Director, Product Management

Toray Celanese Co., Ltd. (TCEL) is a 50:50 joint venture between Toray Industries and Celanese focused on the development, specification, marketing, and distribution of Hytrel® thermoplastic copolyester elastomers in Japan. TCEL serves leading Japanese manufacturers and plays a critical role in maintaining and expanding the Hytrel business in one of the world's most sophisticated engineering materials markets.

The Executive Vice President serves as the senior Celanese representative within the joint venture and acts as a strategic partner to the President/CEO. The role is responsible for translating Celanese business strategy into execution within the JV, fostering growth, strengthening customer relationships, and serving as a bridge between Japanese and Western business cultures and between the two parent companies.

Key Responsibilities

• Represent Celanese within the TCEL leadership team and Board governance structure.
• Serve as the primary bridge between Celanese and Toray, ensuring strong alignment between both shareholders.
• Partner with the President/CEO on strategic decisions affecting the direction and growth of the joint venture.
• Translate Celanese Hytrel® business strategy into actionable plans and priorities for TCEL.
• Drive profitable growth initiatives and identify new opportunities for Hytrel® specification and market expansion in Japan.
• Maintain and develop senior-level relationships with key customers, industry stakeholders, and business partners.
• Support specification activities with major Japanese OEMs and strategic customers.
• Facilitate effective communication and collaboration between Japanese and global Celanese teams.
• Champion cross-cultural understanding and effective decision making across stakeholder groups.
• Ensure strong operational and commercial alignment between TCEL and the global Hytrel® organization.
• Influence and lead through collaboration rather than formal authority across multiple organizations and cultures.
• Support governance processes, shareholder communications, and board-related activities as required.

Key Competencies

• Strategic Planning & Managing Work
• Business Acumen
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Driving for Results
• Decision Making
• Ownership & Empowerment

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Engineering, Chemistry, Materials Science, Polymer Science, or related field.
• Minimum 15 years of commercial, business leadership, product management, technical marketing, or general management experience.
• Demonstrated ability to influence and lead across organizational boundaries without direct authority.
• Strong understanding of Japanese and Western business cultures.
• Proven experience working in multinational and cross-cultural environments.
• Native or business-fluent Japanese language capability.
• Professional-level English language capability.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with senior internal and external stakeholders.

Preferred

• Experience in engineering polymers, specialty materials, chemicals, or related industries.
• Experience working with joint ventures, strategic partnerships, licensing arrangements, or multi-company governance structures.
• Knowledge of thermoplastic elastomers, engineering plastics, or automotive and industrial applications.
• Prior experience in Japan-facing customer or commercial roles.
• Board, executive leadership, or shareholder-management experience.

Travel Requirements

• Limited travel required.
• Domestic travel within Japan as business needs dictate. Rare international travel.