Ellen Lenny-Pessagno serves as Vice President Global Lithium Sustainability & Country Manager in Chile.
Lenny-Pessagno supports the execution of the corporate strategy, leads Albemarle's relationship with government entities and the local community, guides the development and execution of environmental policy, management and compliance, and provides visible leadership in the areas of corporate and local compliance, HSE and crisis management, and people and organization. She is also a member of the Lithium Division’s corporate leadership team and is accountable for sustainability in the lithium division globally.
Prior to joining Albemarle, Lenny-Pessagno served as a career diplomat for the United States for more than 25 years. At U.S. Embassies in Argentina, Mexico, Spain, Chile, and Colombia, she led the commercial portfolio, dialoguing with local governments to drive policy and regulatory changes to increase bilateral trade, developing commercial strategies and programs to promote US exports and helping American companies invest. She has extensive experience in international trade policy, international business strategy, negotiations, public affairs, and communications. She also served as a Board Member of the American Chamber of Commerce in those markets. Her U.S. assignments included trade roles in Washington and Houston.
Lenny-Pessagno has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Wake Forest University and a master's in international commerce and policy from George Mason University. In 2017, she became the first American to participate in the top Senior Executive Management program in Chile at the ESE Business School of the University of Los Andes.