Born in Suzhou, China, Ting Tsung Chao (1921 – 2008) was a global visionary and a pioneering leader in the petrochemical and plastics industries in China, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, the United States, and Canada. Known worldwide as a successful entrepreneur and generous philanthropist, he brought many polymers to Taiwan for the first time and built a conglomerate of diverse chemical businesses.

After graduating from Shanghai University with a degree in Industrial Management, Chao began a career in the railroad industry. After World War II, he moved from China to Taiwan and started working in the construction field. In 1953, Chao built Taiwan’s first polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plant. When the plant officially began production in 1957, it helped propel Taiwan’s economic development.

In 1964, Chao formed The Chao Group, a privately held petrochemical and plastics manufacturing and marketing conglomerate that formed many important business alliances with companies such as Gulf Oil Corporation, Mobil Oil Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, and many more. Chao’s joint venture with Mattel in 1966 produced the first Barbie dolls.

Known as “T.T.” by his friends and colleagues, Chao founded several successful plastics and chemical companies, including Westlake Chemical Corporation (1986), a leading manufacturer and marketer of olefins and vinyl products; Titans Chemical Corporation (1988), the first and largest petrochemical company in Malaysia; and Suzhou Huasu Plastics Co. Ltd (1992), a joint venture with Norsk Hydro that produces PVBC resins and films.

The recipient of many honors and awards, Chao received the Petrochemical Heritage Award from the Chemical Heritage Foundation and Founders Club “in recognition of his pioneering role in the Asian plastics industry, his over 50 years of entrepreneurship and innovation, and his contributions to the worldwide development of the petrochemical industry and the betterment of humanity.”

An outstanding philanthropist, Chao contributed generously to advancing medicine, healthcare, and education in the United States and Asia. He and Wei Fong Chao, his wife of 64 years, established foundations at universities, hospitals, and cultural organizations that will continue his commitment well into the future.