Christine Mendoza-Frohn
EVP Sales EMEA and LATAM
Covestro
Christine’s career is a powerful example of curiosity, courage, and cross‑functional versatility. With roots in Spain and Germany and training in both chemical engineering and marketing, she has navigated roles spanning chemistry, engineering, strategic marketing, product management, and supply chain. Known for her ability to translate across technical and commercial worlds, she leads with empathy, clarity, and a commitment to continuous learning—helping teams evolve while staying true to authenticity and purpose.
Early Foundations and Career Start: Christine’s career is defined by curiosity, crossfunctional courage, and a deep commitment to understanding how organizations create value. With a multicultural background rooted in Spain and Germany, and training in bothengineering chemistry and marketing, she blends analytical rigor with creativity.
Developing a Cross‑Functional Perspective: She began her professional journey as an engineering chemist, later transitioning into industrial process development roles before moving into the commercial side of the business. Her experience spans strategic marketing, global product management, and supply chain management as well as strategy—roles that gave her visibility into how materials flow through an organization, how decisions influence downstream outcomes, and how business ecosystem’s function. Her view of value creation is shaped by her ability to understand diverse KPI’s along the value chain and translate perspectives across technical, commercial, and strategic domains.
Curiosity and Learning as Career Drivers: A major theme across her career is stepping outside her comfort zone. Motivated by curiosity, she dissected each new discipline she entered—observing, listening, and learning the “language” of the people within it. She approaches internal and external stakeholders with humility, focusing on understanding what keeps them up at night, how their industries are transforming, and how sustainability is reshaping even commoditized materials.
Leading Transformation with Empathy and Clarity: Christine is also known for leading teams through transformational challenges, especially in times of rightsizing and upskilling. She believes that clarity is empathy: by clearly communicating direction, expectations, and shared learning goals, she helps teams stay engaged, focused and futurefit. She pays close attention to individuals’ interests, capabilities, and sources of motivation, always aiming to guide them toward roles where they can thrive.
Resilience Through Setbacks: Not all career moments were linear. At one point, she experienced what felt like a demotion when transitioning into strategic marketing as a working mother. Despite the emotional weight of the situation, she stayed grounded by focusing on the value she could bring, bridging technical and commercial gaps—and by refusing to let a job description define her. The experience broadened her mindset around growth, resilience, and self‑belief. She emphasizes the importance of self‑reflection, identifying what gives or drains energy, and staying true to one’s personality, including the strengths found in emotional intelligence.
Reflection, Authenticity, and Personal Balance: When advocating for transformative projects without formal authority, Christine learned the power of communication, alignment, and understanding stakeholder motivations. She approaches influence through listening, partnership, and building trust over time. A strong believer in supporting talent, she often serves as a “sparring partner” or “mirror” for colleagues—helping them see blind spots, explore ideas, and grow through reflection. She understands how impactful this can be because she once navigated her own path without the benefit of virtual networks or instant connection.
Advice for the Women in Chemicals community: Christine encourages curiosity, authenticity, continuous learning, and the courage to step into unfamiliar spaces. She champions staying grounded, supporting others, and embracing the nonlinear nature of growth—guided by mottos and practices that keep purpose, impact creation and personal energy recovery at the center.
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