Karen Janssens graduated in 1989 as an Industrial Engineer in Chemistry and further specialized in Polymer Chemistry at the University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. She has over 30 years of experience in the thermo-plastics and flame retardants industry.

Karen started working in the polyolefine department of Shell in Oct 1989 and joined the several companies that were formed through joint ventures: Montell, Basell and LyondellBasell Industries, including positions in R&D, sales, product management and marketing.