Our Leadership

K’Lynne Johnson, CEO

K’Lynne has worked within the oil and petrochemicals industry over the past 19 years for Amoco, BP and Innovene. During this time she has worked in a variety of roles covering general business management, e-commerce, supply chain optimization, HR management, strategy development, leadership development, and organizational design and effectiveness. Prior to her current role as CEO of Elevance, K’Lynne was the senior vice president (SVP) of the Global Derivatives operating company within Innovene. K’Lynne’s SVP role included P&L accountability for multiple global commodity and specialty chemicals businesses with revenues of $3 billion and 1,100 employees across North America, Europe and Asia. The Global Derivatives business was one of three operating companies within Innovene, one of the world’s largest global petrochemical and refining companies with 2005 revenues of $26 billion and 8,200 employees. K’Lynne’s background includes a master’s degree in organizational behavior from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management and a B.S. in organizational psychology.

Mel Luetkens, COO

Mel has more than 23 years of experience enhancing value delivery in the chemical industry across global operations in Amoco, BP, Innovene and most recently INEOS. Formerly Europe Technology Director – Innovene, Mel was responsible for leading an organization of 330 technologists across five European sites to meet the process engineering, catalysis, technical services, technical development, and Health, Safety and Environmental objectives. His background includes P&L management, R&D leadership, new business & product development, strategy development and execution within Amoco, BP, Innovene and INEOS. Mel has a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

David Kelsey, CFO

David H. Kelsey was most recently SVP and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Sealed Air Corporation, a Fortune 500 company and a leader in global manufacturing of a wide range of food, protective and specialty packaging materials and systems. From 1973 to 1994, David held various executive positions with GE and GE Capital. He served as president of GE Power Funding Corporation and SVP & director of GE Capital Equity Funding Group. Prior to joining Sealed Air, David served as CFO of two small cap growth companies, one of which was privately owned and one of which was publicly traded. He also serves as a director and the audit committee chair of Granite Construction, Inc. David graduated with a Bachelor of Science and Engineering from Princeton University, and earned his MBA from Harvard University.

Andy Shafer, EVP, Sales & Marketing

Andy has more than 20 years of experience in specialty chemicals and plastics, building businesses and leading global multifunctional teams, and is responsible for managing a portfolio of business opportunities focused on developing industrial products from modified vegetable oils. An original executive in Cargill-Dow (now NatureWorks, LLC), Andy was a commercial director, responsible for establishing the packaging and fibers businesses and the company’s initial customer base in Asia. During his career, Andy has served as a key strategic commercial and business manager for Fortune 50 businesses, built and managed organizations from their inception, and led multifunctional teams to achieve high performance and outstanding results. Andy has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame with an MBA from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

Del Craig, EVP, Special Projects

Del has more than 25 years of experience in the agricultural industry. Previously in Cargill he held various merchandising and sales management positions with primary responsibilities of managing market risk, P&L management for soybean crush plants and refineries, sales and general management of the businesses. In 2001 Del started the development of the NatureWax® product line and business for Cargill. He conceived the idea, developed the business plan, implemented product development, created the brand, positioned an umbrella of intellectual property and developed the customer base for the product line. Del holds a B.S. in public finance from the School of Public Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and an MBA from the Krannert School of Business at Purdue University. He was a founding board member of the Wichita AgriBusiness Council and currently serves on Purdue University’s Dean of Agriculture Advisory Council.

Kara Lawrence, Treasurer and Comptroller

Kara has more than 15 years of experience in finance, treasury, strategic planning, audit and business development. She has led international teams to deliver improved profitability and reduced risk for Amoco, BP and Innovene (a $20 billion global chemical company which was formed in a carve-out from BP in 2005 and was preparing for an IPO). Formerly director of corporate finance for Innovene, Kara was responsible for developing the company’s capital structure and providing efficient funding and financial risk management. Kara is a CPA and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and a BBA from the University of Michigan.

LaRae Lafrenz, VP, Human Capital

LaRae has more than 20 years of human resources experience within the petrochemicals and pipelines & logistics industries, holding positions in manufacturing, corporate functions and regional & global businesses within Amoco, BP, Innovene and INEOS. Prior to her current role in Elevance as vice president, human capital, LaRae was a human resources director in BP’s U.S. Pipelines & Logistics business and was responsible for the integration of human resources processes, policies and systems following the merger of two business units. Her background also includes experience leading a global human resource management function supporting the commercial & technical operations and manufacturing facilities for Innovene’s Global Derivatives operating company. In that role, LaRae also worked jointly with corporate human resources to establish and implement company-wide human resources strategy and processes during the company’s carve-out from BP. LaRae received her BBA in industrial relations and human resources from the University of Iowa.