Matthew (Matt) J. Aguiar ’79 retired as senior vice president of ExxonMobil Chemical Company in March 2019 after 38 ½ years of service.
Mr. Aguiar received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. He joined Exxon Chemical Company in 1980 at the Baytown Chemical Plant in Texas.
He advanced through business, operations and technical roles in various chemical affiliates in the United States and Singapore prior to the merger between Exxon and Mobil in 1999.
In 2000, Mr. Aguiar became vice president of the basic chemicals business in Asia Pacific based in Singapore. In 2002, he was named site manager of the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant. Mr. Aguiar became vice president of global aromatics in 2004 and, in 2006, was named vice president of the global basic chemicals business.
Beginning in 2009, and based in Singapore, Mr. Aguiar became Asia Pacific refining director for ExxonMobil Refining and Supply and concurrently served as director and chairman of Tonen General Sekiyu K.K. (Japan). He then served as chairman and managing director of ExxonMobil Asia Pacific Pte Ltd. and as the Asia Pacific manufacturing director for ExxonMobil Chemical.
In 2014, Mr. Aguiar returned to Houston as senior vice president of the company’s global basic chemicals, intermediates, synthetics, catalysts & licensing businesses and global marketing. In addition, he served as the chairman of Infineum, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and Shell.
In 2017, Mr. Aguiar became senior vice president of global operations, located in Houston Texas for ExxonMobil Chemical Company. He was responsible for its global, integrated manufacturing operations, global supply chain, and the Manufacturing Support and Safety & Security/Health/Environmental organizations. He also served on the board of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
