"Top Executives in Houston Chemical Disaster Are Nowhere to Be Seen "

Eleven days after Intercontinental Terminals Co.’s chemical tanks erupted in flames near Houston and spread panic across the fourth-biggest U.S. city, the company’s top executive made his first public appearance after drawing criticism from a top official. Until Wednesday afternoon, a sales and marketing executive was tasked with explaining and defending ITC’s handling of the worst Gulf Coast chemical disaster in 14 years. The lack of visibility of more senior executives during the crisis is "cowardly,” Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia said in an interview.