Paul A. Novelly has been our chairman of the board since inception. For at least the past five years, Mr. Novelly has been chairman and chief executive officer of Apex Oil Company, Inc., a privately-held company based in St. Louis, Missouri engaged in the trading, storage, marketing and transportation of petroleum products, including liquid terminal facilities in the Midwest and Eastern United States, and towboat and barge operations on the inland waterway system. Mr. Novelly is president and a director of AIC Limited, a Bermuda-based oil trading company, chairman of World Point Terminals Inc., a publicly-held Canadian company based in Calgary which owns and operates petroleum storage facilities in the Bahamas and United States, and chief executive officer of St. Albans Global Management, Limited Partnership, LLLP, which provides corporate management services. He currently serves on boards of directors at The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., a broker-dealer and global securities and investment firm, and Boss Holdings, Inc., a distributor of work gloves, boots and rainwear and other consumer products, and within the past five years also served on the board of directors of Intrawest Corporation, a company that is a world leader in destination resorts and adventure travel.
Lee E. Mikles
Chief Executive Officer and President
Lee E. Mikles has been our chief executive officer and a member of our board since inception. Mr. Mikles was chairman of Mikles/Miller Management, Inc., a registered investment adviser and home to the Kodiak family of funds, between 1992 and 2005. He was also chairman of Mikles/Miller Securities, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, between 1999 and 2005. Additionally, Mr. Mikles has served on the board of directors of Official Payments Corporation, Coastcast Corporation, Nelnet, Inc., Imperial Bank and Imperial Bancorp. He currently serves on the board of directors of Boss Holdings, Inc. and Pacific Capital Bankcorp. and is the chair of the audit committee for Boss Holdings, Inc.
Paul G. Lorenzini
Chief Operating Officer and Director
Paul G. Lorenzini has been a member of our board since January 2007. In January 1970, Mr. Lorenzini co-founded Packaging Consultants, Inc., a distribution business supplying packaging materials to the food industry. In 1983, Bunzl PLC, a supplier of supermarket and food service packaging, acquired Packaging Consultants, Inc. Mr. Lorenzini continued to work for Bunzl PLC and in 1986 became president of Bunzl PLC and its subsidiary Bunzl USA. He subsequently became the chief executive officer of Bunzl PLC and retired in July 2004 with the title of chairman emeritus. Mr. Lorenzini served as a director of Bunzl PLC between 1999 and 2004.
Edwin A. Levy
(Non-Executive Director)
Edwin A. Levy has been a member of our board since November 2005. In 1979, Mr. Levy co-founded Levy, Harkins & Co., Inc., an investment advisory firm, where he now serves as chairman of the board and individual advisor. Mr. Levy has been a director of Traffix, Inc. since November 1995, and he currently serves as a member of its audit committee and stock options committee. He is also a director of Forward Industries, Inc., a publicly-held company in the business of designing, manufacturing and distributing custom carrying case solutions, and World Point Terminals Inc., a publicly-held Canadian company based in Calgary which owns and operates petroleum storage facilities in the Bahamas and United States.
Thomas R. Evans has been a member of our board since May 2006. Since June 2004, he has served as president and chief executive officer of Bankrate, Inc., an Internet based aggregator of financial rate information. Mr. Evans was elected to Bankrate, Inc.'s board of directors in May 2004. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Evans was chairman and chief executive officer of Official Payments Corporation, an Internet processor of payment to government entities.
Richard L. Knowlton has been a member of our board since January 2007. Between 1956 and 1995, Mr. Knowlton worked for Hormel Foods Corporation, a multinational manufacturer and marketer of consumer-branded meat and food products. He started as a merchandising manager and became the president and chief operating officer in 1979. He became the chief executive officer and chairman of the board in 1981 and retired in 1995. Mr. Knowlton currently serves as a director on The Hormel Foundation and the Horatio Alger Association and is a member of the Business Advisory Council for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, the Mayo Laboratory Services Advisory Board and the Eisenhower Medical Center Board. Mr. Knowlton served as a director of NG America Insurance Holdings, Inc. between 2000 and 2005 and SUPERVALU INC. between 1994 and 2005.
Donald C. Bedell has been a member of our board since March 17, 2008. Mr. Bedell is chairman of the board of privately held Castle Partners and its affiliates, based in Sikeston, Missouri, which operate over 35 skilled nursing and health care facilities throughout Missouri, Arkansas and Arizona. Mr. Bedell is a director of several privately held commercial banks, including First Community Bank of Batesville, Arkansas and is a member of the executive committee of such bank and its holding company. He also serves as a director of World Point Terminals Inc., a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company, serving as chairman of World Point's Corporate Governance and Human Resources Committees. FutureFuel Corp.'s chairman, Paul A. Novelly, is the chairman of the board of World Point Terminals Inc.