Decision Makers
| Name (plus bio) |
Position |
| William R. Klesse |
Chief Executive Officer |
| Hal Zesch |
Senior Vice President & Chief Information Officer |
| Mike Ciskowski |
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer |
| Rich Marcogliese |
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer |
| Gene Edwards |
Executive Vice President, Corporate Development & Strategic Planning |
| Joe Gorder |
Executive Vice President, Marketing & Supply |
| Bob Beadle |
Senior Vice President, Crude & Feedstock Supply & Trading |
| Kim Bowers |
Senior Vice President & General Counsel |
| Mike Crownover |
Senior Vice President, Human Resources |
| Norm Renfro |
Senior Vice President, Health, Safety and Environmental |
| Dave Parker |
Vice President, Products Trading |
| Donna Titzman |
Vice President & Treasurer |
| Eric Fisher |
Vice President, Investor & Corporate Communications |
| Kenneth Applegate |
Vice President, Transportation Services |
| Michael Stone |
Vice President, Marketing |
| Ron Frisk |
Vice President, Business Ventures & Capital Projects |
| Steve Motz |
Vice President, Retail Marketing |
| Steven Blank |
Vice President, Finance |
| Bill Darnell |
Marketing Director |
| James O. Gara |
Director, Marketing |
| Len Nawrocki |
Director, Marketing |
| Morris Carter |
Director, Health, Safety & Environmental, Port Arthur Refinery |
| Bill Glassner |
Manager, Marketing Support |
| Carolyn Allen |
Senior Manager, Wholesale Brands |
| Tracy Carty |
Manager, Branded Sales |
| Clay Killinger |
Senior Vice President & Controller |
| Andrew Dalton |
Counsel |
| Gary L. Arthur |
Senior Vice President, Retail Marketing |
| Jay D. Browning |
Senior Vice President, Corporate Law & Secretary |
| Luis M. Guzman |
Managing Attorney |
| Steve Gilbert |
Assistant Secretary & Disclosure and Compliance Officer |
Board of Directors
Bill Klesse serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Valero Energy Corporation and Chairman of the Valero Board of Directors. Formerly, Klesse served as Valero’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing all of the company’s refining and marketing operations.
Bill Klesse has been with Valero and the former Ultramar Diamond Shamrock and its predecessors for almost 40 years.
Early in his career, Klesse held various managerial positions in engineering, petrochemical feedstocks, planning and development and marketing before being named Vice President of Logistics and Strategy in 1982. In 1984, he was named director of corporate development and was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President, and then, Executive Vice President. After the 1996 merger of Ultramar Corporation and Diamond Shamrock, which formed Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS), Klesse served as Executive Vice President of the company’s refining operations. In 1999, he was named Executive Vice President of Operations of UDS and became Chairman of the Board of Shamrock Logistics GP, LLC. After Ultramar Diamond Shamrock was acquired by Valero in 2001, Klesse served as Executive Vice President of Refining and Commercial Operations. In 2003, he was named Valero’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. And on Jan. 1, 2006, became the Chief Executive Officer of Valero Energy Corporation and Vice Chairman of the Valero Board of Directors. As of Jan. 19, 2007, he became Chairman of the Valero Board of Directors.
Klesse is a graduate of the University of Dayton, where he earned a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering. He then earned his master’s degree in finance from West Texas A&M University.
Hal Zesch serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Zesch has nearly 22 years of experience with Valero and has held numerous positions within the company’s Accounting and Information Systems divisions. Most recently, he served as Vice President of SAP Systems Integration, with responsibility for the configuration, integration and production support for all of the company's SAP-related systems. He previously served as Vice President of Best Business Practices, Assistant Corporate Controller, Controller for Natural Gas and Natural Gas Liquids Operations, and Director of Corporate Accounting. Previously, he worked as an audit and consulting manager at Deloitte & Touche, where Valero was one of his clients. Zesch is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Mike Ciskowski serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for Treasury, Finance, Internal Audit, Trading Controls and Administration and Insurance. He also oversees the company's Retail division, Information Services, and Ultramar, Ltd., the company's Canadian subsidiary.
During his nearly 20 years with the company, Ciskowski has held many different positions in the financial planning and the business and corporate development areas of the company, including Investor Relations Director, Financial Planning Director and Manager of Financial Planning.
While leading our Corporate Development Department, Ciskowski has overseen a string of very successful acquisitions over the last few years, including the purchases of the Paulsboro refinery, the Benicia refinery, the Corpus Christi East Plant, Huntway Refining Company, UDS, and the St. Charles refinery. He’s helped Valero earn a reputation for making very successful acquisitions, conducting smooth transitions and closing those transactions in record time.
Prior to joining Valero, he worked for Williams Exploration Company and Getty Oil Company in finance and planning. He earned bachelor’s of business administration and master’s of business administration degrees in finance from Central State University in Oklahoma.
Rich Marcogliese serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the company's refining and commercial operations. Marcogliese previously served as Executive Vice President - Refining Operations. Prior to that he held the position of Senior Vice President - Strategic Planning for Valero and was responsible for developing the strategic plan for the new Valero.
Before joining Valero’s corporate office, he held the position of Vice President and General Manager of the company’s Benicia refinery. Prior to Valero’s purchase of the Benicia refinery from ExxonMobil, Marcogliese worked for Exxon for 26 years serving in various operational and technical supervisory positions at the Benicia refinery and at the company’s Baton Rouge refinery, refining and supply headquarters and the former Bayway refinery in New Jersey.
Marcogliese holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from New York University School of Engineering and Science.
Gene Edwards serves as Executive Vice President - Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Prior to that Edwards served as Senior Vice President - Product Supply and Trading and Wholesale Marketing.
He has been with the company for more than 20 years in various managerial positions in Planning and Economics, Refinery Operations, Business Development, and Marketing.
Prior to joining Valero, Edwards consulted on refinery economics for Pace Consultants, and he started his career as a Process Engineer for CITGO. Edwards holds a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from Tulane University and a master of business administration degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Joe Gorder serves as Executive Vice President -- Marketing and Supply. Prior to that, he held the position of Senior Vice President -- Corporate Development.
During his tenure with the company, Gorder has done a great job of leading several important corporate development initiatives.
Prior to joining Valero, he served as Vice President of Business Development for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, and as 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.
Kim Bowers serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Valero Energy Corporation.
She joined Valero in 1997 as Vice President- Legal Services. In April 2006, Bowers was promoted to Senior Vice President & General Counsel, and promoted to her current position in October 2008. She has served as lead attorney for all of the company's major acquisitions over the years, including six petroleum refineries in the United States and Aruba, and she managed many legal aspects of Valero's $6 billion acquisition of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock in 2001.
Over the years, Bowers has overseen Valero’s Commercial and Environmental Law departments as well as Litigation, Labor and Ad Valorem Tax. She has also overseen Valero’s Governmental Affairs and Health, Safety and Environmental departments.
Bowers previously worked for the law firm of Kelly, Hart & Hallman in Fort Worth. A native of Ohio, Bowers earned a bachelor of arts degree from Miami University (Ohio), a master of arts degree from Baylor University, and her juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.
Mike Crownover has served as Valero's Senior Vice President of Human Resources since May 2002. Since joining the company in 1997, he has been an integral part of Valero's leadership team. He has served as Corporate Compensation Manager, Corporate Human Resources Manager, Corporate Human Resources Director, Executive Director Employee Relations and Retail HR.
An avid volunteer and cyclist, Crownover is a board member for the Southwest Mental Health Center, and cycles with Velo Valero to help raise funds for the Multiple Sclerosis Society and other charitable organizations.
Crownover earned his bachelor's degree in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington.
During Crownover's tenure, the company has consistently been recognized as one of Fortune magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Senior Vice President, Health, Safety and Environmental |
Current |
| Kerr-McGee Corporation |
Corporate, Level Environmental Positions |
Former |
| Southwest Texas State University |
Bachelors Degree |
Former |
Donna Titzman serves as Vice President and Treasurer and has overall responsibility for the company’s banking, cash management, customer credit and investment management areas. Titzman joined Valero in 1986 as an accountant in the Natural Gas Liquids area. In 1989, she transferred to the Finance Department and held several positions before being appointed Vice President and Treasurer in 1999. Titzman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor of business administration degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Eric Fisher serves as Vice President-Investor and Corporate Communications.
Previously, he served as Vice President of Investor Relations, where he developed strong communications programs for Valero investors. These programs were particularly beneficial during Valero's aggressive growth period because they helped investors understand the complexities of deals like Valero's $8 billion purchase of Premcor Inc.
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.
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 Corporation. Fisher earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Texas A&M and his juris doctorate from the University of Texas School of Law.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Vice President, Investor & Corporate Communications |
Current |
| Exxon Corporation |
Operations Accountant |
Former |
| University of Texas School of Law |
J.D. |
Former |
| Texas A&M University |
Bachelor's Degree, Economics |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Vice President, Transportation Services |
Current |
| Waterways Council, Inc |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Vice President, Business Ventures & Capital Projects |
Current |
| St. Jude's Ranch |
Vice Chairman |
Current |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Vice President, Finance |
Current |
| Ultramar Energy Inc. |
Treasurer |
Current |
| Ultramar Energy Inc. |
Treasurer |
Former |
Morris Carter, Jr., currently holds the position of Director, Health, Safety & Environmental at Valero Energy Corporation Port Arthur Refinery, where he has responsibility for environmental compliance, employee safety, process safety management, security and emergency response. Carter holds a professional engineer’s license and is a Registered Environmental Manager. Carter received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1972 where he was regularly on the Dean’s List and was a member of the Pi Tau Sigma honorary engineering fraternity. Carter began his career with Gulf Oil Corporation in 1972 in the Engineering and Design Department. Prior to his present assignment, he held various positions in equipment design, field construction, inspection, process engineering and project management, refinery optimization and planning and economics.
Carter served on the Park Central Municipal Utilities District Board from 1994 to 2001 and was its President during the last four years. He also served as President of the Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation Board. Current affiliations include the Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce Board, Southeast Texas Environmental Managers Group, South East Texas Regional Planning Commission Air Quality Advisory Committee, Port Arthur Industry and Community Advisory Group, Jefferson and Orange County Pilots Commission and Port Arthur YMCA Board.
Carter has been married for 34 years to Theresa Carter of Hearne, Texas and they have two daughters, Chrystal and Shauntel.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Director, Health, Safety & Environmental, Port Arthur Refinery |
Current |
| Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation |
Treasurer |
Current |
| Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation |
President |
Former |
| Gulf Oil Corporation |
|
Former |
| Texas A&M University |
B.S. In Mechanical Engineering |
Former |
Clay Killinger serves as Senior Vice President and Controller, overseeing the company’s accounting, budgeting, forecasting and profit planning procedures; financial statements and reporting; and corporate tax functions. Killinger joined Valero in 2001 as Assistant Controller.
Prior to joining Valero, he was a Partner with Arthur Andersen LLP in both San Antonio and Houston, and he held several managerial positions, including leadership of the firm's financial and accounting outsourcing activities in Texas, Louisiana and Colorado. Valero was a primary client of his for nearly 20 years, and over the years he conducted extensive audit work for Valero.
Killinger is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Andrew Dalton is counsel for Valero Energy Corporation, which is a Fortune 500 company based in San Antonio, Texas. Valero, through its affiliates, has approximately 22,000 employees and owns and operates 18 refineries throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3.3 million barrels per day, making it the largest refiner in North America. Mr. Dalton joined Valero in 2002, and he is currently responsible for all energy regulatory matters for Valero and oversees Valeroa s involvement in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) and numerous other state utility commissions. Mr. Dalton has followed ERCOT and PUCT activities carefully in his current position and advises Valero on its activities in these forums. Prior to joining Valero, Mr. Dalton was in private practice in New York, where he advised clients on energy and environmental matters. He served as lead counsel in proceedings before the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment, and represented clients in matters before the New York Public Service Commission, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Dalton earned his master of laws from the George Washington University School of Law in 2000, he earned his juris doctorate from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1997, and he received his bachelor of arts from the University at Albany in 1994. He is a member of the State Bars of Texas, New York and New Jersey. He has served as a member of the ERCOT Technical Advisory Committee and is currently active in several energy industry trade associations.
Gary Arthur serves as Senior Vice President of Retail Marketing. He has led numerous initiatives to improve the company’s supply, marketing and transportation business activities since joining Valero in 2000 as Vice President of Marketing, Supply & Transportation. In his current position, Arthur is responsible for Valero’s network of 1,000 company-operated convenience stores as well as the company’s Asphalt, Lube Base Stock, Petroleum Coke and Sulfur marketing activities.
Prior to joining Valero, Arthur worked for Colonial Group as Vice President of Supply and Distribution. He has extensive commercial and managerial experience, working nearly 20 years for Ashland Oil, where he served in a variety of increasingly responsible management positions in Marketing, Supply, Trading, Distribution and Business Operations.
Actively involved in community activities, Arthur has served on the Board of Directors of St. Peter’s/St. Joseph’s Children’s Home and currently serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the San Antonio Sports Foundation. He is active in Bexar County United Way Campaign Leadership and serves on the United Way Marketing Advisory Committee.
Arthur holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Kentucky and a master’s degree in business administration from Morehead State University. He and his wife, Sheila, live in San Antonio and have two children.
Jay Browning serves as Senior Vice President - Corporate Law and Secretary with responsibility for Corporate Governance, Finance, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Information Systems Support.
Since he joined Valero in 1993, Browning has provided legal counsel on the company’s numerous transactions, assured compliance with securities laws, and provided legal counsel to the board of directors and principal officers.
His prior experience includes positions as an Associate in the Corporate & Securities division of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, LLP, in San Antonio and as an Attorney in the Corporate/Transactional division of Baker & Botts, LLP, in Austin.
Browning earned his bachelor of business administration degree in finance, a master of business administration degree, and a juris doctorate from Texas Tech University.
As a managing attorney with Valero Energy Corporation and El Paso Natural Gas Company, Mr. Guzman has experience in contracting for the exploration, purchase, sale and transportation of natural gas. A graduate of the University of Texas and the University of Michigan School of Law, Mr. Guzman also has extensive experience with state and federal energy regulation. Mr. Guzman was a founder of NGC in 1993 and of Panther Pipeline in 1995.
Steve Gilbert serves as Assistant Secretary and Disclosure and Compliance Officer for Valero Energy Corporation. In this latter role, Gilbert oversees and manages Valero’s compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and regulations for corporate governance, the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange, and other corporate governance laws and regulations affecting Valero.
Since joining Valero's Corporate Law Department in 1993, Gilbert has served in many leadership roles including Managing Counsel. He currently is Vice President of Corporate Law. In 1997, Gilbert assisted with the spin-merger transaction and worked with the natural gas division acquired by PG&E Corp. until rejoining Valero in March 2000.
Prior to joining Valero, he was an associate attorney with Fulbright & Jaworski. A Certified Public Accountant, before attending law school, Gilbert worked as an accountant for the Bass family and with PricewaterhouseCoopers, both in Fort Worth, Texas.
Steve earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Abilene Christian University and a juris doctorate from Vanderbilt University School of Law.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Assistant Secretary & Disclosure and Compliance Officer |
Current |
| Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. |
Associate Attorney |
Former |
| Vanderbilt University Law School |
Juris Doctorate |
Former |
Bob Marbut is the Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO of Argyle Security, Inc. He co-founded the company in 2005 together with Ron Chaimovski who is Vice Chairman and Co-CEO as Argyle Security Acquisition Corp. Marbut was also the CEO of Argyle Television Holding, Inc., a $700 million strategic buildup of a private television group; Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Argyle Television, Inc., a strategic buildup Nasdaq Company; Co-Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO of Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., which became the second largest non-network owned television group (NYSE:HTV). He is also the Executive Chairman of Electronics Line 3000 LTD, an international security company listed on the Frankfurt exchange, a significant factor in the European and Asian intrusion security markets with a presence in the U.S. intrusion and video surveillance markets. Marbut is the founder and former CEO of its wholly-owned subsidiary, SecTecGLOBAL, Inc. He is also a General Partner of Argyle Global Opportunities, LLP, (2000-Present). Earlier, Marbut was President and CEO of Harte-Hanks Communications, Inc. (NYSE:HHS), where he transformed it from a family-owned Texas newspaper company into a Fortune 500 company with 50 consecutive quarters of EPS growth, compounding at 17%, and later leading the management group in a successful LBO. He currently serves as Director of: Valero Energy Corp. (NYSE:VLO), Tupperware Corp. (NYSE:TUP) and Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (NYSE:HTV). Marbut is credited for being instrumental in raising over $4 billion of capital over the course of his career for a variety of companies, in which he served as a senior executive and investor. Marbut received his MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and a BIE from Georgia Tech. He is also a former Air Force Officer.
Senator Don Nickles is Chairman & CEO of the Nickles Group, LLC, which he founded in 2005. Senator Nickles supervises the firm's government relations and consulting practices, and oversees the management of business development and client issues. Immediately prior to founding the Nickles Group, Senator Nickles served the state of Oklahoma and the country for 24 years in the United States Senate. Nickles was a key member of the Senate Republican Leadership for more than a decade, serving as Chairman of the Republican Senatorial Committee, Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee and as the Assistant Republican Leader. In his tenure as United States Senator, Nickles built a legacy of advancing free enterprise causes, from natural gas deregulation and repeal of the windfall profits tax in the 1980s, to repeal of onerous ergonomics regulation and the fight against federalized health care during the Clinton administration. He was the author of the Congressional Review Act and the Child Citizenship Act, and the principal sponsor of the President's economic growth package in 2003 which cut capital gains and corporate dividend taxes to 15%. Nickles was Chairman of the influential Senate Budget Committee during his last two years in the Senate, and was a senior member of both the Senate Finance Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| The Nickles Group, LLC |
Chairman & CEO |
Current |
| The Nickles Group, LLC |
Chief Executive Officer & Founder |
Current |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Chesapeake Energy Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Equality for Adopted Children |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| The Nickles Group, LLC |
President |
Former |
| Oklahoma State Senate |
Vice President |
Former |
| Oklahoma State Senate |
General Manager |
Former |
| The Nickles Group, LLC |
Assistant |
Former |
| Oklahoma State University |
Graduate |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| College for All Texans Foundation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Texasnonprofits |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Austin, Calvert & Flavin, Inc. |
CEO |
Former |
| Trinity University |
president |
Former |
| Austin, Calvert & Flavin, Inc. |
Chief Operating Officer |
Former |
| Austin, Calvert & Flavin, Inc. |
Chairman |
Former |
| Luther College |
Bachelor of Arts Degree In Economics |
Former |
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| University of Miami |
Director, Center for Hemispheric Policy |
Current |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
Jerry D. Choate retired from Allstate Corporation, an insurance company, at the end of 1998 where he had served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer since 1995. Mr. Choate also serves as a director of Amgen, Inc. and Van Kampen Mutual Funds. He has served as a director of Valero since 1999.
| Organization |
Position |
Status |
| Compass Advisers Limited |
Chief Executive Officer |
Current |
| Compasspartners |
Chief Executive Officer |
Current |
| Compass Advisers Limited |
Managing Partner |
Current |
| Compasspartners |
Chairman of The Board |
Current |
| Usni |
Acting Chairman, Chairman, Naval Institute Foundation Board |
Current |
| Books Incorporated |
Vice Chairman |
Current |
| Valero Energy Corporation |
Board of Directors |
Current |
| Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. |
Director |
Current |
| Books Incorporated |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Compass Advisers Limited |
Co-Founder |
Former |
| Harvard College |
|
Former |
| Morgan Stanley |
member |
Former |
| Princeton Theological Seminary |
member |
Former |
W.E. "Bill" Bradford is the retired Chairman of Halliburton Company, a services and construction company. Prior to its 1998 merger with Halliburton, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dresser Industries, Inc., where he had been employed in various capacities since 1963. Mr. Bradford served as a director of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Corporation (“UDS”) or its predecessors since 1992, and has served as a director of Valero since Valero’s acquisition of UDS in 2001.