There’s some big changes coming at the Renewable Fuels Association.
The RFA announced today that Bob Dinneen, who’s been the group’s president and CEO since 2001, will step aside in October to take up the role as RFA’s senior strategic adviser. Executive Vice President Geoff Cooper will then take over as president and CEO.
In a news release, the RFA credited Dinneen with a number of legislative and regulatory victories, including passage of the original Renewable Fuel Standard in 2005 and with its expansion two years later. According to the RFA, Dinneen also played a crucial role in the creation of the reformulated gasoline and oxygenated fuels requirements, in securing the RVP waiver for E10, and helping to obtain multiple extensions of the ethanol blender’s tax.
“Bob has spent most of his professional life dedicated to this industry, and for that we will always be grateful,” said RFA Chairman Mick Henderson. “He has worked tirelessly on our behalf for 30 years and in that time, there was never any doubt that we could count on Bob to fight for us every day. The industry simply would not be what it is today without Bob’s direction and leadership over the past three decades.”
Dinneen, who joined the RFA in 1988, said now is the time for new leadership and new energy at the helm of the association.
“I have borne witness to phenomenal growth, seen rural economies transformed and gotten to know and work side-by-side with the people who made this industry the success it is today. Every day I am thankful for our accomplishments and still enthusiastic to tackle the challenges ahead. Without a doubt, I have been truly blessed.”
Cooper joined RFA in 2008 as the organization’s director of research and analysis and had ascended to executive vice president by 2016. He previously worked on ethanol issues for the National Corn Growers Association and served as a captain in the U.S. Army, specializing in bulk petroleum product logistics. In recent years, Cooper has led RFA’s regulatory activities, while also overseeing the association’s research and technical initiatives, supporting public and media relations efforts, and managing the Renewable Fuels Foundation.
“I am deeply honored that the RFA board of directors has entrusted me with leading this vibrant and dynamic organization into the future,” Cooper said. “For the past decade, I have been incredibly fortunate to serve an industry and an organization whose values align so well with my own. It has been an absolute pleasure and a privilege to work alongside Bob, the RFA staff, and our diverse membership to advance RFA’s strategic goals and vision. Ethanol is a remarkable product that has an incredibly bright future filled with opportunity, and I am excited to help write the next chapter in our industry’s amazing story. I am truly grateful for the chance to build upon RFA’s legacy as the authoritative voice of the ethanol industry.”
#30
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