Ben McKay

Ben McKay has extensive work experience in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Ben started their career as a Graduate Engineer at Commonwealth Industrial Gasses in 1992. Ben then worked as a Post Doc at Newcastle University, focusing on polymerization processes and developing predictive software. Ben joined GSE Systems UK Ltd as an Analyst Programmer before moving to Avantium. At Avantium, Ben held various roles including Team Leader, Director of Predictive Technologies, Director of Technology Development, VP of Innovation, and most recently, Vice President of Innovation and Renewable Chemistries. Ben led teams in high throughput catalyst testing, software development, and process innovation for Avantium's YXY plant-to-plastics technology. Ben also managed relationships with third-party engineering companies and contributed directly to contract research projects for customers in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries.

Ben McKay earned a Bachelor of Engineering (First Class Honours) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Sydney from 1989 to 1992. Ben then pursued further education and obtained a PhD in Chemical Engineering/Process Systems Engineering from the same institution between 1993 and 1996.