Our Team

John Lefas founded the company in 1986 after working for the Polymers Department of Imperial Oil’s Chemicals Division (majority owned by Exxon) for six years. Prior to that, he was the General Manager of an industrial gas manufacturing company (Carbonica) in Greece. He is a member of the Society of Plastics Engineers and the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. John has an MBA from the University of Toronto and a degree in Chemical Engineering from the National Technical University in Athens, Greece.

As a founding member of Ingenia, Maria spearheaded the Global Supply Chain and Procurement for the North American Operations. Prior to Ingenia, Maria worked for the North York Board of Education where she served as Curriculum Director of the International Language Heritage programs. She is a member of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Maria has a degree in Political Science from Panteios University of Athens and a Masters in Psychology from York University, Toronto.

Thanassi was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Ingenia Polymers in January of 2024. He previously served as President of Ingenia Polymers, beginning in 2021. Thanassi represents the second generation of family leadership at Ingenia, following his parents and Ingenia co-founders John and Maria Lefas. Thanassi brings more than fifteen years of operations, strategy, and M&A experience to the group. After completing GE’s Operations Management Leadership Program, Thanassi joined Ingenia as a Process Engineer working in the Houston Plant in 2012. Over his tenure at Ingenia, he progressed through the manufacturing, finance and strategic planning groups before being named to the executive team. Outside of Ingenia, Thanassi also spent time at Bain & Company where he advised clients on a wide range of strategic initiatives including M&A commercial due diligence, merger integrations and sales force transformations.

Thanassi has an MBA from Columbia University, a Master of Supply Chain Management from Penn State, and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Zach Charlton has more than 20 years of experience in the polymer industry. He began his career in the downstream polymer conversion industry working as a process engineer and then plant coordinator for a profile extrusion company in Canada. Thereafter he joined Ingenia in 2001 and has held progressive positions in R&D, Sales and Marketing and Operations Management. Zach has contributed to Ingenia’s growth at its Brantford plant, Houston plant, and led the team of professionals which built the Jubail, Saudi Arabia facility and business from 2007 to 2012. Zach has been located out of Ingenia’s Brantford manufacturing and research facility since 2017.

Zach has a Master’s in Law from the University of Toronto as well as Master and Bachelor degree’s in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University Canada.

Nitin Tiwari oversees manufacturing operations and the primary business in North America. Nitin has extensive global manufacturing & business experience in across steel, polymers, and chemicals. Prior to joining Ingenia in 2008, Nitin led manufacturing operations for Usha Martin, Inc. He has hands-on experience in implementing 5S, TPM, Six Sigma, SPC & SQC, ISO, STOP, SAFE-START, and has extensive expertise across safety, quality, reliability, and operations.

Nitin has a B.Tech degree in Mechanical Engineering from Aligarh Muslim University, an MBA from Birla Institute of Technology in India, and a GMP from Harvard Business School.

Steve Christensen leads Ingenia Polymers Proprietary Product Sales, Technical Service and Customer Service teams in the USA and Canada. Steve has a long history in sales in the Polyethylene, Polystyrene, and Chemicals industry with both major producers and distribution. Steve began his sales career with the Huntsman Corporation’s polyethylene business. Over the next 20 years Steve held sales and sales leadership positions with Nova Chemicals, Nexeo Solutions and Westlake Corporation. Most recently, Steve was Field Sales Manager, Director of Sales and Marketing and leader of E-Commerce/Digital Marketing with Westlake’s Polyethylene business.

Steve holds his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Carlos leads Ingenia Polymers Finance, M&A Functions in the Group as well as the Business Development of Latin America. Carlos has 20 years of international experience in Finance, Supply Chain, Strategy, Business Analysis and Consulting. He joined Ingenia in 2013 and he has held several positions in Business Analysis, Supply Chain and Finance. Prior to joining Ingenia, Carlos worked for different industries in Telecom and IT at Vodafone and Satec in several Finance functions and in Management Consulting at Accenture.

Carlos holds an MBA from ESADE Business School and NYU Stern University, a Bachelor degree’s in Telecom Engineering from the University Ramon Llull, Barcelona.

Ali Abouzeenni oversees manufacturing operations in the Arabian Gulf and the primary and proprietary business in MENA. Ali has more than 25 years of international experience in the industry. He has held manufacturing, projects, and commercial leadership roles with Ingenia in Canada, the United States, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. Ali has extensive expertise in plant engineering, design, construction, maintenance, and operations and contributed significantly to Ingenia’s growth in the Middle East in particular. Ali was part of the team that constructed and commissioned the Jubail plant in 2011 and has held both commercial and operational responsibilities for the region since 2018.

Ali is a licensed Industrial Mechanical Millwright from Mohawk College Brantford, Ontario, Canada.

Hansika Rathod leads the global procurement team at Ingenia. With more than 14 years of experience in the polymer industry, she is a recognized expert in her field. Having held various roles in manufacturing and procurement at Ingenia, Hansika possesses a deep understanding of the industry’s intricacies. Her areas of expertise lie in the strategic sourcing of polymer additives, polymer characterization and Quality Assurance & Quality Control.

Hansika holds a Master’s degree in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Additionally, she has a B.Tech in Polymer Science & Technology and a B.Sc in Chemistry from the University of Calcutta.

Suliman oversees manufacturing and the primary and proprietary business in the Middle East. Suliman has more than 20 years of experience in the Petrochemical industry. Prior to joining Ingenia in 2024, Suliman had a successful career at Tasnee, where he last served as Operations General Manager for their polymers business from 2016 to 2018 and their olefins business from 2019 to 2024. Suliman has extensive expertise across olefins, polymers, manufacturing, utilities, and management.

Suliman has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from KFUPM , KSA.

Our Team

John Lefas

Maria Lefas

Thanassi Lefas

Zach Charlton

Nitin Tiwari

Steve Christensen

Carlos Tabuenca

Ali Abouzeenni

Hansika Rathod

Suliman Al Oudhibie