Charles Dabadie is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a graduate of Catholic High School and a 1987 graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Charles began his ExxonMobil career in 1987 holding diverse engineering and supervisory assignments. He became the Baton Rouge Polyolefins Plant (BRPO) Polypropylene Line 1 Start-up Manager in 1997 and was instrumental in bringing the investment to Louisiana, which was his first endeavor to lead major economic growth to the state. He was subsequently appointed the Polypropylene Operations Manager after a very safe and successful project start up. In 2002 he served as Global Polyethylene Molding Product Technology Manager. Then in 2004, he became BRPO’s Site Operations Manager. In 2009 Charles transferred to the Baton Rouge Chemical Plant where he became the Mechanical Department Manager, and in 2012 was appointed the Security, Safety, Health & Environmental Manager for the Baton Rouge area. In 2013, he became Plant Manager at the Baton Rouge Plastics Plant.
In 2016, Charles became the Americas Regional Manufacturing Manager for ExxonMobil Product Solutions, overseeing operations across seven facilities in the Americas and providing leadership for the Global Polyolefins Technology Platform.
Charles was very engaged in ExxonMobil’s Grow the Gulf initiative supporting the investment of more than $20 billion over 10 years to build and expand 11 manufacturing facilities, creating tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars’ worth of economic activity.
During his time in this role, he has advocated for investment in Louisiana and helped secure the $500M Polypropylene Growth Project at the Polyolefins Plant in 2019. The project created 450 construction jobs and 65 permanent jobs, doubled the capacity of the plant, and enabled an innovative virtual reality and digital manufacturing training collaborative with ExxonMobil and the LED FastStart® program. Charles’ leadership and support enabled ExxonMobil and LED to receive national and state recognition in their collaboration to secure the investment, support multiple small businesses, including several local IT firms, and supported the creation of new training program for the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER).
Throughout his career, Charles has remained engaged in community and civic service. Charles graduated from the Baton Rouge LA Area Chamber Leadership Program in 2013 and contributes his expertise to several esteemed boards, including the National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) Board of Trustees, Louisiana State University Engineering Advisory Board, and Louisiana Association of Business and Industry (LABI) Board. His past affiliations include the Louisiana Business and Technology Center Advisory Board, University College Advisory Board of Louisiana State University, Chamber of Commerce of Baker, Greater Baton Rouge Industrial Alliance (GBRIA), and Baton Rouge Green Board. He is an avid supporter of the North Baton Rouge Industry Training Initiative and various workforce development initiatives.
Through his current role, Charles is working to identify and develop petrochemical growth opportunities throughout the Gulf Coast region and the Americas. He has vast experience working with Louisiana Economic Development to attract investment to Louisiana as well as navigating various incentive programs such as ITEP, the Enterprise Zone, the Modernization Tax Credit and FastStart®. He has represented ExxonMobil’s general business interest with state and local officials during his career and is passionate and outspoken about effective economic development.