors
and just the dynamics going on.
Then, um, I went back and I looked,
and actually I've done a episode,
I'll link to it in the show notes
of the Top 10 Events from 2021.
2021 when we started the
podcast, was event and supply
chain dominated really about the
physical changes in the industry.
So first of all, energy and energy policy.
The US Gulf Coast had faced winter
storm Yuri in February of 2021.
Do you guys remember that when, um, the
power grid went down like in a heartbeat?
, and chemical plants went down in
a heartbeat and things froze up.
Caused tremendous damage, caused a
lot of supply chain disruptions and
really changed the game of what was
going on at that point in time.
Number two is China energy
policy and rolling blackouts.
So, it was proceedings of Winter
Olympics and number three was UK
Natural Gas and energy pol shortages.
So that's that.
Weather, hurricane Ida hit l Louisiana.
So the more weather related stuff, labor
shortages and issues and supply chain.
Back in 2021, it was all about
the physical changes going on
in the industry plants, weather,
energy, supply chain, and more.
Fast forward April, 2025.
Here we are entering, well, finishing
up four years of the chemical
show, entering the year five.
This time, it's all about the policies.
Some of the topics are the same,
but we're all about the policies.
Number one, new administration.
You guys know all about that, both in the
US and elsewhere, setting new policies,
so geopolitics and trade policies
related to the Russia, Ukraine war.
Which has happened the last couple
of years, middle East, and the
challenges and the, the conflicts
that are there and kind of China and
everyone we are seeing tremendous
oversupplying industry rationalization
in a way that we didn't anticipate.
So you will hear in an upcoming episode
when I talk to Kendall Justin Yano,
next week it's gonna get published.
We talked about just some of the
rationalization that's going on in
the industry, the fact that we have
entered a deep trough, one that
we've not really seen for 20 years.
And so this is playing a
big effect on the industry.
And then, you know, the third piece is.
2021.
We talked a lot about sustainability
and there was all the glory days.
2025, we are talking about
sustainability again.
And it's about getting real and
figuring out where the impact
is still really important.
The goals are there, and there's
a continued focus, but it's really
much more about being measured, being
resilient, and making things happen.
And then of course.
We are on this journey in
the 2020s of digitization.
Heck, we've been on this
journey for more than the 2020s.
I started doing digitization, we
called it e business, um, back
in 20, in the year 2000, right?
So here we are, 2025 with chemical
companies still trying to figure this out.
Much, much more about AI and
harnessing AI and augmentation.
The world is a different place.
And yet some of the fundamentals
are still the same supply chain,
sustainability, resilience and a
continued recognition that the chemical
industry is a key critical driver for
much of what's happening in the world.
So where are we going?
So, okay, second of all, let me just
direct you to episode 180 where I
recorded six trends influencing the
chemical industry in 2024 and 25.
I think that's a great
episode to look back at.
I will also link to the most recent
episode featuring Kurt Barrows and
Tony Potter from s and p Global.
That talked about 2025
chemical industry outlook.
'cause again, I think that is a great
topic for us to get focused on here.
On our four year anniversary
and as we go forward.
So what's next?
The Chemical Show is
going to continue to grow.
We are gonna continue to do more
live events, so LinkedIn Live
other live events to get you more
engaged, um, or to keep you engaged.
We are going to be continuing to bring
great leaders and guests and stories.
To the chemical show audience to you.
Um, and then the third piece is that
I think we're gonna be starting to
make this a little bit more personal.
So often we bring in that perspective
from leaders about where it's at.
But I really think back to this
idea that The Chemical Show and the
community that we've built is about
people connecting with people, um,
sharing stories, understanding that
we are all in this together and.
We are journeying on this
current path to success.
So, um, stay tuned.
Thank you.
Thank you for joining me on this journey.
Happy four years anniversary.
As this gets published, we may be
adding in a few messages around
some special promos we have.
Um, but you know, here we are.
Once again.
Thank you for joining me today.
Thank you for listening.
Thank you for being on a four year journey
of the Chemical Show and keep listening.
Keep following, keep sharing, and
we will talk with you again soon.
Thanks for joining us
today on The Chemical Show.
If you enjoyed this episode, be
sure to subscribe, leave a review,
and most importantly, share it
with your friends and colleagues.
For more insights, visit
the Chemical show.com
and connect with us on LinkedIn.
You can find me at Victoria King
Meyer on LinkedIn, and you can also
find us at The Chemical Show Podcast.
Join us next time for more
conversations and strategies
shaping the future of the industry.
We'll see you soon.