Lisa Phillip
Executive Director | Houston MBDA Export Center
Lisa Phillip, Founder and CEO, Hybas International, LLC Lisa Phillip is the President and Founder of Hybas International LLC, an export trading company that trade in both commodities and professional services. Hybas specializes in strategic sourcing for bulk chemicals, industrial equipment, and spare parts for Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), Oil and Gas, Petrochemical, and Feed, and Food Stock Companies. The company also provides professional services in project management, supply chain management, and feasibility studies. Since 2003, Hybas has conducted international business in the Caribbean, the Middle East, the Netherlands, East Africa, West Africa, and South Africa.
Lisa started Hybas International LLC in 2002 while pursuing a master’s degree in Business Administration. Six months prior to graduating with an MBA, Lisa secured a purchase order to ship a 20-foot container of non-perishable food and general merchandise to the Middle East. Two years later, Lisa attended a trade mission organized by the City of Houston and met a buyer interested in the Hybas team oil and gas background. The buyer requested a six-month pilot for Hybas to develop a supply chain solution for strategic sourcing of bulk chemicals. The six-month pilot turned into four back-to-back contracts to export over 400,000 pounds of chemicals per month used to liquefy natural gas.
In 2007, Lisa expanded the business by traveling with a delegation chosen by the Secretary of Commerce to emerging markets in Africa, including Ghana, Nigeria, and South Africa. This business trip turned into back-to-back transactions, Hybas collaborating with local companies including women-owned businesses to export consumer goods. From 2010-2018, Lisa was on the Industry Trade Advisory Committee (ITAC) 3.
In 2012, Lisa was invited to help launch the Doing Business in Africa Campaign with the Secretary of Commerce and other businesses. She was chosen to work on a capacity building project in Zambia to support a woman-owned business operating in the mining industry. In addition to the Zambia Local Content project, Lisa and her team worked on other Local Content projects. They include a Biodiesel Fuel Project working with a Washington, DC Fellowship student from Zambia on a farm-to-fuel project, and a multi-faceted training program in the oil and gas industry for Tanzania. In 2015, Lisa decided to diversify the business and pursue state and federal government contracting. She has a contract with the U.S. Treasury Dept. supplying all the industrial gases that are used in the manufacturing process to print the U.S. Dollar and Bank Notes for worldwide consumption. Also, Lisa has a contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) supplying bulk industrial gases for testing and analysis of the environment. Lisa believes in collaborating with other companies to win state and government contracts. In 2017, she partnered with an aerospace company to export emergency bulk industrial gases for hospitals in Puerto Rico after the destruction caused by Hurricane Maria. It has been Lisa’s dream to export a product manufactured by Hybas Int’l. In 2018, Lisa started working on an Innovative idea that has been on her radar screen for ten years and it was time to take it from an idea to a product. In 2020, Lisa received a U.S. patent on an innovative vision improvement product that is currently being prepared for manufacturing to sell in the U.S. and for export.
In 2021, Lisa pursued a Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) grant to teach minorities and women how to export in an industry where they lack a presence. She was awarded the grant and has the true passion to teach minorities how to expand and grow their business through exports.
Throughout the years of conducting international and domestic business, the Hybas team has developed and nurtured long-term business relationships that are key in surviving any volatile economy.