The Economic Alliance Houston Port Region named Mark Bookmyer, site manager at LyondellBasell's La Porte Complex, the recipient of its 2026 Industry Icon Award at the Gulf Coast Industry Forum, held September 17 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
The award is presented annually to an individual whose career has demonstrated exceptional leadership and sustained service extending well beyond their own organization. For Bookmyer, whose work at LyondellBasell and across the region's industry associations reflects exactly that, the recognition is a natural fit.
"I wanted to work in an industry I could be proud of," Bookmyer said in a 2024 BIC Magazine profile, "and the chemical industry provides materials that enable better living for society." That conviction has anchored not just his responsibilities at one of the largest petrochemical facilities on the Gulf Coast, but the investment he has made in the organizations and communities surrounding it.
A career built at LyondellBasell
Bookmyer joined LyondellBasell more than 34 years ago. His career has taken him across the U.S. and Europe through assignments that grew in scope and complexity, including the design and commissioning of new technologies, multi-site expansion efforts and integration of newly acquired assets.
Today he serves as site manager at the La Porte Complex, one of LyondellBasell's significant Gulf Coast manufacturing sites. Safety has been a consistent focus throughout his tenure. A leadership training initiative Bookmyer helped develop produced a record-low total recordable incident rate at one of the company's Texas sites, and the program was subsequently adopted as a corporate initiative across LyondellBasell's global operations.
Active in the organizations that shape the industry
What distinguishes Bookmyer's career in this region is the sustained investment he has made in the associations that give the Gulf Coast industrial community a voice in the policy arena.
He served four years on the board of the Texas Chemistry Alliance before being elected chairman in 2024, a position he continues to hold. The TCA, whose membership spans more than 400 companies, is one of the primary industry voices at the state level. Bookmyer has been an active participant in its advocacy work, helping shape legislation that reflects the industry's economic realities.
The chemical industry contributes an estimated $170 billion annually to the Texas economy and supports approximately 70,000 direct jobs and 500,000 indirect jobs, according to the Texas Chemistry Council. Bookmyer has been among the industry's most consistent voices in communicating those facts to elected officials.
He is also a regular presence at the East Harris County Manufacturers Association, which represents the industrial community along the Ship Channel corridor. His involvement reflects a philosophy he has expressed across his career: that the relationship between a manufacturing facility and its surrounding community is essential to good operations, not incidental to them.
The Industry Icon recognition
BIC Magazine has followed Bookmyer's engagement in the region for years, from the TCC-TCA awards to the HASC Safety Excellence Awards to the Gulf Coast Industry Forum. In 2024, BIC Magazine profiled him in its July/August issue, where he spoke about the economic contributions of the Texas chemical industry and the role organizations like TCA play in ensuring sound legislative outcomes for the sector.
Thomas Brinsko, publisher of BIC Magazine, has seen that engagement firsthand. "I have had the privilege of working alongside Mark during his time as chairman of the TCA, and what stands out most is how genuinely he cares about the people in this industry," Brinsko said. "He does not just hold a title. He shows up. Whether it is a TCA event, PRIME Expo, an EHCMA gathering, an Economic Alliance function or one of the many industry networking events throughout the year, Mark is there. That kind of active participation from a leader of his caliber means a great deal to everyone around him. It tells you something about a person when they are consistently putting other people's needs above their own. That is the kind of leadership I can get behind."
The Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, founded in 1985 to market and grow the regional economy surrounding the Houston Ship Channel, selected Bookmyer from a field of nominees. The award reflects a career his peers recognize readily: someone who shows up, invests real time in the organizations that matter and takes the long view on behalf of an industry he has served for more than three decades.
BIC Magazine congratulates Mark Bookmyer on this well-deserved recognition.
