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 and a director of World Point Holdings Inc., a privately-held U.S. company, which owns and operates petroleum storage facilities in the United States, and chief executive officer of St. Albans Global Management, Limited Partnership, LLLP, which provides corporate management services. He currently serves on the board of directors at Boss Holdings, Inc., a distributor of work gloves, boots and rainwear and other consumer products, and Bond Street Holdings, Inc., a holding company whose material subsidiary is Premier American Bank, N.A. Within the past five years, Mr. Novelly also served on the boards of directors of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc., a broker-dealer and global securities and investment firm, of Intrawest Corporation, a company in the destination resorts and adventure travel industry, and of World Point Terminals, Inc., a Canadian and Toronto Stock Exchange predecessor to World Point Holdings, Inc.
Lee E. Mikles
Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director
Lee E. Mikles has been our chief executive officer and a member of our board since inception. In addition, he served as our principal financial officer before our acquisition of FutureFuel Chemical Company and thereafter through January 31, 2008. 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 Pacific Capital Bancorp, 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 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 and our Chief Operating Officer since April 21, 2008. 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 and in 1986 became president of Bunzl USA. He subsequently became the chief executive officer of Bunzl USA and retired in July 2004 with the title of chairman emeritus. Mr. Lorenzini served as a director of Bunzl PLC between 1988 and 1991 and 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 was a director of Traffix, Inc. between November 1995 and 2006, and served as a member of its audit committee and stock options committee. He is a director of World Point Holdings Inc., a privately-held U.S. company which owns and operates petroleum storage facilities in the United States. FutureFuel Corp.'s chairman, Paul A. Novelly is the chairman of the board of World Point Holdings Inc. In addition, in the past five years, Mr. Levy was 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 Canadian and Toronto Stock Exchange predecessor to World Point Holdings Inc.
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. Mr. Knowlton was elected chairman in 1995 which votes 47.7% of the stock of Hormel Foods Corporation. Mr. Knowlton is chairman emeritus of the Horatio Alger Association, a member of the Business Advisory Council for the University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, a business advisor to the Mayo Clinic, and the Eisenhower Medical Center Board. Mr. Knowlton served as a director of ING America Insurance Holdings, Inc. between 2000 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, health care, pharmaceutical, hospice, and therapy facilities throughout Missouri and other states. Mr. Bedell is a director of First Community Bank of Batesville, Arkansas and is a member of the executive committee of such bank and its holding company. He is also a director of World Point Holdings Inc., a privately held U.S. company which owns and operates petroleum storage facilities in the United States. FutureFuel Corp.'s chairman, Paul A. Novelly, is the chairman of the board of World Point Holdings Inc. In the past five years , Mr Bedell has served on the Board of directors for World Point Terminals Inc., a Canadian and Toronto Stock Exchange predecessor to World Point Holdings Inc.
Paul M. Manheim has been a member of our board since July 2011. Mr. Manheim is currently a consultant to and a corporate director of HAL Real Estate Investments Inc., which develops and owns a portfolio of real estate in the Pacific northwest consisting of multi-family, office, and mixed-use assets. He was the president and chief executive officer of HAL Real Estate Investments Inc. until September 2005. HAL Real Estate Investments Inc. is a subsidiary of HAL Holding N.V. Mr. Manheim joined Holland America Line, N.V., the predecessor of HAL Holding N.V., an international holding company traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, in 1982 and filled various positions in the financial and corporate development areas. Since June 2005, Mr. Manheim has been the chairman of the board of Shanghai Red Star Optical Company, which owns a portfolio of optical retail outlets in China and is affiliated with Europe's largest optical retailer. Mr. Manheim has served as a director of World Point Holdings Inc. and its predecessor World Point Terminals Inc. since 2009. Within the past five years, Mr. Manheim was the chairman and managing director of HAL Investments Asia B.V. Mr. Manheim received a bachelor of commerce degree with honors from the University of New South Wales, Australia, and is a chartered accountant.