Noble Group
Managing Director
CLASS OF 1984
As managing director for Noble Group, overseeing the petrochemical and polymers division of the international company, Christopher Hogan is truly a global citizen. He is equally at home in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Mumbai, Moscow, Johannesburg, or Dubai. From the day he graduated from Washington & Jefferson College, Hogan has travelled the world, working first in England and Jamica, and then worldwide.
Noble Group, a Fortune 500 company with more than 100 offices in 40 countries, is responsible for moving products like soybeans, iron ore, ethanol, and sugar around the globe, buying products in low-cost producing countries and selling to customers in countries with growing economies. In this way, through Noble Group, Hogan helps to power economies on an international level.
As a student at W&J, Hogan valued the sense of community that permeated the campus. "W&J was a community of more than just academics, and the small class sizes made it feel like home, even though the workload was heavy," he remembers. "Success was not based on what material possessions you had, but on how hard you could work." Hogan also emphasizes that his liberal arts education gave him the ability to communicate well. He credits English professor Richard Easton for teaching him not only how to write professionally, but how to communicate his ideas effectively.
Hogan was very active outside the classroom in his fraternity and as a varsity athlete. As a swimmer and baseball player, Hogan was the first person at W&J to be ranked as an All-American in two sports. At W&J, Hogan says he learned that there are "no free rides" and that every action, right or wrong, has consequences. These beliefs have helped him to succeed in the corporate world.
"The workload was significant," Hogan remembers. "Though you still had plenty of autonomy, there were still consequences to irresponsible actions." Hogan believes that this attitude of "no free rides" helped him to succeed in the corporate world. "W&J got me started," Hogan says. "Now I know the possibilities are endless."
