Meet the CIAC Team

The CIAC team is an experienced, talented group of individuals, all with different strengths and quirks that, when put together, make up a dynamic staff that are all 100 per cent dedicated to advocating for our members and supporting them any way we can.

Take a moment to get to know the CIAC Team and feel free to reach out. We’re here to help.

Bob Masterson

President and CEO

Bob Masterson is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada (CIAC). Reporting to the Board of Directors, he has full responsibility for executing the strategic direction and ongoing operations of the Association and is responsible for directing staff in accomplishing organizational priorities to create value for member-companies and partners.

Bob joined CIAC in 2010. He is the former Vice-President of Responsible Care^®, the industry’s globally recognized sustainability initiative. Under his leadership, Responsible Care enacted a new set of sustainability principles and guidelines for Canada’s chemistry industry. He was previously Director, Regulatory Affairs with the Cement Association of Canada and spent 15 years as a consultant on environment and sustainability issues in a number of industry sectors including forest products, electricity, cement, mining, and energy.

Bob holds an engineering degree from Queen’s University and a Master of Public Policy from Carleton University.

Tel: (613) 237-6215 ext. 234
Email: bmasterson@canadianchemistry.ca

Isabelle Des Chênes

Executive Vice-President

Isabelle Des Chênes joined CIAC in November 2017 and leads the Association’s strategic communications and government and stakeholder relations initiatives. Prior to joining CIAC, Isabelle was Director of Communications for the Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA). She spent eleven years in the natural resources sector in a number of progressive positions including as VP, Market Relations and International Trade with the Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC) and VP, Market Relations for British Columbia’s Forestry Innovation Investment, Inc. Isabelle holds a BA, Communications from the University of Ottawa.

Tel: (613) 237-6215 ext. 242
Email: ideschenes@canadianchemistry.ca

Shannon Watt

Vice-President, Sustainability

Shannon Watt is CIAC’s Vice President of Sustainability and leads the Association’s globally recognized corporate sustainability initiative, Responsible Care®. Shannon oversees the chemistry sector’s Responsible Care commitments as well as the association’s environment and health policy advocacy, and internal corporate sustainability initiatives.

Shannon has over 15 years of experience working with national, provincial, and municipal governments and associations on environmental issues and developing public policies to advance environmental sustainability. She has worked for the Federation of Agriculture and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Shannon holds a Master of Science in Meteorology from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Environmental Life Sciences from Queen’s University

Tel: (613) 237-6215 ext. 247
Email: swatt@canadianchemistry.ca

Elena Mantagaris

Vice-President, Plastics Division

Elena has an extensive background and more than 20 years’ experience working with federal and provincial governments, along with municipalities and Indigenous communities to advance large-scale national initiatives in the iron, energy, transportation, technology, and cultural sectors. She recently advanced a $1.5 billion iron processing facility and prior to that a $20 billion nuclear project with willing host communities.

Email: emantagaris@canadianchemistry.ca