VALERO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Distillers Grain Sales Rep ( Local Truck Sales )
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Distillers Grain Sales Rep ( Local Truck Sales )
Job Titles:
- Distillers Grain Sales Rep ( Truck Sales )
Job Titles:
- Manager Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Chief Technology Officer
- Senior Vice President
Cheryl Thomas serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, with responsibility for the company's information services network and related technology.
Thomas has served Valero and its predecessors since 1984. She previously served as Senior Vice President-Information Services for Valero, managing the company's Information Systems Development, Support and Infrastructure teams. Prior to that role, Thomas served as Vice President of Retail Operations Support and Vice President of Retail Information Systems. She has played a key role in restructuring Valero's Information Services Department and integrating recently acquired assets into Valero's complex systems.
Thomas earned a business administration degree in quantitative analysis from California State University-Fresno in 1983, graduating Magna Cum Laude.
Job Titles:
- Manager Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of the Procter & Gamble Company
Deborah P. Majoras is the former Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) (NYSE: PG). She joined P&G in 2008 as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. From 2010 to July 2022, she served as Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of P&G, and form July 2022 to September 2022, when she retired, she served as President and Adviser to the CEO at P&G. Previously she served as Chair of the Federal Trade Commission from 2004 until 2008.
From 2001 to 2004, Ms. Majoras was Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division. She joined the law firm of Jones Day in 1991, where she became a partner in 1999. Ms. Majoras serves the board of American Express Company (NYSE: AXP). She also serves on the boards of The First Tee Foundation, United States Golf Association, The Christ Hospital Health Network, the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati and Westminster College.
Job Titles:
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lime Rock Resources
Eric D. Mullins is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lime Rock Resources, a company he co-founded in 2005.
Mr. Mullins oversees all strategic, financial and operational aspects of the Lime Rock Resources funds. Prior to joining Lime Rock, Mr. Mullins served as a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs where he led numerous financing, structuring and strategic advisory transactions for public and private E&P companies in the division's Natural Resources Group.
He also serves on the board of directors of ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) and the board of trustees of the Baylor College of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President - Wholesale Marketing and International Commercial Operations
Eric Fisher serves as Senior Vice President-Wholesale Marketing and International Commercial Operations, responsible for global wholesale marketing, including administration of London, Montreal and Dublin operations and the specialty products marketing business. Fisher has served as President of European Commercial Operations, and in leadership roles in Investor Relations, Corporate Communications, Strategic Planning and Corporate Development.
Fisher began his career with Valero in 1997, when he joined Valero's Corporate Law Department. In 1999, he moved to Investor Relations, and in 2004 was named Vice President of Investor Relations. He then served as Vice President-Investor and Corporate Communications, President-Europe, and Vice President-Investor Relations, Market Analysis & Strategic Planning, before assuming his current position.
Prior to joining Valero, Fisher worked for the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski. Earlier in his career, he worked as an operations accountant for Exxon Corp. He earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Texas A&M University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Texas School of Law.
Job Titles:
- Vice President
- Vice President Renewables Operations & Low Carbon Fuels
Eric Honeyman serves as Vice President Renewables Operations & Low Carbon Fuels, serving previously as Vice President Refining Operations.
He joined Valero in 2001 in the Risk Management Department. In 2007, he served as Vice President of Process Safety and Reliability, where his responsibilities included the creation of the overall management system for refining operations as well as the technical standards and work processes that drive operational excellence. From 2011 to 2021, Eric led the implementation of these practices amongst Valero's refining network, helping the business achieve first quartile performance across Solomon energy industry benchmarking metrics. Prior to Valero, he worked for ExxonMobil in refinery operations.
Honeyman graduated from Rice University in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and a master's degree in environmental engineering.
Mr. Diaz served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Mitsubishi Motors North America, Inc. from April 2018 to April 2020 and as General Manager, Performance Optimization Global Marketing and Sales of Mitsubishi Motors Corporation in Tokyo, Japan from July 2017 to April 2018. From April 2013 to July 2017, Mr. Diaz served in a number of roles for Nissan Motor Corporation, including Division Vice President & General Manager - North American Trucks and Light Commercial Vehicles, Sr. Vice President Sales & Marketing and Operations, and Division Vice President, Sales & Marketing and Parts & Service. Mr. Diaz also served in several roles for Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) from 2004 to April 2013, including President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ram Truck Brand, President and Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Mexico, Head of National Sales, Regional Managing Director of the Denver Business Center, and Director of Dodge Brand Marketing Communications.
Mr. Diaz currently serves on the board of directors of SiteOne Landscape Supply, Inc. (NYSE: SITE) (f/k/a John Deere Landscapes LLC), Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: SWBI), and Archer Aviation Inc. (NYSE: ACHR). Mr. Diaz received a bachelor's degree from Texas Lutheran University and an MBA from Central Michigan University. He is also a Director Constituent Member of the Latino Corporate Directors Association (LCDA) and a National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Board Leadership Fellow.
Gary Simmons - Chief Commercial Officer, EVP
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer
- Executive Vice President
Gary Simmons is Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, with oversight of the company's crude supply and products trading, wholesale marketing, transportation and international commercial operations groups. He previously served as Senior Vice President-Supply, International Operations and Systems Optimization; and Vice President-Crude, Feedstock, Supply and Trading.
Simmons joined Valero in 1987 and began his career as a Process Engineer at the Ardmore refinery and held many leadership positions including Executive Director-Regional Development, Vice President and General Manager of the Ardmore refinery, Vice President and General Manager of the St. Charles refinery, and Vice President-Planning and Economics, before being promoted to his current position. Simmons directs the supply, trading and hedging activities for supply of crude oil to all Valero refineries, and oversees international operations and refinery systems optimization.
Simmons has a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and a Master of Business Administration degree from University of Texas at San Antonio.
Job Titles:
- Corporate Vice President
- Vice President - Supply Chain Optimization
Greg Bram serves as corporate Vice President-Supply Chain Optimization, responsible for all economic analysis pertaining to Valero's refining operations.
He joined Valero in 2005 as part of the Premcor acquisition, serving as Refinery Manager of the Memphis refinery at the time. Bram moved to San Antonio in 2006 to serve as Vice President-Northeast/West Coast Optimization, added Mid-Continent operations to his duties in 2007 and moved to a similar role over Gulf Coast operations in 2009.
Prior to joining Valero, he was Refinery Manager at Premcor's Lima Refinery. At Premcor and its predecessor, Clark Refining & Marketing, he also held positions in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and planning and economics. He began his career in 1987 as a process engineer at Amoco Oil's Whiting Refinery, progressing through various engineering, operations and planning positions.
Bram holds a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla, now known as Missouri University of Science & Technology.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Chairman and CEO of HMS Ventures
H. Paulett Eberhart is Chair and CEO of HMS Ventures, a privately held business involved with technology services and the acquisition and management of real estate. Previously, she served as President and CEO of CDI Corp. (NYSE: CDI), a provider of engineering and information technology outsourcing and professional staffing services. She also previously served as President and CEO of Invensys Process Systems, Inc., a process automation company, and as an employee of Electronic Data Systems Corporation, an information technology and business process outsourcing company, where she held roles of increasing responsibility, including senior level financial and operating roles.
Ms. Eberhart is a Certified Public Accountant and also serves as a director of LPL Financial Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LPLA), Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) and KORE Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: KORE).
Job Titles:
- Finance
- Vice President - Investor Relations
Homer Bhullar is Vice President Investor Relations and Finance.
Bhullar joined Valero in 2014. He started as a Director in Corporate Development and moved to Business Development in 2015, where he was promoted to Vice President in 2018. In 2019, he assumed the role of Vice President Investor Relations, and was promoted to his current position in 2021.
Prior to Valero, Bhullar was an Investment Banker focused on the Energy sector at J.P. Morgan and Citigroup. While at J.P. Morgan, Bhullar was part of the advisory teams for the spinoff of CST Brands Inc. and the formation of Valero Energy Partners LP.
Bhullar holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics and an MBA with a focus on investment management and energy finance, both from the University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Vice President
- President of European Commercial Operations
Jason Fraser serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He has significant leadership experience at Valero, having served as General Counsel, as well as Senior Vice President with oversight of Valero's public policy, strategic planning, governmental affairs, investor relations and external communications functions.
Fraser also has served as President of European Commercial Operations, overseeing the company's European commercial businesses, and Vice President of Specialty Products Marketing. He began his career with Valero in 1999.
He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Prior to attending the University of Texas, Fraser served in the U.S. Army in 1986-1990.
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Chief Executive Officer
Joe Gorder became Chairman of the Board on Dec. 31, 2014, and Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2014. He previously served as President, and as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for refining operations and commercial operations in marketing, supply and transportation. He also has served as Chief Commercial Officer and President of Valero Europe.
He oversaw all commercial trading and related activity for the company, including Crude and Feedstock Supply and Trading, Products Supply and Trading, Wholesale Marketing, Logistics Operations, Commercial Business Development, Transportation and Specialty Products Marketing. In addition, he was responsible for all business activity and operations of Valero's assets in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Gorder served as Valero's Executive Vice President-Marketing and Supply, following tenure as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Before joining Valero, he held the positions of Vice President of Business Development for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, and Director of Commercial/Industrial Sales, Assistant Treasurer and Director of Information Systems for Diamond Shamrock.
Gorder earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a master's degree in business administration from Our Lady of the Lake University.
Job Titles:
- Treasurer
- Vice President
- in 2003 As an Audit Specialist
Employer of Choice We are committed to being an outstanding corporate citizen and employer
John Locke is Vice President and Treasurer.
Locke joined Valero in 2003 as an Audit Specialist in Valero's Internal Audit department where he earned several promotions and ultimately served as Executive Director of Internal Audit. In 2013, he transferred to Valero's Investor Relations department, before earning promotions to Vice President and ultimately Corporate Officer. Locke has since served in leadership roles over Strategic Planning, Public Policy, and Communications. Prior to joining Valero, Locke worked at La Quinta Corporation and Ernst & Young LLP, in SEC reporting and audit and assurance roles, respectively.
He received his Bachelor of Business Administration and Master of Science degrees in accounting from Texas Tech University, where he also played football. He is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Information Systems Auditor and Certified Fraud Examiner.
Job Titles:
- Distillers Grain Sales Rep ( Local Truck Sales )
Job Titles:
- Distillers Grain Sales Rep ( Local Truck Sales )
Job Titles:
- Regional Manager - Ag Products ( Bulk Rail Sales )
Job Titles:
- Chief Human Resources Officer
- Senior Vice President
Julia Rendon Reinhart serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for Valero's human resources operations companywide as well as global security, facilities and administrative services.
She joined Valero in December 2006 as Managing Counsel-Labor & Employment, overseeing legal aspects of Valero's human resources policies, discipline, litigation and immigration. Reinhart was promoted to Executive Director-Corporate Communications, directing internal and external messaging, and advanced to Vice President-Corporate Communications in 2010.
In 2013, she became Vice President-Human Resources Administration & Refinery Operations, responsible for human resources in Valero's refinery operations, as well as labor relations, technical training, HR Information Services and payroll. She was promoted to Vice President-Human Resources and Administration in November 2015, and to her current position in January 2019.
Prior to joining Valero, Reinhart served as a Partner in the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, where she defended employers in all phases of employment law. Prior to Bracewell, she practiced law at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, with a short secondment to CNN as in-house labor and employment counsel, and the State of Georgia as an Assistant State Attorney General.
Reinhart earned a Juris Doctor from Emory University in 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and statistics, with a certificate in actuarial science, from the University of Rochester in 1991.
Job Titles:
- Grains Procurement Representative
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Chairman, CEO and President of Southern Company Gas
Kimberly S. Greene serves as Chairman, CEO and President of Southern Company Gas, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), a leading U.S. energy company serving millions of electric and gas utility customers in multiple states through its subsidiaries. She was named as Board Chair, CEO and President of Georgia Power company effective March 31, 2023.
Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Southern Company and President and Chief Executive Officer of Southern Company Services Inc. Greene began her career at Southern Company in 1991 and held positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of engineering, strategy, finance and wholesale marketing.
In 2007, she joined the Tennessee Valley Authority, where she served as Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President of financial services and Chief Risk Officer, as well as Group President for strategy and external relations. Greene was Executive Vice President and Chief Generation Officer of TVA prior to rejoining Southern Company in April 2013. Ms. Greene currently serves as an Oil & Natural Gas Liaison Co-Lead for the Electric Subsector Coordinating Council, and as a member of the boards of the American Gas Association, Gas Technology Institute, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and Morehouse School of Medicine.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer
- President
Lane Riggs serves as President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing refining operations, engineering, projects and strategic sourcing organizations, commercial operations and renewables and logistics operations. He has been with the company since 1989 and has served in many leadership positions.
He began his career at Valero as a Process Engineer at the McKee refinery and subsequently held management positions including General Manager-Process Engineering, Director-Supply and Optimization, Vice President-Refinery Planning and Economics, Senior Vice President-Crude, Feedstock Supply and Trading, Senior Vice President-Refining Operations and Executive Vice President-Refining Operations and Engineering.
Riggs earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and his Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in finance and economics from West Texas A&M University.
Job Titles:
- Founder and CEO of Axxelist LLC
Marie is currently the founder and CEO of Axxelist LLC, a technology real estate company. Ms. Ffolkes formerly served as Chief Executive Officer of TriMark USA, LLC , a provider of design services, equipment, and supplies to the food services industry. From May 2015 to January 2020, Ms. Ffolkes served as President, Industrial Gases, Americas for Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. Prior to that, Ms. Ffolkes served in various executive and senior management roles for Tenneco, Inc., and Johnson Controls International plc.
Ms. Ffolkes currently serves on the board of directors of Masco Corporation (NYSE: MAS), a global manufacturing company, where she is a member of the Compensation and Talent Management and chair of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees. She also serves on the Global Advisory Board of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute for Global Business at Columbia Business School and as a director of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Job Titles:
- Chief Accounting Officer
- Senior Vice President
- in 2003 As Executive Director of External Reporting
Mark Schmeltekopf serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, with responsibility for the company's accounting, budgeting, forecasting and profit-planning procedures, as well as financial statements and reporting, and corporate tax functions.
Schmeltekopf joined Valero in 2003 as Executive Director of External Reporting. Soon thereafter, Mark was promoted to Assistant Controller, and ultimately, Senior Vice President of Accounting, in 2012. Schmeltekopf graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Texas State University in 1987.
Job Titles:
- Manager - Regional Merchandising ( Bulk Rail Sales )
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement
Job Titles:
- Counsel in the San Antonio Office of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
- Director and past Chairman of the Board of Southwest Research Institute
Philip J. Pfeiffer is recently retired as Of Counsel in the San Antonio office of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP, where he was Partner-in-Charge for 25 years and led the office's labor and employment practice. Through his more than 40 years with the firm, he has assisted employers in management-union matters, complex civil rights matters, employment discrimination cases, affirmative action compliance, employment torts, alternative dispute resolution, employment contracts and ERISA litigation.
Mr. Pfeiffer is a director and past Chairman of the Board of Southwest Research Institute, a nonprofit contract research corporation based in San Antonio. He also serves on the boards of the United Way of San Antonio and Bexar County, San Antonio Medical Foundation, The Children's Hospital of San Antonio Foundation, and the Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council.
Job Titles:
- Managing Member
- Managing Member, Mile26 Capital LLC, and Former Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Omnicom Group Inc.
Randall J. Weisenburger is Managing Member of Mile 26 Capital LLC, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut. He served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC) from 1998 until September 2014.
Prior to joining Omnicom, he was a founding member of Wasserstein Perella and a former member of the First Boston Corp. While at Wasserstein Perella, Weisenburger specialized in private equity investing and leveraged acquisitions, and in 1993 became President and CEO of the firm's private equity subsidiary.
His other corporate board service includes Carnival Corp. and Carnival plc (NYSE: CCL), Corsair Gaming Inc. (NASDAQ: CRSR) and MP Materials (NYSE: MP). He also is a former member of the Board of Overseers for the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Our Commitment to Excellence Prioritizing operational excellence, the environment and our communities.
Rayford Wilkins, Jr. is former CEO of Diversified Businesses of AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), where he was responsible for international investments, AT&T Interactive, AT&T Advertising Solutions, customer information services and the consumer wireless initiative in India. He retired from AT&T at the end of March 2012.
Mr. Wilkins held several other leadership positions at AT&T and its predecessor companies, including Group President and CEO of SBC Enterprise Business Services and President and CEO of SBC Pacific Bell. He also serves on the boards of Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) and Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT), and the Advisory Council of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President - Corporate Development and Strategy
Rich Lashway is Senior Vice President-Corporate Development and Strategy.
He joined with predecessor Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS), and in his current position with Valero is responsible for company strategy and innovation efforts. Throughout his career with Valero and UDS, Lashway has held critical leadership positions in the commercial and corporate development groups, and has been an integral part of key transportation and logistics projects, including the initial public offering of Shamrock Logistics L.P., the predecessor to NuStar, and its acquisition of Kaneb Pipe Line Partners L.P.
Rich Walsh - Chief Legal Officer, SVP
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Secretary
- Senior Vice President
Rich Walsh serves as Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He previously served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, with responsibility for Valero's litigation, regulatory and employment law departments, as well as the company's ad valorem tax and environmental, health and safety groups.
Walsh has served in many different leadership roles within Valero's legal department. He earned his Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Oklahoma. He also has studied international and English law at the University of Oxford in England, and has extensive international legal experience working in South America, Asia and Europe.
Job Titles:
- Partner and Practice Leader, Global Mergers and Acquisitions, of Jones Day
- Partner of the Jones Day
Robert A. Profusek is a partner of the Jones Day law firm, where he chairs the firm's global mergers and acquisitions practice. His law practice focuses on mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, restructurings and corporate governance matters.
Mr. Profusek also is a director of CTS Corp. (NYSE: CTS) and Kodiak Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: KOD).
Job Titles:
- Retired U.S. Senator ( R - Okla. ), and Chairman and CEO of the Nickles Group
Sen. Don Nickles retired as U.S. Senator from Oklahoma in 2005 after serving in the U.S. Senate for 24 years. He also served in the Oklahoma State Senate for two years.
During his tenure as a U.S. Senator, he was Assistant Republican Leader for six years, Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee and Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. He served as Chairman of the Budget Committee and as a member of the Finance and Energy and Natural Resources Committees.
In 2005, he formed and is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Nickles Group, a Washington-based consulting and business venture firm. Sen. Nickles also serves on the Board of Trustees of Washington Mutual Investors Fund (AWSHX), the advisory board of the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, and the board of directors of Central Union Mission (Washington, D.C.).
Job Titles:
- Manager - Regional Merchandising
Job Titles:
- Chairman Award for Safety, 2013 and 2015
Job Titles:
- Manager - Grains Procurement