Chemistry Council of N.J. appoints 2 to board of trustees

Susan Angyal and Christopher Gibson to serve two-year terms

At its last meeting, the Chemistry Council of New Jersey board of trustees unanimously appointed Susan Angyal of ERM and Christopher Gibson of Archer Law to serve a two-year term on the board as representatives of CCNJ’s associate member companies.

Terms of service began in November.

Angyal and Gibson replace Brian Montag, partner with K&L Gates, and Steve Ueland, managing principal at Langan, who were the first to serve in these new board positions. Their extended terms ended in September 2022.

Since its founding, membership on the Chemistry Council of New Jersey’s board of trustees was limited to representatives from its regular member companies, which are identified as chemistry industry manufacturers. CCNJ’s bylaws were changed in 2019 to allow for two representatives from associate member companies, those companies that provide services to the business of chemistry, such as law firms and engineering and environmental firms, to serve on the board for a two-year term.

Dennis Hart, board secretary and executive director of the Chemistry Council of New Jersey, stated: “We have an engaged membership, and that is true of our board members. The Nominating Committee fully endorsed the appointment of Susan Angyal and Christopher Gibson to the board of trustees and were impressed with their background and vast management experience. Our council will only benefit from their insight and participation.”

Angyal has been with ERM for 17 years, serving in a variety of roles. Prior to her appointment as the regional CEO of North America in June 2020, she served as the interim regional CEO and, before that, as the operations lead for the region.

Prior to joining ERM, Angyal worked as a consultant to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, applying her engineering background to the development of regulations for the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. This role complemented her earlier experience as an environmental consultant addressing Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act and Superfund challenges for her clients.

Gibson serves as chair of Archer’s Litigation Department, where he specializes in environmental, toxic tort, natural resource damage and commercial cases. He also chairs the firm’s Environmental Law and Condemnation and Eminent Domain practice groups. During his more than 30 years in practice, Gibson has litigated and tried a variety of commercial, employment, construction, toxic tort and product liability cases seeking personal injuries and property claims.

Gibson has successfully tried multiple cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars in response costs or natural resource damage claims on behalf of many large chemical and petroleum companies. He has represented several large corporations in cases that have been brought by the state of New Jersey seeking natural resource damages. Gibson acts as local and regional counsel to nationally and regionally known corporations and represents and advises smaller and midsize local businesses in various commercial litigation, employment and environmental matters.