K'Lynne Johnson, CEO
K'Lynne has worked within the oil and petrochemicals industry over the past 17 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 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 1100 employees across North America, Europe and Asia. The Global Derivatives business was one of three operating companies within Innovene, one of world's largest global petrochemical and refining companies with 2005 revenues of $26 billion and 8200 employees. K'Lynne's background includes a Masters degree in Organizational Behavior from Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management and a BS in organizational psychology.
Patrick Kelly, CFO
Patrick has over 22 years of finance experience in the energy, petrochemical and pipeline & logistics industries working in North America, Europe and Asia. Prior to his current role as CFO of Elevance, Patrick was Director, Group Wide Financial Process Optimization within BP focused on streamlining, standardizing and simplifying global financial processes while contributing to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Other roles have focused on CFO accountabilities, capital market transactions, mergers & acquisitions, strategy development and implementation, organic business development and profit-and-loss delivery. Patrick earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Evanston, Illinois. He also holds a Master's degree in Geophysics from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor's degree with honors in Geology from Saint Lawrence University in Canton, New York. He serves as sponsor of an inner-city high school student through PEAK: The Partnership to Educate & Advance Kids.
Mel Luetkens, COO
Mel has over 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 PhD from the University of Michigan and an MBA from University of Chicago.
Andy Shafer, EVP, Sales & Marketing
Andy has over 20 years experience in specialty chemicals and plastics, building businesses, 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 for establishing 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, Business Operations
Del has over 25 years 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 BS in Public Finance from the School of Public Environmental Affairs at Indiana University and an MBA from Krannert School of Business at Purdue University. He was a founding board member of the Wichita AgriBusiness Council and serves on Wichita's Chamber of Commerce Visionary Committee.
Kara Lawrence, Treasurer and Comptroller
Kara has over 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.