Jo Portela

Background

About Jo Portela

Jo (Joaquim) Portela has more than 40 years of experience in project development and technology management for the global refining and petrochemical industry. Jo is an independent consultant currently engaged by Lummus Technology in an advisory role to the board and the executive team on the energy transition, circular economy and sustainability initiatives. Up to March 31, 2022, Jo held the position of Chief Technology Officer for Lummus Technology, responsible for promoting Lummus’ broad technology agenda to support its business objectives through innovation and leading-edge initiatives involving research and development, technology partnerships and digital transformation. In this role, Jo spearheaded the formation of Green Circle, a wholly owned Lummus subsidiary focused on sustainability, decarbonization and circularity. Under his leadership Green Circle has collaborated with innovators such as New Hope, Braskem and Synthos, and was recognized by Hydrocarbon Processing as the industry’s leading sustainable business in 2021. He also helped establish Lummus Digital. He was for ten years a Board member of CLG, a joint venture between Lummus and Chevron. He joined Lummus in August 1987. While at Lummus, he also served as Senior Vice-President, responsible for the Refining, Gas Processing and Gasification licensing business within Lummus, a position he took in 2011. He also served for seven years, on behalf of Lummus, as Co-Managing Director of CDTECH, when it was a partnership between Lummus Technology and CR & L, a Shell company. CDTECH was fully acquired in 2011 and its portfolio integrated into the Refining Business Unit. Previously he was General Manager of Lummus’ EPC operations in Singapore, where he lived for 6.5 years. With Lummus he also worked as a Technology Business Development Manager with worldwide responsibility for the licensing of petrochemical processes for 6 years and prior to that, as Manager of the Process Department of Lummus' wholly owned subsidiary Setal Engenharia in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His earlier career included working as a process engineer for Badger Engineers-Cambridge, Scientific Design Company-New York, Natron Engenharia-Brazil and CEPED-Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento, Bahia, Brazil.