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Dr. Simone Bhan Ahuja is the founder of Blood Orange, a global innovation and strategy firm headquartered in Minneapolis, USA. She is co-author of the international bestseller, Jugaad Innovation, called “the most comprehensive book yet on the subject” of frugal innovation by the Economist.
Her latest book, Disrupt-It-Yourself (HarperCollins Leadership), shares a clear set of tools and a practical playbook that helps organizations drive sustainable innovation by supporting ‘intrapreneurship’ and acting more like fast and frugal startups.
Simone serves as an advisor to MIT’s Practical Impact Alliance and has served as an advisor to the Centre for India & Global Business at Judge Business School, University of Cambridge. Simone provides keynotes, interactive workshops and innovation advisory services to organizations including United HealthGroup, 3M, Procter & Gamble, Target Corp, Stanley Black & Decker, and the World Economic Forum. She serves on the Board of Trustees of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, is regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review online, and a practitioner of improvisational comedy.
Axens North America, is a Senior Advanced Applications Engineer at the Houston office. She is responsible for developing and implementing the Connect'In process monitoring interface and has over 12 years of experience utilizing process simulation tools. Nandita holds Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering from North Carolina State University and BITS Pilani, India, and is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Texas.
Adam Ali is AFPM’s Manager of Workforce Development. In this role Adam works in collaboration with industry, educational institutions, government, and others to expand interest and develop leadership capability for the workforce of today and tomorrow. An element of his responsibilities includes working with industry partners to coordinate and facilitate the Emerging Leaders track for the AFPM Summit. Prior to joining AFPM, Adam held roles in operations management, project management and process engineering for Covergirl Cosmetics under the umbrella ownership of both Procter & Gamble and Coty. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University.
Robert is TM&C’s primary refinery modeler and market analyst. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2013 with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering. He has passed all three levels of the CFA Program and is on schedule to be awarded Chartered status upon completion of the required work experience. Robert worked with Western Refining (now Marathon) as a Senior Process Engineer at its El Paso Refinery for several years and is experienced in petroleum refining economics, process engineering, process design, and HazOp review.
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Rainer Bass is a Process Engineering Project Manager at HollyFrontier's corporate offices coordinating and leading the process design of major capital projects. He has experience Process Engineering, Process Design, Economics and Planning, and Corporate Development.
Mr. Bass holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University and has 12 year of experience.
Andrew Becker, PE, is an associate chemical engineer in the Chemicals, Oil and Gas Group at Burns & McDonnell. A leader in process innovation, Andrew is responsible for sizing and specifying process equipment and instrumentation, line sizing, and hydraulic analysis and process modeling. He also employs novel simulation techniques for process optimization, controls and techno-economic analysis. He was recently announced as a finalist for the 2020 Hydrocarbon Processing® Most Promising Engineer.
Curtis Behr is a Regional Optimization Planning and Assay Monitoring Manager for Valero Refining at the corporate headquarters in San Antonio, TX. He is responsible for crude selection for three refineries and the maintenance of the corporate assay database. He has experience in Process Engineering, Operations, Logistics, and Planning and Economics. He has worked on both the refining and planning side of crude blending/scheduling, and additionally has multiple years of experience working with Linear Program models to facilitate crude selection and operational decisions.
Mr. Behr holds MS and BS degrees in Chemical Engineering and a BS degree in Computer Science from Texas A&M University - Kingsville and has 21 years of experience in the refining/chemicals industry.
is Professor of Control Systems at the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, Italy, and co-founder and main scientific advisor of ODYS Srl, a company specialized in developing model predictive control systems for industrial production. Alberto has more than 25 years of experience in scientific research on model predictive control and its industrial applications. He also developed or co-developed several software packages for MPC, including the Model Predictive Control Toolbox for MATLAB (The Mathworks, Inc.). He received the IFAC High-Impact Paper Award for the 2011-14 triennial and the IEEE CSS Transition to Practice Award in 2019. He is an IEEE Fellow, holds a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D in Control Engineering, both from the University of Florence, Italy, and he was a postdoctoral fellow and senior researcher at ETH Zurich, Switzerland, in the research group of Prof. Manfred Morari.
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Jose Bird is Director Advanced Analytics at Valero Energy where he is responsible for the use of advanced analytics in the process optimization and troubleshooting areas. Jose holds a PhD in Applied Statistics from UTSA, a Masters in CHEE from the University of Houston, an MBA from the University of Alaska, and a BS in CHEE from the University of Puerto Rico.
Gerry Brooks is the Maintenance & Reliability Manager at Westlake Chemical Corporation’s Lake Charles, LA facility. He has 38+ years of experience in oil refining, pulp and paper, and chemical manufacturing, holding a variety of positions in operations, maintenance, and engineering. Gerry holds a B.S. Mechanical Engineering, Louisiana State University.
PBF Energy, is the Process Safety Manager at the Chalmette Refinery. In her 20-year career, she has held various industrial and environmental positions before moving into process safety and is currently the Vice Chair of AFPM’s Eastern Gulf Coast Process Safety Regional network. Rebecca holds a BS in Environmental Science from Louisiana State University and a Master of Public Health from Tulane.
Rodney Braun is the Safety Instrumented Systems Engineering Lead for Flint Hills – Pine Bend refinery and has led a variety of innovative improvements to ensure the integrity of the safety shutdown system while designing for best fit in the operation including normal shutdown, operation, and start-ups. Rodney holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Mankato State University and has worked as Instrumentation Planner, Supervision, and engineering roles for FHR since 1992.
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Don Bremault was an original partner of Alliance Refractories and remains consulting to the new ownership of AlumaSafway (Brand). He has over 30 years of experience in the refractory industry in all areas of application within Western Canada
Don Bremault was an original partner of Alliance Refractories and remains consulting to the new ownership of AlumaSafway (Brand). He has over 30 years of experience in the refractory industry in all areas of application within Western Canada
Fred is a Senior Technical Advisor for Athlon, A Halliburton Service. He has been in the Refinery Chemical Industry for 13 years and has experience in Cooling Water, Wastewater Treatment and Process.
Fred was born and raised in South Dakota, an enrolled member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He was an accomplished Cross-Country and Track runner, placing 3rd in state competition and Most Valuable Runner awards in College. Prior to entering the Air Force, Fred was a Paramedic and a Public Safety Officer for the Tribe. Next, he joined the Air Force at age 21 and was able to transition quickly up the ranks from Airman Basic to Captain. During his time in the enlisted ranks, he was an Aircraft Crew Chief and a Flying Crew Chief, traveling to over 30 countries in four different continents. Supporting Presidential Support Missions and Operation Enduring Freedom. As an Airfield Operations Officer, he earned certifications as an Air Traffic Controller for Tower Operations, Radar Approach Control and Airfield Management. While on deployment in the American Embassy in Islamabad Pakistan, he supported border operations and Air Operations in the Tactical Monitoring Cell.
Following his distinguished 10-year Air Force career, Fred entered the Refinery Chemical Industry. Just as in the Air Force, he worked through several roles in the refinery industry such as Technical Sales Rep, Technical Service Rep, Chemical Account Manager, Site Manager, Area Manager and Regional Engineer. Currently, Fred is a Senior Technical Advisor for Automation/Digitalization. Fred achieved this role through his lifelong love of mechanical mechanisms, controllers, pumps, computers, software and code writing. He has one corporate IOS App internally published and one App Store App published, PPM Calculator. Finally, he recently published an article titled “Back to Desalter Basics” in the Hydrocarbon Engineering Journal.
Brian Burgio is KBC Advanced Technologies’ APC Program manager for the Platform for Advanced Control and Estimation (PACE) technology. He has over 30 years of domestic and international experience in the chemical, petrochemical and refining industries helping them improve their operations. He has worked for operating companies, including Aramco, the largest oil and gas company in the world. He has spent most of his career in the automation area working for companies whose goal is to help clients drive maximum profitability from their assets by applying the latest automation technologies. He has been on both sides of the fence. While working for operating companies, he had direct experience using, specifying and deploying automation technologies. From the consulting side, he has had the opportunity to work with clients to design, specify and deploy automation technologies to help them achieve maximum results from their investment. Brian has a BSChE from Georgia Tech, Masters of Engineering Management from University of Tennessee and an MBA from Vanderbilt University.
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Phillips 66, is an Operational Excellence Consultant located the Houston, TX headquarters. She has over 20 years of experience in Health, Safety, and Environmental roles, is currently responsible for managing the corporate incident investigation library and is focused on organizational learning and human performance. Joanne holds a BS degree in Health Science from NWMSU and a MS in Geology from UNCW.
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is Manager of Technology-Advanced Process Control & Digitalization with Motiva Enterprises. He has over 25 years of experience in Refining and Petrochemical industry spanning many operational & technical leadership roles in product research/development, application deployment and support in APC/Optimization technology space. In his current role, Yugender is the external interface for Motiva businesses, responsible for scouting, evaluation and deployment of innovative technologies that can make a difference. Yugender is a strong believer in life-long learning, has passion for transformative ideas and brings in a pragmatic, result-oriented approach to Automation and Digitalization in process industry. Yugender holds a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University.
Daniel M. (Dan) Coombs is Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing, Projects, and Refining
for LyondellBasell, one of the largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world.
Coombs joined the company in 2015. He previously led LyondellBasell’s Global Intermediates &
Derivatives, Olefins & Polyolefins and Technology businesses.
Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Coombs held various executive positions with Chevron Phillips
Chemical Company including, senior vice president of Manufacturing; senior vice president
Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics; vice president Corporate Planning & Development and
vice president Qatar and deputy general manager Qatar Chemical Company Ltd.
Coombs serves on the board of directors of the American Fuels & Petrochemical Manufacturers
Association (AFPM). He also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for The Ohio State’s William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In 2017, Coombs and his wife
Ellen established the Daniel (’78) and Ellen (‘79) Coombs Chemical Engineering Endowed
Scholarship Fund to support current Ohio State chemical engineering students.
Coombs holds a bachelor’s in chemical engineering (‘78) from The Ohio State University and
a master’s in the same field from the University of Tulsa. He also holds a master’s in business
administration from Texas A&M.
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Mike Coyle is president of Chevron’s Manufacturing organization, a position he has held since July 2016.
Before coming into his current role, Coyle was the vice president of Manufacturing. His responsibilities included overseeing the safe and reliable operations of Chevron’s four niche refineries located Salt Lake City, Utah; Cape Town, South Africa; Kapolei, Hawaii and Burnaby, British Columbia. He also served as vice president of Downstream strategy.
Coyle began his career with Chevron as a design engineer in the Perth Amboy refinery. He went on to serve in a variety of engineering and operating positions of increasing responsibility at Chevron’s Salt Lake, Philadelphia and Pembroke refineries, ultimately returning to the Perth Amboy refinery where he served as operations manager prior to assuming the role of refinery manager.
Coyle transferred to Richmond in 2000, where he spent five years as an area business manager before becoming advisor to the president of Global Refining at Chevron’s corporate headquarters in San Ramon.
Coyle returned to Richmond in 2006, where he served as operations manager prior to assuming the role of refinery general manager in 2008.
A native of Long Island New York, Coyle joined Chevron in 1981 after graduating from the University of Rochester with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.
Kyle Daughtry is the solution architect at Immersive Technology Studies at ExxonMobil. This is an internal IT organization that provides XR services to the business units. In his current role, Kyle applies his passion for immersion and computer-generated environments to the group mission of saving lives through immersive technology.
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Athicha (M) Dhanormchitphong, is an Immersive Technology Architect at Immersive Technology Studies at ExxonMobil. This is an internal IT organization that provides XR services to the business units. In his current role as the Immersive Technology Architect, M leads the R&D efforts in the immersive space and designs simulations with subject matter experts.
Todd Hochheiser is Manager of FCC Technical Service for Johnson Matthey. He is responsible for the engineering team that provides technical assistance on the use of additives and catalyst addition systems.
Todd obtained his Bachelor in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and Master of Business Administration from the University of California Irvine. Prior to joining Johnson Matthey, Todd held engineering, operations, and planning & economics positions with Valero Energy and ExxonMobil.
Edward Dobyns is a Technical Service Specialist in the FCC, Treating, and Alkylation Technology Services department at Honeywell UOP LLC. Edward is responsible for servicing numerous FCC and Treating units worldwide. Prior to joining the Technology Services department Edward was a field technical adviser in the Field Operating Services department for 3.5 years primarily working on FCC and Merox Units. Edward also spent 1 year in the UOP Engineering department working on new unit design projects. Edward obtained his BS in Chemical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
EDWARD F. DORMAN III, Major General, United States Army, (Retired), served 37 years on active duty concluding his service as the Director, Logistics & Engineering, J-4 United States Central Command. MG(R) Dorman is a graduate of the Command and General Staff College, and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (Eisenhower School). He holds a Master of Language Arts in German Language and Literature from Middlebury College and the Johannes-Gutenberg Universität in Mainz, Germany, and a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University. Since retiring, MG (R) Dorman continues working a diverse portfolio, consulting, and serving in a variety of roles and serves as an Adjunct Staff Member with the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) advising the Lebanese Armed Forces on transformation and modernization of their Armed Forces.
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A 13-year industry veteran, Chase Drake has had a long career with Diamond, holding a variety of positions in engineering, project management, safety management, consulting, and more. As President, Chase takes a hands-on approach to leadership, working closely with his team to create and assess installation processes; track productivity; develop quarterly forecasts; identify new markets, strategies, and technologies; and ensure the company’s Total Safety Culture is being continuously implemented. Chase holds a Bachelor of Science degree in IT from Texas A&M University-Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I), as well as API 936 certification.
Harold is a Chief Global Technical Advisor for Athlon Solutions, a Halliburton Company. Prior to joining Athlon 12 years ago, he spent 26 years with a global supplier in refinery process and water chemical treatment. He has held several technical support and management positions during his career, authored several technical papers, holds 6 US and Global patents, and was a panelist at the NPRA Q&A in 2000.
Over his 40 year career, he has provided technical support and troubleshooting in over 180 refineries throughout the world in alkylation, fouling, desalting, corrosion and Fuel Additives. Harold started his career in 1980 working for a major refiner in the Midwest.
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AL A. Faegh, is the Delayed Coking Technology Director for Chevron Lummus Global, Woodlands, Texas. He has over 25 years of experience with operating companies such as Atlantic Richfield Company, WITCO, Coastal Corporation , and Lyondell-Citgo Refining LLC. He has been involved with the design/licensing, startup, and troubleshooting of the delayed coking units during the past 16 years. Mr. Faegh holds an MS degree in Chemical Engineering. He is a registered professional chemical engineer and a senior member of AICHE.
Bill Fairleigh is a Senior Staff Consultant for KBC Advanced Technologies. He has carried out a number of consulting assignments during his 20+ career in KBC and previously served in various process engineering positions at Shell Oil USA and Koch Refining. Bill is a hydrocarbon management specialist in KBC and has conducted a large number of oil loss studies for various refineries world-wide.
Taylor Fama is the Director of Business Development for Daily Thermetrics in the Western Hemisphere. He is responsible for working with end users, process licensors and catalyst companies to develop best practices for temperature instrumentation in hydroprocessing applications, to improve control of safety and production. He has worked with some of the world’s largest grassroots and revamp hydrocracker projects throughout his 10 year tenure in the industry, and holds a BS in Industrial Distribution from Texas A&M.
Darrin Feather is an Advanced Process Control Engineer for Phillips 66 at the Wood River, IL refinery. He is responsible for APC applications in the Alkylation, FCC, Gas Plant, and Benzene Recovery areas. He also has experience with gasoline blending, HDS & SMR units, operator training simulators, process simulation, as well as linear and non-linear optimization. He previously led the APC and DCS group for the PES refinery in Philadelphia, PA. Darrin holds a MChe degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and has 17 years of experience in industrial control and optimization.
Tom Fiske, Principal Technology Strategist, is part of Yokogawa’s Global Strategic Technology Center. His primary focus is on digital transformation, autonomous operations, and Yokogawa’s overall automation strategy. He has more than 30 years of hands-on experience in research, product development, project management, and process engineering. Throughout his career, he has actively been involved in simulating and optimizing complex production processes. Tom has consulted with end-users to address key issues concerning selection, adoption, implementation, and use of manufacturing, automation and control, and production and engineering technology. He is an active member in the Standards Development Organizations, including ISA, ANSI, and IEC and his main focus is on smart manufacturing standards development. Tom holds a Master of Science in the Management of Technology from the Sloan School at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the Stevens Institute of Technology.
Jesus Flores has 20 years of experience in the development and implementation of monitoring technologies, advanced process control and advanced analytics solutions. As Associate Director with Praxair/Linde Jesus he manages the Smart Operations Group in the Linde Digital Division. Jesus holds a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from McMaster University.
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Stephanie Franklin-Thomas Ph.D., MBA, BA, CISA, Motiva, is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). She founded Motiva’s Cybersecurity program and previously held the positions of Digital Technology (IT) Controller at Baker Hughes, a GE Company, and as a consultant focused on security, regulatory compliance, and process improvement in big-four consulting firms. Stephanie holds a BA and MBA in Management from Our Lady of the Lake University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership and Management from the University of Arizona and is the Vice Chair of the AFPM Cybersecurity Committee.
Mark Galley is the founder and president of ThinkReliability. He has extensive experience facilitating incident investigations and teaching workshops on root cause analysis, spanning several industries including manufacturing, power generation, aviation, refining, telecommunications, healthcare, information technology, aerospace, marine and transportation. Mark holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering form the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Mark Geisenhoff is the Inspection & Engineering Director for Flint Hills Resources within the Asset Management Group. Mark has 35+ years in mechanical integrity and fixed equipment issues. Mark has led reliability and mechanical integrity groups at various sites and has been in the corporate leadership position since 2008. Mark is an active member within API and AFPM serving as the current chairman for the Advancing Process Safety Mechanical Integrity Subgroup and Vice-chairman of the Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) for API.
Linda Giesecke joined ESAI Energy in 2019 and is based in greater Boston. She is editor of ESAI's Global Fuels Outlook, a monthly report analyzing the main transport fuels. In her current role, she is also responsible for the company’s coverage of the European energy sector and contributes to ESAI's consulting projects. Her expertise includes forecasting and analyzing oil demand and petroleum product markets, with particular expertise in policies affecting the world’s vehicle fleet. Prior to joining ESAI Energy, she was research director at Wood Mackenzie and a member of their oils team for over a decade. Linda received a BA degree from Lafayette College in Easton, PA, and a masters equivalent in economics from the University of Mannheim in Germany. She has over 15 years of experience working in the oil industry.
Eric Gildea is a Managing Consultant for Offsites Solutions with Aveva. He has over 30 years of experience with Bailey Controls/ABB and Invensys/Schneider Electric/Aveva in the development, implementation, and support of automation, advanced control, optimization, and simulation systems across many industries, but has maintained a strong focus on refinery product blending operations for most of his career. He has worked with over many refining companies and sites on offsites scoping/benefits studies, system implementations, and performance monitoring. His current focus is on applying online, multi-blend optimization and SQC performance monitoring technologies to maximize the profitability of blending operations. He holds a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and a Master of Science in Systems & Control Engineering from Case Western Reserve University.
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is Senior Contract Manager Energy and Industrial Gas for Motiva Enterprises LLC. She has over 20 years’ experience in financial and commercial roles in the Consumer-Packaged Goods industry and the Oil & Gas industry. She has led negotiations of Oil & Gas upstream, midstream and downstream contracts with international oil companies, national oil companies, government agencies/regulators; as well as negotiations on multibillion-dollar procurement contracts for supply of key materials and services. Jacqueline utilizes her cross-functional knowledge and multi Country experience to successfully identify business challenges and related value drivers, developing creative and sustainable solutions for the business. She holds a degree in Electrical / Electronic Engineering, is a Chartered Management Accountant, and received her MBA from the International Graduate School of Management (IESE) Barcelona.
Allison Hardy currently works in the global engineering group of LyondellBasell as a corrosion and materials engineer. He has over 25 years of industry experience and, for the last 15 years, has focused on mechanical integrity and inspection management. He holds MS and BEng degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Alberta and Technical University of Nova Scotia respectively and is a member of the Advancing Process Safety Mechanical Integrity Subgroup.
Paul Haugseth is Principal Consultant at KBC-A Yokogawa Company. He started his career with US Gulf Coast Refineries and has been with KBC for 25 years with the last 3 years in FCC-SIM Training. Paul is a Chemical Engineer from Purdue University and has 40+ years in the Downstream industry.
Terry Helton received a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1991 and has 28 years of experience in the petroleum industry working for Mobil Research and Engineering and ExxonMobil Research and Engineering. He has 15 years of experience in catalyst development and manufacturing plant support developing and commercializing next generation fuels, lubes, and petrochemical catalysts. He has also held career development assignments in Lube Hydroprocessing and FCC Operations Support. He is holder of 68 patents and is the recipient of the 2007 Thomas Alva Edison Industrial Patent Award for OLGONE and the 2013 Thomas Alva Edison Industrial Patent Award for TransPlus presented by The Research and Development Council of New Jersey.
Currently, he is the Senior Business Development Manager for the Americas in Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Updated: May 2019
Robert (Bob) Herman is executive vice president, Refining for Phillips 66, a diversified energy manufacturing and logistics company. He has more than 35 years of experience in various technical and leadership roles within the oil and gas industry.
Herman previously served as executive vice president, Midstream, as well as senior vice president, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), Projects and Procurement. He joined Phillips 66 as senior vice president, HSE, and previously worked for ConocoPhillips as vice president, HSE. While with ConocoPhillips, he spent a majority of his career on the refining side of the business. Herman was named president, Refining, Marketing and Transportation - Europe, in 2008 after serving as general manager, Refining Business Improvement, since 2005. His extensive work with several refineries across the U.S. and Europe included a three-year term as the refinery manager of the Bayway Refinery.
Herman began his career in 1982 as a rotating equipment engineer at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, with Sohio Alaska Petroleum Company. In 1987, he transferred to refining and worked in numerous operations, maintenance, turnaround, project management, technical support and refining management roles for BP, Tosco, Premcor and ConocoPhillips.
He is the vice president for Phillips 66 Partners GP LLC. He currently serves on the board of directors for Phillips 66 Partners and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. He is a past board member of the Northwest Construction Consumers Council; Europia, the European petroleum industry association; CONCAWE, the European consortium for health, safety and environmental issues in the petroleum industry; and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston.
Herman was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1959 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Washington State University in 1982.
Tjokro Hermanto, AmSty, is the Conduct of Operations Manager, responsible for the corporate Conduct of Operations (COO) and Operational Excellence programs across all AmSty facilities in the US and Colombia. Prior to joining AmSty, he held a variety of Manufacturing, Supply Chain and EHS Leadership roles with Dow Chemical and Asahi Kasei in Asia, UAE, Saudi Arabia and US. Tjokro is a member of the Walk the Line Subgroup.
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Drey is a FCC Technical Service Manager for W.R. Grace & Co. and has provided FCC technical support and training to refiners across North America since 2017. Prior to Grace, he spent more than a decade working as a Process Engineer, Operations Supervisor, Logistics Planner, Economics Analyst, Economics Supervisor, and FCC Engineering Supervisor at a large U.S. Gulf Coast refinery. He also spent three years serving as a Process and Quality Control Manager at a specialty chemicals facility.
Drey graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Chemical Engineering and has more than eighteen years of refining and chemical industry experience.
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is the Americas Regional Marketing Manager of the Fluid Catalytic Cracking/Refining Catalysts division of BASF. Juan has experience in Strategy, Product, International Sales, and Technical Service Management at BASF Corporation. He has been in BASF for over 13 years in the Polyurethanes, Petrochemicals, and Refining Business Units. Juan holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de Los Andes (Colombia SA) and an MBA from St. Thomas University (Houston TX).
Matt Hutchinson is currently managing Axens’ Gasoline and Petrochemical Technologies. He joined Axens North America in 2012 as a Senior Process Engineer leading various process designs for Prime-G+ and Prime-D technologies as well as multiple other process studies. He became Technology Manager for Reforming in 2014 where his responsibilities included licensing (grassroots and revamps) and catalyst technical projections and support. He has also been instrumental in developing Axens’ data monitoring tool, Connect’InTM.
Prior to joining Axens Matt had over 14 years of refining and chemical plant experience in various technical and operations positions, primarily in reforming (CCR and fixed bed) and FCC.
He started his career in 1998 in Sunoco’s Engineering Associates program.
Matt graduated from Cornell University with a BS in chemical engineering.
Andrew Jakubowski Andrew Jakubowski, Flint Hills Resources is the Field Operations Transformation Lead at the Pine Bend Refinery. In his 15 year career with FHR, he has held positions at various FHR sites in project management, operations management and primarily turnaround management with a most recent focus on transforming the operations business within the refinery.
Andrew holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Illinois.
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Ziad Jawad is the Senior FCC Engineer at Phillips 66 in Houston TX where he supports Fluidized Catalytic Cracking operations as a Subject Matter Expert to deliver competitive advantage. He is responsible for setting the Technical Strategy, driving improvement opportunities, implementation of best-practices, supporting plant operations, improving process-safety and assuring regulatory compliance. Prior to joining P66 Ziad was Director Catalytic Cracking Technology at Technip Stone & Webster Process Technology and Vice President / General Manager Houston at Emtrol LLC. Ziad holds a BSChE from the Virginia Tech University and has over 25 years of experience in the refining industry.
John Jenco has more than 50 years’ experience in pressure-boundary fluid sealing matters for HVAC systems, subsea pipelines, and industrial process plant systems, as well as outerspace applications for NASA. As President and Principal of JJENCO, Inc., his company has continued to concentrate on providing expert products and services to plant operators in the industrial process industries.
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Meha Jha is a Refining Industry Marketing Manager for Emerson Measurement Solutions, Meha helps refining process engineers optimize their process unit performance, improve safety, achieve environmental compliance, and improve energy efficiency by educating them on how to adopt products from Emerson’s instrumentation portfolio offering to solve their problems. She has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University and a graduate of Emerson’s Engineers in Leadership Program. She is an active member in several organizations promoting STEM and women in the workforce.
Jeff Johns has 34 years in refining at Chevron where he has held positions of increasing responsibility in engineering, projects, licensing technical service, and operations. He has been in his current position as a Hydroprocessing Team Leader for 19 years providing technical service and expertise in support of Chevron’s operations. Jeff has conducted presentations at multiple AFPM Principles and Practices Sessions, API Operating Practices Symposiums, Industry Symposiums, and was a member of the NPRA Q&A Panel in 2004. Jeff is listed as a co-inventor on several patents and was recently named a Chevron Fellow, the highest technical recognition within Chevron.
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42 Years in the Petroleum Oil Refining Industry.
Currently the Engineering Advisor for Alkylation at PBF Energy, Inc, which operates 6 refineries, with three having HF (one being modified HF) and the remaining three having Sulfuric Alkylation Units.
Extensive experience in Technical and Operations functions of Alkylation Processes over 30 years of my career. Worked in similar capacity for Philadelphia Energy Solutions, Sunoco and Chevron.
Currently involved in the rewrite effort of the RP 751 Safe Operation of Hydrofluoric Alkylation Units.
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Jon Keuler is a Process Specialist in the Honeywell UOP’s Technology Services Group, focusing on HF and Ionic Liquid Alkylation. Jon has been in the refining and petrochemical industry for 8 years. Most of Jon’s time with UOP has been in the Technical Services organization, where he has held positions in the Field Services group supporting multiple customers and UOP technologies worldwide, as well as his current role in Technology Services. Jon also worked in UOP’s pilot plant facilities as a Development Engineer. Jon earned a BS Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin - Madison
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Sahika Korkmaz, Ph.D., is a Human and Organizational Performance Senior Advisor for Chevron Complex Process Facilities. She has 15+ years of human factors engineering experience with designing and implementing processes that support workplace reliability, efficiency, and safety and is leading the downstream and chemicals organization in understanding that Human performance is a philosophical shift in thinking. Sahika holds a B.S. degree in industrial engineering from Cankaya University, Ankara Turkey, M.S. degree in industrial and systems engineering from Ohio University and Ph.D. degree in integrated systems engineering with a focus on human factors and ergonomics from the Ohio State University.
is Senior Technology Advisor Reforming & Isomerization for Axens North America. His primary focus is global promotion of these technologies. He joined Axens in 2013 after retiring from ExxonMobil as Global Technology Leader for Reforming & Isomerization with 32-years of experience in R&D, technical support and catalyst management. Dr. Kostka holds a PhD degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and has 40 years of experience in the refining industry.
Joel Lack has worked in the oil refining industry for 22 years. He has extensive experience developing specialty chemical solutions and providing operational guidance through predictive simulation to mitigate risk to assets and operation.
Joel is a Senior Marketing Manager for Nalco Water, an Ecolab company where he focuses on data solutions, predictive software and automation products. Joel holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Blake Larsen, Sinclair Oil Company, is the Director of IT - Cyber Security and Refining Systems. In his 28-year career in the refining industry, Blake served in a variety of technology related roles, including CIS and CISO with Western Refining. Blake holds a BS in Management from the University of Utah, is a member of the OPCAT Committee, and is Chair of the Cybersecurity Committee.
Mel Larsen is a Professional with 40 years of domestic and international operations experience managing various projects. Mel has worked on large multi-Billion dollar projects as technical advisor for major oil company as well as participated in over 10 due diligence activities for potential purchasers considering strategic analysis looking forward. In addition to these Mel has provided specialty consulting on Fluid Catalyst Cracking processes. Consulting services specialize in process troubleshooting and profit improvement analysis in the FCC, Unsaturates Gas Plant, Alkylation, and Naphtha Reformer areas.
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Katherine A. Lemos, Ph.D. was nominated by President Donald Trump in June 2019 and confirmed by the Senate in March 2020.
Prior to her confirmation as Chairperson and CEO of the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) Dr. Lemos served as Director for Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Aerospace Sector, driving performance improvements across the product lifecycle with a focus on engagement early in the value stream.
As an expert in accident investigation, human decision-making and safety management, she is known for her innovative and strategic approaches leveraging advances in analytics and autonomy. She has a documented record of turning new technologies into solutions trusted by operators, overseers, and the public they serve.
Before joining Northrop Grumman in 2014, Dr. Lemos worked at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as a technical leader and program manager in Aircraft Certification and Aviation Safety. Prior to this she worked for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) as a Senior Human Performance Investigator in Aviation Safety, and then as Special Assistant to Vice Chairman of the Board.
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is President of Springfield Resources. He has over 25 years of global maintenance management and reliability consulting experience. Working with global corporations such as US Steel, ARAMCO, GM, Pepsi and others, he has trained 17,000 maintenance professionals in 550+ sessions in 39 countries. Joel is the author of 11 books and more than 200 articles.
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Alex Lueker is the Technical Support Engineer for the FCC at Marathon Anacortes in Washington state. He has 9 years of experience in the refining industry, with process engineering experience on Alkylation, Amine Treating, Isomerization, Reforming, and Hydrotreating units in addition to the FCC. He has provided process support on both major maintenance and capital projects in these areas. Alex holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a certified Professional Engineer registered in Washington state.
is an APC and Optimization Lead for Phillips 66. His background covers APC, R&D and technical product/project development for Esso Chemical, Amoco Oil, Air Products and Phillips 66 over a period in Europe, Canada and the US. His current interests are in the practical implementation of linear and nonlinear model predictive control and identification. Atique has a BSc, MPhil and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Leeds in England, and a MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.
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Ian McKinnon is Owner/Chief Development Officer, Reliability Solutions Training, LP. He cofounded Reliability Solutions and expanded precision maintenance into a more complete approach, where design, engineering, purchasing, production, and maintenance all work in concert to optimize the manufacturing process.
Andrew joined Valero Energy in 2018 as an FCC Subject Matter Expert providing operational support and leading strategic project efforts. Prior to working at Valero, Andrew worked at UOP in a variety of roles ranging from startup support, long term technical service, and design engineering. Andrew also spent 3 years with Albemarle providing technical service for FCC catalysts. He graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mike Nagle is the CEO for INEOS Olefins and Polymers USA where he leads its four billion pound olefins and combined four billion pound polyolefins businesses. Prior to his current role, Mike was the Commercial Vice President for INEOS Olefins and Polymers USA where he managed the polymers, technical service, and supply chain activities as well as its strategy and M&A.
With over 30 years of experience, Mike started his career in the Crude and Coking division of Amoco’s Refining R&D Center. From his career at several refineries, he has operational experience in Fluid Catalytic Cracking, Alkylation, MTBE, Sulfur Recovery, Gasoline Blending, and Refinery Economics and Optimization. He has also managed Wastewater Treatment and Process Control and Computing operations.
After moving into Chemicals, Mike provided technical and commercial support for various European and Asian plants and joint ventures. In addition, Mike has managed the US Olefins Business, and he lived in Europe while managing the Polymers Business for heritage companies of INEOS.
Mike represents INEOS on the Horizon and Gemini HDPE Joint Venture Boards, and he serves on the Board for WL Plastics which is major high density pipe producer. He is also active through his church and various youth organizations.
Mike has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Delaware and an MBA from the College of William and Mary. He is married with three children, and his family lives in Friendswood, Texas.
Chelsea Miller currently supports Human & Organizational Performance and Operational Learning for the Chevron enterprise. In her 15+ year career in the Oil and Gas industry, she has held various HSE and Process Safety roles in logistics, terminals, and refineries. Chelsea holds a B.A. in International Business and French from the Ohio State University, a M.S. in Health, Environment & Safety from the University of Findlay, and an M.B.A. from the University of Utah.
Mitch graduated from Princeton University in 1979 with a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering and is a registered PE in Texas. He worked with ExxonMobil as a Heavy Oil Upgrading Specialist for 30 of his 40 years with the company. He now works as a Delayed Coking and Process Engineering consultant for companies in oil refining industry.
CVR Energy, is the Director of Process Safety & Training, providing oversight across the company's refineries and fertilizer facilities. In his 23-year career in the refining and petrochemical industries, he has held several positions in site leadership in disciplines including Operations, Process Engineering, Process Control, and Process Safety. Shanahan holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the Vice Chair of the AFPM/API APS Industry Learning & Outreach Subgroup.
Dr. Andrew Moreland is currently Technology Advisor – Hydroprocessing and Hydrocracking at Valero corporate headquarters in San Antonio, TX. In this role, he provides technical support to over 60 hydrotreaters and 13 hydrocrackers in Valero refineries; including troubleshooting, catalyst selection and optimization, capital projects, best practice networks and annual hydroprocessing courses for Valero engineers. Prior to joining Valero in 2008, Andrew previously held hydroprocessing technology positions at Albemarle and ExxonMobil.
Dr. Moreland holds a B.S. degree from Abilene Christian University and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has over 20 years of experience in the refining industry.
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Erik Moy is Technology Licensing Manager at TechnipFMC’s Boston office. He is primarily responsible for licensing the HCl Oxidation and Hummingbird (Ethanol-to-Ethylene) technologies. Mr. Moy has worked on first of a kind aromatic technologies, including the BenzOUT technology which he managed for several years. He started his career as a process engineer, working on all phases of process design and engineering from basic and front end engineering to plant start-up and moved into increasing roles of responsibility with more focus on technology development and licensing, eventually moving into his current role as Technology Licensing Manager in 2013.
Erik has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College and 25 years of experience in the chemical process and refining industry.
Jennifer Muir is a Technology Licensing Manager at TechnipFMC in Boston, MA. She is focused on licensing and development for Badger licensed technologies, including the BenzOUT™ process as well as phenolics chain technologies such as Cumene and Isopropyl Alcohol. Ms. Muir also has responsibility for managing and supporting the intellectual property portfolio for the Badger Process Technology group. She has an extensive background in process design and development spanning her 30-year career. Ms. Muir has a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a M.E. degree in Chemical Engineering from Manhattan College. She is a Licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Connecticut.
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is an Analytics Engineer for Seeq Corporation. She began her career with ExxonMobil in research and development supporting in-house software applications to model refinery process units and during that time had the opportunity to work with the ExxonMobil office in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She then transitioned to refinery optimization and found herself inundated with time series data. This sparked an interest that has fueled her passion at Seeq to help customers seamlessly analyze their time series data. Krista holds a BSChE from the University of Washington and a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.
Rene' Nowalk is the Manager of the Laboratory and Product Quality Assurance for Lyondellbasell Houston Refinery in Houston, TX. She is responsible for product quality assurance for process and products. She also provides analytical technical support of refinery operations including received crude oil and other feedstocks. She has experience in Process Chemistry, Laboratory Operations and crude oil assay and quality assurance. She has provided analytical support for the rapid development of analytical testing to respond to real time issues of crude unit operations.
Ms. Nowalk holds a BA degree in Chemistry from the Texas A&M University and has 35 years of experience in the refining industry.
is a Senior Process Specialist with Becht in Liberty Corner, NJ. His primary responsibilities are centered on strategic business planning, margin and energy improvement initiatives, hydroprocessing technology consulting, and organizational consulting for domestic and international clients. Prior to joining Becht, he worked as a Principal Consultant with KBC Advanced Technologies in Houston, Texas and as a refinery engineer for Flint Hills Resources in Corpus Christi, Texas. Ohmes holds degrees from Kansas State University (BSChE) and Tulane University (MBA) and is a licensed professional engineer in Louisiana and Idaho.
E-mail: rohmes@becht.com.
AdvanSix, is a Unit Leader at the Hopewell, VA plant. In her 7 years in industry, Jordan has worked for LyondellBasell before joining AdvanSix, holding positions in process engineering, production engineering, and project engineering with a recent focus on leading digitization efforts across all sites. Jordan holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Flint Hills Resources, is a Process Safety Engineer at the Corpus Christ Refinery. He is a PHA facilitator and leverages Business Intelligence software to communicate with various disciplines across the refinery, to help make the working environment safer. Dan hold a BS in Chemical Engineering from Brigham Young University.
Chris Oliver is a Piping/Mechanical subject matter expert at Chevron's Pascagoula, MS refinery. He is responsible for providing mechanical technical support for Pascagoula Refinery and other Chevron Manufacturing facilities. Areas of support include pipe stress analysis, finite element analysis, fitness-for-service assessments, and process equipment minimum thickness evaluations. He has experience in Designs Engineering assigned to Pascagoula's FCC unit and has supported multiple FCC turnarounds and capital projects.
Mr. Oliver holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of South Alabama and has 9 years of experience in the refining industry.
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Jay Parekh is Technology Manager responsible for development responsible for development of technology and catalyst proposals for ISOCRACKING and ISODEWAXING technologies which support Chevron’s two joint venture companies - Chevron Lummus Global and Advanced Refining Technologies.
Since joining Chevron in 1991, Jay has worked in process design, technical service and business development supporting licensing and catalyst sales efforts in ISOCRACKING and ISODEWAXING technologies.
Jay has also had experience in Petrochemical process design development and Refinery planning experience in Refinery Oils Planning and Long-Range Strategic Planning.
Jay Parekh obtained his bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering in 1991 from the University of California at Davis.
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Project Process Engineer at the Chevron El Segundo Refinery BS ChE, Cal State Long Beach
30 years of overall refining experience. Over my career I have held roles at Texaco with the responsibly for PSM, Environmental, FCC Process Engineering. At ExxonMobil held roles in Project Development for FCC, HCU, Coker and SRU. At Chevron held the roles of Lead Process Engineer for FCC, Alky, Coker and SRU, Senior Process Engineer for FCC and Alky, Operations Management for FCC and Alky and now Project Process Engineer for the last few weeks.
Key accomplishments related to FCCs include a reactor upgrades and a replacement, regenerator standpipe upgrades, new deethanizer, several catalyst strategy improvements, main column upgrade to packing, feed nozzle upgrades, adding reactor riser LCO quench, riser geometry upgrades and main air blower upgrades. Additionally I’ve successfully run the FCC at min/max rate, min/max riser to achieve a variety of yield profiles to support the refinery product demand.
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Steve Philoon is a Principal Platforming Technology Specialist II for UOP LLC. His current responsibilities include providing direct support to a set of globally distributed customers, participating in technology development projects bringing commercial perspectives to the efforts, contributing to Engineering review meetings for new units and revamps and conducting on-site troubleshooting and unit performance assessments. During his 38 years with UOP he has held positions in Research and Development, Technical Service, Information Technology and Engineering Services. He holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
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Sriram Ramaganesan is Director – APC, Blending & Optimization at Phillips 66. He is responsible for APC, blending, real-time optimization and data analytics. Sriram has 25 years of experience in the petroleum refining and petrochemical industries. He has worked at Valero managing their APC program and at Aspen Technology implementing Advanced Process Control (APC) applications and as a Business Consultant.
John Reynolds spent 37+ years working for the various Shell companies worldwide as a fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) SME before retiring in 2005. After flunking retirement, he has continued consulting with multiple industry clients on various FEMI issues, participating in more than 80 of the AFPM/API Process Safety Site Assessments as an MI SME. John is an active member of the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity and the Advancing Process Safety Mechanical Integrity Subgroup.
Peter Reynolds, ARC Advisory Group, is an Analyst Consultant. He has more than 28-years of professional experience in the energy and chemicals industry, focused on process automation, asset optimization, and digitalization. Peter has a Bachelor of Commerce from Dalhousie University.
Dr. Adam Richards brings a depth of industry experience and academic knowledge to us as the Head of Data Science at Galvanize. Dr. Richards received his PhD from the Medical University of South Carolina in computational biology. Following his graduate work he contributed to the fields of immunology and medicine during a postdoctoral role at Duke University. For over 15 years now Dr. Richards has worked in data science, contributing to medicine, healthcare and education. His background and exposure to real-world data science challenges gives him a rooted understanding of the field, the educational landscape, which provides him with a unique perspective to help industry partners, both large and small.
Kristian Richards, PEng is a Reliability Engineer with a specialization in Corrosion Under Insulation (CUI) and Refractory Systems for the Irving Oil Refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. His primary focus is to provide technical support for capital projects, pre-turnaround and minor outage planning, and field execution. Kristian remains involved in all stages of asset lifecycle from initial procurement, design, manufacture, execution, startup, ongoing maintenance and defect elimination. He is responsible for specification development and continued research of best practices for non-metallics such as coatings, insulation and refractory. Kristian has 11 years of experience in the refining industry with API 936 and CMRP certifications and holds a BEng degree in Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University, and an executive MBA from University of New Brunswick.
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Joe Rydberg, CITGO Petroleum, has 19 years experience in the refining industry. Joe’s current position is Process Design Engineering Group Leader at the Lemont Refinery. He is responsible for technical support for daily refinery operations and project process development. His experience is primarily in hydroprocessing technical support, optimization, and troubleshooting.
Joe holds a BSChe degree from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana
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Richa Sarkar has over nine years of experience in the hydrocarbon processing industry and is currently a Technologist within the light ends group at Axens North America. She has worked as a process engineer for various units within a refinery including CCR, Naphtha Hydrotreatment, Isomerization, Prime-G+ and LPG MEROX. Richa also has experience in evaluating unit performance, unit optimization, simulation, start-up and turnaround, catalyst loadings, internals installation, catalyst testing and troubleshooting operational and process issues in the plants. Ms. Sarkar has primarily focused her time and attention to Isomerization & reforming units such as semi-regen and various CCR style reformers and also develops catalyst projections for naphtha block units. Richa received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from NIT Trichy in 2009 and M.S. in Process Safety Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2018.
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Christoph Schmitz is the Hydroprocessing Advisor for BP and based at Gelsenkirchen Refinery, Germany. He is responsible for process technical support of BP refinery operation and capital projects in the hydrotreating and hydrocracking area. He has experiences in process engineering, capital projects, reliability improvements, strategic development and TAR support in the areas of hydroprocessing, crude/vacuum distillation and residue conversion. He has provided engineering and commercial support on major revamps in these areas.
Mr. Schmitz holds a master degree in chemistry from the Heinrich-Heine-University of Düsseldorf, Germany, and a doctoral degree in chemical engineering from the University of Bayreuth, Germany. He has about 20 years of experience in the refining industry.
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P.E. is the Advanced Process Control (APC) Technology Advisor for the Valero Energy Corporation, managing both the process and blending APC, including real-time process optimization, for the entire refining organization. Dave has over 30-years of experience in the Petrochemical & Industrial Gas industries. Prior to joining Valero, he specialized in Gasoline & Diesel optimization for ConocoPhillips at their Wood River Refinery as well as providing technical blending assistance to other ConocoPhillips sites. Dave has extensive expertise in APC, Single-Blend Optimization, FTIR/NIR modeling, and has two U.S. patents in the APC field and one U.S. patent for Gasoline Optimization.
Pete Sharpe is a principle consultant with Emerson’s Industry Solutions group, focusing on the petrochemical and chemical industries. His role involves helping downstream manufacturers identify and pursue opportunities to improve operational KPI’s using automation technology and industry best practices. Pete brings more than 40 years of experience working in the automation industry, focusing primarily on advanced control, reliability and various digital transformation solutions.
Tim Shepperd, formerly VP Technology & Consulting for HF Alkylation Consultants, has joined the Becht team. With over 30 years of experience in refining and technology licensing working for ConocoPhillips and UOP, Tim has extensive knowledge of chemical and refining processes with much of his career devoted to HF alkylation units. As a licensing specialist for ConocoPhillips and principle chemical engineer for UOP Tim has traveled the world assisting clients as an SME for this unique process. Tim will support Becht’s business development in serving the needs of our global clients.
Becht’s Vice President of Business Development, John Basil, Jr., commented “We welcome Tim’s Subject Matter Expertise, his experience working with and leading SME and client teams, and his rapport with people. Tim is a great fit for our culture and growing organization.”
Becht is a family owned consulting firm specializing in Subject Matter Expert engineering consulting, plant professional services and software tools focusing on the refining and petrochemical industries. Our firm is staffed by engineers and technicians with significant owner/operator expertise, we average well over 30 years’ experience, and specialize in solving multi-discipline problems. Becht acts the Central Engineering organization for many of our clients who require subject matter expertise and knowledge of best practices.
Mike Shivers, CVR Energy, is a Process Safety Operations Specialist. He supports the Process Safety department in the development and administration of investigation process, MOC process, Process Hazard Reviews, and Walk the Line. Mike represents CVR Energy in the Industry Forum for FCC Safety and is a member of the Walk the Line Subgroup.
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Rahul Singh is the Senior Sales Manager for the Hydrocracking Catalyst and Technology Department at Haldor Topsoe, Inc (HTI) in Houston, TX. He manages the technical and sales activities for the Hydrocracking catalyst division overseeing the North American region. Prior to this role, Rahul was a Principal Engineer in the hydrocracking group with the responsibility of preparing technical proposals and catalyst solutions, designing pilot plant tests to validate catalyst performance and providing technical support to the refinery clients for their hydrocrackers. He began his Topsøe career working at the corporate headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. While there, he performed fundamental research and development work on heterogenous catalysis, specifically catalyst poisoning from sulfur and carbon, catalyst deactivation, novel electrocatalytic materials, rates and kinetics for catalyst design, fuels processing, and process development.
Rahul Singh holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology and MS/Ph.d. degrees in Chemical Engineering from The University of Akron, Ohio. He has over 12 years of experience in the field of catalyst and technology for various industrial processes and application.
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Chevron, is a Sr. Reliability Engineer at the Richmond Refinery. In his 30-year career, he has held various management and support roles in Maintenance and Reliability in the oil refining, cement and sugar industries. Migs holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of the Philippines and an MS degree in Engineering Mechanics from Virginia Tech and is a CMRP.
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Herman previously served as executive vice president, Midstream, as well as senior vice president, Health, Safety & Environment (HSE), Projects and Procurement. He joined Phillips 66 as senior vice president, HSE, and previously worked for ConocoPhillips as vice president, HSE. While with ConocoPhillips, he spent a majority of his career on the refining side of the business. Herman was named president, Refining, Marketing and Transportation - Europe, in 2008 after serving as general manager, Refining Business Improvement, since 2005. His extensive work with several refineries across the U.S. and Europe included a three-year term as the refinery manager of the Bayway Refinery.
Herman began his career in 1982 as a rotating equipment engineer at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, with Sohio Alaska Petroleum Company. In 1987, he transferred to refining and worked in numerous operations, maintenance, turnaround, project management, technical support and refining management roles for BP, Tosco, Premcor and ConocoPhillips.
He is the vice president for Phillips 66 Partners GP LLC. He currently serves on the board of directors for Phillips 66 Partners and Chevron Phillips Chemical Company. He is a past board member of the Northwest Construction Consumers Council; Europia, the European petroleum industry association; CONCAWE, the European consortium for health, safety and environmental issues in the petroleum industry; and Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Houston.
Herman was born in Seattle, Washington, in 1959 and received a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Washington State University in 1982. Daniel M. (Dan) Coombs is Executive
Vice President of Global Manufacturing, Projects, and Refining for LyondellBasell, one of the
largest plastics, chemicals and refining companies in the world.
Coombs joined the company in 2015. He previously led LyondellBasell’s Global Intermediates &
Derivatives, Olefins & Polyolefins and Technology businesses.
Prior to joining LyondellBasell, Coombs held various executive positions with Chevron Phillips
Chemical Company including, senior vice president of Manufacturing; senior vice president
Specialties, Aromatics and Styrenics; vice president Corporate Planning & Development and
vice president Qatar and deputy general manager Qatar Chemical Company Ltd.
Coombs serves on the board of directors of the American Fuels & Petrochemical Manufacturers
Association (AFPM). He also serves on the Alumni Advisory Board for The Ohio State’s William
G. Lowrie Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. In 2017, Coombs and his wife
Ellen established the Daniel (’78) and Ellen (‘79) Coombs Chemical Engineering Endowed
Scholarship Fund to support current Ohio State chemical engineering students.
Coombs holds a bachelor’s in chemical engineering (‘78) from The Ohio State University and
a master’s in the same field from the University of Tulsa. He also holds a master’s in business
administration from Texas A&M.
Elizabeth Swinney is the Refinery System Mass Balance Lead for Chevron Downstream Manufacturing. in Pascagoula, MS and supports all of Chevron's U.S. refineries. She has 22 years of experience in the refining industry and is responsible for improving the quality of operational data by integrating mass balance tools that impact decision making, oils planning, and accounting. Elizabeth holds a BS degree in Accounting from the University of South Alabama
Mark has been a consultant, executive coach and workforce engagement facilitator for over 20 years. Many of his engagements involve essential team and individual communications skills and methods required for leaps in team performance, especially in settings involving cross-generational challenges. Over the past ten years, much of his work has focused on the junior and senior executive level success profile supporting large, complex transformations, particularly in the areas of healthcare, government services, customer support, and university leadership. In addition, he has designed and implemented unique methods for identifying best-fit physicians for leadership roles in cancer centers and medical schools. His work is strongly based on Learning Organization concepts, specifically on executive reflection, mindfulness, and accelerated development.
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Bruce Taylor, Sinclair Oil Company, is the Director of Digital Transformation. He has over 5+ decades of Personal IT/OT “Transformational Experience.” Bruce is the current chair of the OPCAT Committee.
Ken Thomas graduated from Texas Tech University in 1990 with a BSME and worked 2-1/2 years as a field service engineer for Babcock and Wilcox before entering the specialty chemicals industry in 1992. He worked in that industry until December of 2018 before joining the PBF team in Chalmette, Louisiana.
Titles held in the specialty chemicals industry include: Account Manager, Senior Account Manager, Site Manager, Area Manager, Growth Team, Special Projects Manager, Vice President – Sales & Marketing, Division Manager, and Acting President.
His experience in refining includes over 20 refinery sites with extensive experience on desalting & crude units. His current role at PBF is plant wide Utility Integration Specialist.
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Robert Torgerson is the Director of Technology - Reactor Applications for WIKA in Houston,responsible for the multipoint thermocouple applications. Robert has a Degree in Engineering Science with concentration in Management of Technology from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. He has been with Gayesco for more than 16 years and has also worked for other companies like Baker Petrolite, Ashland Chemical, ICI Katalco, and Univar in a variety of technical and sales positions. He is a co patent holder on patent for an insertable catalyst device and has written several papers for industry and customer specific conferences.
Julie Valentine is the Director of Global Refining Flow Solutions for Emerson. Julie has been with Emerson more than 20 years, and has held various roles in the organization, always in support of technologies utilized in the refining and petrochemical industries. Julie is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado with a B.S. degree in Chemical and Petroleum Refining Engineering.
Dominic Varraveto is Chief Process Engineer and Director of Process Technology for Burns & McDonnell Oil, Gas & Chemical Division. Dominic leads the Process Technology Manager Group which provides technical guidance for opportunities and projects during early phase development and a bridge between technology and process engineering across multiple process industry segments. His current focus is strategic guidance and thought leadership for growth and sustainability in the rapidly evolving process industries.
His previous role was Process and Technology Department Manager responsible for providing process engineering resources for project execution. Prior to that, Mr. Varraveto was Refinery Process Technology Manager focusing on new and revamped process units and infrastructure to meet Clean Fuels Regulations for gasoline and diesel.
Dominic has 40 years of process engineering, management and leadership experience in oil, gas & chemical including management, engineering, process development, start up and operations support. He has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame, a M.S. in Engineering Management from the University of Kansas and is a Registered Professional Engineer in California.
email: dvarraveto@burnsmcd.com
Marathon Petroleum Company, is a Hydroprocessing Technologist. He has 25+ years of experience in the refining industry and is responsible for technical support of refinery operations and capital projects in the hydroprocessing areas, including includes naphtha hydrotreater, FCC pretreat hydrotreater, Prime G+ unit, and Hydrocracker. Montri holds a Doctorate degree in Chemical Engineering from Lamar University.
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Phillips 66, is the Corporate Manager, Refining Health and Safety. During his 20-year career, he has held various HSE and Business Improvement roles within ConocoPhillips and Phillips Petroleum. Ben hold a BS and MS in Environmental Science from the University of Houston.
Lee Wells is the Subject Matter Expert engineer responsible for the FCCU and gasoline hydrotreater at the LyondellBasell Houston refinery. He leads the process design work for turnaround projects, mentors the unit process support engineers, and assists in process optimization. Lee has 36 years of experience in the refining industry holds a BSChE from Texas A&M University.
Doug White, Emerson Automation Solutions, is a Principal Consultant. He has more than 35-years of international experience designing, justifying, installing and commissioning advanced real time automation, optimization and digitalization applications in petrochemical and oil refining plants and assessing their safety, economic and environmental impact. Doug has a BChE from the University of Florida, an MS from California Institute of Technology, and an MA and PhD from Princeton University.
Cheryl Wiebe, Teradata, is the Practice Lead for Cross-Industry Solutions Consulting in the America’s region. She partners with customers to help create a digital strategy, bringing together sensor and other machine data to help improve reliability. Cheryl holds a BS in Computer Science from the University of Manitoba and an MBA from The University of Western Ontario.
Wendy Wildenberg is the Flint Hills Hydroprocessing Lead and has worked primarily in Hydroprocessing in areas of process safety, damage mechanism understanding, design, operating envelope improvements, catalyst selection, reaction kinetics understanding improvement, monitoring improvements, and large capital improvements for multiple sites in Flint Hills. Wendy holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Wisconsin-Madison and has worked in various process and operational roles for FHR since 1992.
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ExxonMobil, is a Process Safety Analyst in The Woodlands. Prior to moving into the field of Process Safety, he spent approximately 5 years at the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery in process design, process support, and risk management roles. Ryan holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Michigan and is the current Chair of the AFPM/API APS Industry Learning & Outreach Subgroup.
is the Product Manager of the Assay Management tools at AVEVA, where he is responsible for defining the long-term strategy and product roadmap. He spent 10 years supporting and training clients across the Unified Supply Chain toolset and previously focused on providing technical consultancy to customers implementing the suite.
Andy Woods, Chevron Phillips Chemical, is the Plant Manager at the Port Arthur plant. He has 32 years of experience in the chemical industry and has extensive manufacturing experience in both Operations and Maintenance, mainly in Polymers and Ethylene processes. Andy holds a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland and has been a member of AFPM’s Reliability & Maintenance Committee for seven years.
Harvey Young began his work with FranklinCovey over 17 years ago. He has worked with a variety of Fortune 500 organizations. His clients represent manufacturing, real estate finance, education, banking, and finance. In addition Harvey is successful in working with non-profit organizations, healthcare, military, as well as governmental agencies at the local and federal level.
Prior to his work with FranklinCovey, Harvey enjoyed a successful and diverse career in finance and management. He spent 30 years in executive positions for the Housing Authority, City of Pittsburgh, Howard Hanna Financial Services, and West Penn Financial Services, He also served eight years in the United States Air Force on both active duty and in the reserve.
Harvey lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, Tonyia, and twin sons. He is active in his community and church where he served as the Director of Operations for a congregation of 3,000 people.
He is also part of the teaching staff for the University of Delaware’s Center for Neighborhood Policy and Research. He also works with several boards and organizations by lending his expertise in leadership, finance, and other development activities.
Paul Zimmerman is Principal Hydroprocessing Specialist for Honeywell UOP. He is responsible for supporting customer hydroprocessing units including troubleshooting, optimization, procedures. He has experience in technical service and development for hydrocracking, hydrotreating, and heavy oil processing. He holds 23 US Patents in hydrocracking and heavy oil processing technology.
Mr. Zimmerman holds a MS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Idaho and has 30 years of experience in the refining industry.
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