ExxonMobil welcomes new Refinery Manager

ExxonMobil is ringing in 2021 by welcoming a new manager to its Refinery. Rozena Dendy replaces Ryan Bucholtz, who assumed a new role at the company’s corporate headquarters in Irving.

Dendy comes to Beaumont from Nanticoke, Canada, where she was the manager at the Nanticoke Refinery. She was born and raised in Timmonsville, South Carolina, and received a chemical engineering degree from the University of South Carolina. She started her career with Exxon in 1998 in Baytown, Texas, as a process designer.

Her 22-year career with the company has taken her to California, Virginia and Canada, as well as around the globe for business travel. In fact, a desire to travel and see the world is what led Dendy to pursue a career with ExxonMobil in the first place.

“Having grown up in a small town, a career in the energy industry excited me,” Dendy said. “I was drawn in by the global opportunities it would provide.”

Even though Dendy loves the global aspect of the company and her career, she’s thrilled to be back in the South, and specifically, back in Texas. Dendy lived in the Houston area until 2006, and progressed through several engineering and supervisory roles at the Baytown Refinery. Then, she moved to Fairfax, Virginia, where she was the business analysis and reporting advisor for ExxonMobil refineries across the globe. From 2008 to 2013, she lived in sunny California, where she held management roles at the Torrance Refinery. This was followed by a move back to Fairfax, before moving to Sarnia, Canada, in 2015, where she served as the process manager at the Sarnia Refinery before assuming her most recent role in Nanticoke.

Dendy is excited to be in Beaumont and is looking forward to getting to know the people in the community. ExxonMobil has a rich history in Beaumont dating back to the Spindletop oil discovery, and has remained a respected community partner for more than 110 years. Dendy said she has enjoyed learning more about the history of the region and ExxonMobil’s role in its development.

“After initial meetings with community leaders, it is evident that Beaumont and Southeast Texas have grown and developed significantly over the past several years, driven in part by large investments by the petrochemical industry,” Dendy said. “As the city continues to develop ways to transform itself and thrive, I am looking forward to working with community leaders to determine how we can support the City’s mission and vision.”

At the jobsite, her key focus is to empower her team to achieve safe and reliable operations. She says developing others and seeing them succeed is what brings her to work every day.

“Nothing happens without people, and we want our people to be inspired, motivated, and full of positive energy,” Dendy said. “We want them to deliver their best each and every day.”

For the first time in the history of the ExxonMobil Beaumont complex, the roles of refinery manager and chemical plant manager are being held by two women concurrently. Dendy joins Jennifer Dunphy, who assumed the role of chemical plant manager in July.

“I am humbled by the opportunity to be able to share in this leadership experience with Jennifer,” Dendy said. “It’s an exceptional experience we are getting to have together, and I look forward to working with her to improve both the business and the community.”

Dendy lives in Beaumont with her husband of 20 years Norris and her 9-year-old son Norris II. In their spare time, she and her family enjoy hiking, biking, and many outdoor fun-filled activities. They look forward to  discovering all of the outdoor pursuits that Southeast Texas has to offer, and they have already taken a walk at Cattail Marsh.