James Chao '74

James Chao is the Senior Chairman of the Board of Westlake Corporation, an international producer and supplier of Performance & Essential Materials and Housing & Infrastructure Products with 80+ manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. Westlake Corporation is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Chao has 50+ years of global experience in manufacturing industries. Along with his brother, Albert Chao, they assisted their father, Mr. Ting Tsung Chao, in founding the Westlake Corporation in the U.S., the Titan Petrochemicals Group, a joint venture with the Malaysian government in Southeast Asia, and Suzhou Huasu Plastics Co. Ltd., another joint venture company in China. He served as Westlake’s President and Titan’s Managing Director from their inceptions in 1985 and 1988, respectively. He served as Titan Group’s Executive Chairman from 2003 until 2010, when Titan Group was divested. He served as Westlake’s Executive Chairman from August 2004 to July 2024 when he became the Senior Chairman.

Mr. Chao’s current civic and community service memberships include the Columbia Business School Emeritus Board, the External Advisory Board of the Boniuk Institute for the Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance of Rice University, and the International Advisory Board of Mayo Clinic. Mr. Chao previously served as a member of various other medical and academic Boards. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the Society of Chemical Industry.

James received his Bachelor of Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.