Shutdowns Turnarounds Superconference Houston

2026 Advisory Board Insights

We asked our Advisory Board one question:
What’s the STO principle you live by and refuse to compromise on?

Their answers reflect the real-world standards driving turnaround performance — and reinforce why this conference brings leaders together to share, benchmark, and improve.

Here’s a peek at what they told us.

Access the full Advisory Board Insights article

James (Jim) Hudson
Turnaround Consultant, Huntsman

Theme: Leadership & Culture

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much your care.”

Bio: Jim has 39 years of combined experience in the pulp and paper and chemical industries. He has been in a supervisory role since the age of 26 and has served in a variety of roles for two different chemical manufacturing facilities for Honeywell before retiring in January 2023. Jim is currently consulting with a major chemical company, working to develop and retain key young leadership.

Walter Pesenti
VP Manufacturing Excellence, Nova Chemicals

Theme: Safety & Quality, driven by Leadership & Culture

“Leaders must understand the real work before directing it—listening to the people doing the job is non-negotiable.”

Bio: Walter leads the charge in operational excellence, asset management, operations, and capital project programs. He is a staunch advocate for safety and quality, ensuring these values are flawlessly integrated into all operations. Before his current role, Walter was the Global Petrochemicals Operational Excellence Manager at INEOS Aromatics and has held leadership positions in capital projects, turnarounds, reliability, maintenance, and operations at ExxonMobil, Shell, and BP.

Joe Jackson
Senior Turnaround Specialist, Delek

Theme: Readiness & Milestones, enabled by Digital, Data & Innovation

“‘Follow the Process,’ meaning consistently adhering to established steps or guidelines to ensure quality, efficiency and reliability.”

Bio: Joe has 20+ years of experience driving project management, process standardization, and organizational performance through improved metrics and team oversight. His background includes leading major turnarounds and shutdowns, advancing best-practice initiatives, and strengthening manufacturing performance through continuous improvement and coaching.

Heith Robey
Director Turnaround Management, Celanese Chemical

Bio: Heith has 38 years’ experience in Refining, Petrochemical, Agriculture and Chemical plants and is a two-time winner of the APN Turnaround Excellence award for best TA performance. Heith specializes in the development or revitalization of turnaround work processes with a heavy focus on planning, scheduling, contractor selection and execution strategies.