Andrew Liveris has detailed the moment he was fired by President Trump, labelling him a "horrible" boss during his first public address as Brisbane's 2032 Olympics organising chief.
The Australian businessman rose to chairman and chief executive during a 42-year career at Dow Chemical, where he served as an adviser to five consecutive US presidents.
He now sits on various boards, including Saudi-owned petrol and gas giant Aramco.
The Brisbane-educated chemical engineer was addressing the Queensland Media Club on Wednesday for the first time in his new Olympic role when asked to reflect on his relationship with Trump.
"I worked with Clinton, George W Bush, President Obama, Trump and Biden," Mr Liveris said.
"Trump's the only one that fired me. But I'm not the only CEO he fired; he fired every CEO he worked with.
"Which starts to answer your question; (he's) horrible (to work with)."
Mr Liveris said Trump was "unpredictable" and that he had tasked son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner to deliver the news of his sacking.
"His son-in-law did all his dirty work," he said.
Mr Liveris also defended his affiliation with Aramco, given the desire for Brisbane to be the first climate positive Games.
"You put a price on carbon, it goes from from a subsidy to an incentive and who wouldn't invest in incentives?," he said.
"Make this a reality and you let the market pay for it. That's what I do and I'd love Australia to set a price on carbon, that's the right answer."
He also addressed Saudi Arabia's human rights record, suggesting the Olympics can be a vessel for geopolitical solutions.
"If you're not at the table you're on the menu," he said.
"You've got to be at the table to help countries become better.
"I'd love to say I was part of the solution on helping the economic wellbeing of the region, not by being involved in the politics, which I'm not."
"Sometimes it makes people uncomfortable, but if I had a career making people comfortable I wouldn't be sitting here.
"You've got to learn how to do the hard stuff, even though it has some downside risks. That's how you solve complexity."
He said a Brisbane 2032 chief executive would likely be announced next month and that a contract to create the Games' "brand" had been put to market.
