About Us
Widely recognized among raw material suppliers, formulators, end users, asset owners, and financial investors for its value creation, The ChemQuest Group, Inc. is a global consultancy providing actionable insights to the specialty chemical, formulated products, and advanced material industries.
Who we are
We are your strategic thought partners, delivering distinctive, thorough, actionable, confidential, and professional support in every aspect of sustained, profitable growth.
- Boutique management consultancy with deep industry knowledge, extensive industry relationships, and decades of industry experience
- Deep bench of talent, with 130 associates who are industry experts with real-world operating experience for a range of technologies, markets, and regions
- Trusted advisor to corporate companies, private equity firms, and portfolio companies, completing approximately 100 projects and special assignments per year
- Over 200 M&A transactions supported within the specialty chemical industry across the globe
- Unique consulting offering, combining strategic advisory, operational understanding, technology development expertise, and supporting technical infrastructure to enable our clients to identify, validate, and create ambitious outcomes
Meet the Team
Daniel Murad, Chairman
Daniel Murad has over 40 years of specialty chemicals and materials expertise, with a strong background in polymer science. Dan’s experience in the chemical intermediates, polymers, and formulated products industries includes but is not limited to CASE, home and industrial care, pharma, personal care, specialty cleaners, plastics and composites, lubricants, and others.
Dan’s capabilities include strong international general management and leadership skills, a focus on profitable growth, strategic assessment and value creation, and decision and risk analysis (including Monte Carlo theory modeling). He is a “change management” agent for critical decisions, team building, organizational and cultural management, and interpersonal communications.
Dan was inducted into the Adhesive and Sealant Council Hall of Fame in 2025 and has served on numerous industry organizations and committees, including: American Chemistry Council, American Coatings Association, FEICA, founder and chairman of the High Barrier Coatings Committee-TAPPI, former chairman of the ASC and AMA Supplier Committees, chairman of CMA Responsible Care Product Stewardship Committee, member of ACS, SSPC, and American and European Coatings Associations. He also serves as an Independent Board Director on three private company boards.
Robert Lovegrove, President and CEO
Robert Lovegrove joined ChemQuest in 2026, adding his considerable expertise in business strategy and corporate management to the leadership team. Prior to joining ChemQuest, Robert served for 10 years as vice president of Corporate Strategy for Milliken & Co., leading the company’s growth transformation.
James Swope, Chief Commercial Officer
With nearly 40 years of successful B2B experience, mostly in adhesives, sealants, and coatings, James Swope has expertise in lean sales and marketing execution, as well as “Blue Ocean” strategy. He brings a unique financial view to his work, born from undergraduate training in accounting as well as 19 years of ownership/management in Crosslink Technologies, Inc., a niche supplier of reactive adhesive systems for assembly applications.
With an extensive body of work in automotive component manufacturing, Jim is comfortable in high-speed/high-reliability environments. He served as senior vice president of Business Development at Dymax Corp. following the sale of Crosslink Technologies to Dymax in 2006.
Business Development Team
Eric Casebolt, Vice President
An accomplished global leader with a proven track record of providing viable solutions to organizational goals, Eric Casebolt’s career started at Johnson Polymer Inc. and evolved to include roles with BASF and Eastman Chemical Co. Utilizing a combination of technical and marketing expertise, he has spent considerable time leading product development teams and helping to transform business strategies. In his most recent role prior to joining ChemQuest, Eric served as strategy manager for Eastman, acting as an internal strategy consultant for several of the company’s global business units. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Wisconsin Parkside, a master’s degree in chemistry from DePaul University, and an MBA from Wake Forest University.
Rich Gibson, Vice President
Rich Gibson joined ChemQuest following a more than 30-year career at Milliken & Co., where his career trajectory included roles such as industrial engineer, business supply chain manager, senior business development manager, process improvement manager, plant manager, and director of Corporate Strategy. Rich has extensive business strategy and operations expertise, including value and supply chain analysis, market segmentation, business intelligence, econometrics, voice of the market, due diligence, strategy deployment, risk management, plant management, process improvement, strategy deployment, project management, supply chain management, and more. He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Tennessee.
Phillip Marsh, Director
Built on more than 25 years of extensive experience in the global chemicals industry, Philip Marsh’s track record includes successes in new product development and launch, mergers and acquisitions, production startups, and global business leadership. He has held several key and senior-level executive positions with companies such as British Petroleum, IMCD, Hexion, Emerald Performance Materials, and Lanxess. He led the development and launch of a new range of plasticizers for Emerald Kalama Chemical and, prior to that role, led the Global Coating Dispersions business of Hexion, overseeing the successful sale of the business to Synthomer in 2016. He earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Imperial College, London. Based in the Netherlands, Philip is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt.
Crystal Morrison, Ph.D., Vice President
With a career spanning academia, national laboratories, industry, and startups, Crystal G. Morrison, Ph.D., has over 25 years of experience in the global specialty chemicals and materials industry. Crystal served as a Harold Agnew National Security Postdoctoral Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and later became a staff member, team leader, and program leader. Following her time at LANL, she held leadership roles such as principal investigator and senior materials scientist at RJ Lee Group, as well as global R&D leader at PPG. She holds a Ph.D. in macromolecular science and engineering from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the Missouri University of Science and Technology.
Prem Patel, Vice President
Over his career, Prem Patel has developed extensive strategy, marketing, sales, operations, and product development experience in B2B value chains. In roles for companies such as Rogers Corp., Lear Corp., and Milliken & Co., he has been successful in growing P&Ls by leading and scaling strategy, M&A, product management, innovation, and operations initiatives across global value chains. Prem most recently served as director of Corporate Strategy and Growth Options for Ingevity Corp. He holds an MBA from Duke University and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
Sapna Blackburn, Ph.D., Vice President Intellectual Property and Project Management
Prior to joining ChemQuest, Sapna Blackburn, Ph.D., developed extensive experience in R&D and as a subject matter expert in materials development and intellectual property generation and protection for a wide range of industries, including optical, automotive, aerospace and transportation, consumer electronics and telecommunications, and safety. Her career was launched as a materials scientist at General Electric (GE) Corporate Research & Development, which led to a further role as Crystalline Product Technology Six Sigma Black Belt and project leader of GE Plastics’ 17-member cross-functional global team.
Sapna left GE to join SDC Technologies, Inc., a 100% subsidiary of Mitsui Chemicals, as vice president of R&D. She quickly expanded the role to vice president, Technology for the SDC group of companies. Sapna earned both a master’s degree in polymer science and Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from Penn State University. She also holds a GE Black Belt― DFSS in Six Sigma Certification.
David Cocuzzi, Vice President
David Cocuzzi developed extensive expertise in formulating a broad variety of industrial coatings, with a strong emphasis in the area of coil coatings, built through his career with companies such as AkzoNobel and Sherwin-Williams. He has served on the board of a number of professional associations and committees, including ASTM sub-committee D01.53 (Coil Coated Metal), the National Coil Coatings Association, and the Cool Roof Coating Council. He currently serves as the technical director of the National Coil Coatings Association. David holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Cleveland State University.
Doug Corrigan, Ph.D., Vice President, ChemQuest Technology Institute
Doug Corrigan, Ph.D., has spent his career as a research scientist, entrepreneur, and program manager, actively engaged in understanding the best practices for transforming high-tech innovation into viable commercial solutions. The inventor of dozens of early-stage disruptive technologies that have been licensed for commercialization in the fields of solid-state materials, nanotechnology, additive manufacturing, and medical research, Doug has won 30 different awards for his inventions and solutions to difficult technical challenges. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Rensselaer in engineering physics, with a primary emphasis on solid-state physics and materials science, as well as a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from the Quillen College of Medicine.
Ray Glaser, Ph.D., Vice President
Through dynamic experience with global companies, Ray Glaser, Ph.D., has developed strong expertise in technical leadership, operations, and business strategy. His specialty lies in identifying value levers and developing strategies to improve profitability and drive growth, employing proprietary analytics combined with technical knowledge and insight to solve complex business problems.
Prior to joining ChemQuest, Ray’s industrial career included roles at GE, DSM, AlliedSignal, W. R. Grace, and Hexion Specialty Chemicals. With successful track records in R&D, technical management, new venture development, and mergers and acquisitions, he has also provided business advisory services to numerous companies in specialty chemicals, materials and plastics-related manufacturing, packaging, consumer electronics, and healthcare. Ray holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Marquette University, a master’s degree in chemistry from The Florida State University, and a doctorate in materials science and engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University.
Meghan Patel, Vice President Operational Excellence
Meghan Patel joined ChemQuest in 2024. A strategic leader with extensive operations experience, she has held diverse roles in operational and safety excellence, program management, continuous improvement, and sales with companies such as Grote & Hartmann (acquired by Lear Corp.), Irvin Automotive, and Guilford Performance Textiles (also acquired by Lear Corp.). She most recently served as business supply chain and continuous improvement manager for Milliken & Co. Performance Solutions. A Six Sigma Black Belt, Meghan earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Grand Valley State University.
George R. Pilcher, Vice President
George R. Pilcher has spent over 50 years in the paint and coatings industry in a variety of technical, production, and marketing capacities. Following his retirement as global R&D director for Coil and Extrusion Coatings from AkzoNobel, he worked with BASF as the management coach to its North American Industrial Coatings Business. George has served throughout his career as a strategic leader with P&L responsibility and extensive technical marketing expertise. He has a strong global perspective drawn from frequent visits and varied leadership roles in North and South America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim.
George is widely in demand as a speaker at international venues, has published numerous articles, editorials, and papers in industrial, technical, and scientific journals, and has written or co-authored several book chapters. He is the only American to be elected an honorary Corresponding Member of the Paint and Pigment Division of the Gesellschaft Deutscher Chemiker. He was named the 2004 Mattiello Memorial Lecturer and has been honored by the American Coatings Association with both the George Baugh Heckel and Industry Statesman awards. George has also been named a PMSE Fellow of the American Chemical Society. He is an emeritus member of the editorial review board of the Journal of Coatings Technology and Research, and he has served in the masthead position of global correspondent for the China Coatings Journal since 2019.
Abe Rezai, Ph.D., Senior Vice President
Abe Rezai, Ph.D., has an extensive background in technical and executive management for global organizations within the specialty chemicals and consumer products industries. Prior to joining ChemQuest, he most recently served as vice president and chief technology officer for Sekisui Fuller. He also previously held key leadership roles with H.B. Fuller and Procter & Gamble. Abe has a proven track record of successfully delivering breakthrough business results, building collaborative relationships, developing and executing global commercialization strategies, and leading organizational transformation.
Abe has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on over 100 patents related to specialty chemistry and commercial products. He earned a doctorate in organic chemistry from the University of Missouri, Columbia, as well as a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Tehran. He speaks English, Farsi, and Japanese.
Victoria Scarborough, Ph.D., Vice President Collaborative Innovation
Victoria Scarborough, Ph.D., specializes in the commercialization of in-demand new technology that leverages open innovation. Over the course of her career, she has advanced technology in the public and private sectors, ranging from the U.S. Department of Defense and federal laboratories, universities, and multinational corporations to individual inventors and startups. Victoria holds numerous U.S. and international industry patents and is a frequent contributor to professional society conferences and publications. In addition, she frequently participates as a National Science Foundation (NSF) Panel reviewer for funding research grants and has participated as a mentor in several national-level NSF I-Corps program cohorts.
Victoria earned a BS degree in biology from the University of Mary Washington and received her doctorate in biochemistry from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She pursued an MBA from Christian Brothers University and later participated in the Sherwin-Williams’ Leadership Excellence Program at Case Western Reserve University. She also completed the Licensing Executives Society’s Best Practices in Licensing: Developing, Negotiating & Executing Transactions program.
Sharon Feng, Ph.D., Vice President
Sharon Feng, Ph.D., began her career with Bayer Corp., rising through the ranks and developing expertise in organic pigments, polymer resins, and emerging coating technologies such as waterborne, high-solids, powder, and UV coatings before being named vice president of Business Development for the Coatings, Adhesives, and Specialties segment of Bayer MaterialScience for the Asia-Pacific region. Subsequently, she served in three vice president roles, leading EHS, supply chain, and innovation functions with both Lanxess Corp. and Bayer MaterialScience North America.
Sharon later transitioned to R&D leadership positions with PPG Industries, most recently serving as global technical director for Corporate R&D. In addition, Feng has been an independent director on the board of Koppers Inc. since 2009. She earned a doctorate in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a master’s degree in chemistry from the University of California at Davis, and a combined BS/MS in chemistry from Nanjing University.