Keith B. Forman, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director — Mr.
Forman was appointed Chief Executive Officer, President and director of Rentech
in December 2014. Mr. Forman was also appointed as the Chief Executive Officer
and President of Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC, the general partner of Rentech Nitrogen
Partners, L.P., in December 2014 and was appointed as a director of Rentech
Nitrogen GP, LLC in connection with the initial public offering of Rentech Nitrogen
Partners, L.P. in November 2011. In April 2016, Mr. Forman resigned from all
positions held with Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P. and Rentech Nitrogen GP,
LLC, and joined the Board of Directors of CVR GP, LLC the general partner of
CVR Partners, L.P., a publicly traded nitrogen fertilizer manufacturer. On March
8, 2017, Mr. Forman resigned from the Board of Directors of CVR Partners. Since
April 2007, Mr. Forman has been a director of Capital Product Partners L.P.,
a publicly traded shipping limited partnership specializing in the seaborne
transportation of oil, refined oil products and chemicals. Mr. Forman also serves
on the Audit Committee and the Conflicts Committee of Capital Product Partners.
As of May of 2011, Mr. Forman has served as a Senior Advisor to Industry Funds
Management (IFM). IFM is an Australian based fund investing in infrastructure
projects around the world including making investments in energy related infrastructure.
From November 2007 until March 2010, Mr. Forman served as Partner and Chief
Financial Officer of Crestwood Midstream Partners LP, a private investment partnership
focused on making equity investments in the midstream energy market. From February
2005 to 2007, Mr. Forman was a member of the board of directors of Kayne Anderson
Energy Development, a closed-end investment fund focused on making debt and
equity investments in energy companies, and was a member of its audit committee.
Mr. Forman was also a member of the board of directors of Energy Solutions International
Ltd., a privately held supplier of oil and gas pipeline software management
systems, from April 2004 to January 2009. From January 2004 to July 2005, Mr.
Forman was Senior Vice President, Finance for El Paso Corporation, a provider
of natural gas services. From January 1992 to December 2003, he served as Chief
Financial Officer of GulfTerra Energy Partners L.P., a publicly traded master
limited partnership, and was responsible for the financing activities of the
partnership, including its commercial and investment banking relationships.
Mr. Forman received a B.A. degree in economics and political science from Vanderbilt
University. Our Board has determined that Mr. Forman brings to our Board accounting,
financial and directorial experience, including extensive experience with master
limited partnerships, and therefore he should serve on our Board.
Paul M. Summers, Chief Financial Officer — Mr. Summers was appointed Chief
Financial Officer of Rentech in November 2016. Mr. Summers has held various
finance related roles at Rentech since 2006, including Vice President and Treasurer,
and Senior Director, Corporate Development. While at Rentech, Mr. Summers has
been involved with numerous public and private financings and was instrumental
in the initial public offering and merger of Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P.,
a publicly-traded subsidiary of Rentech that was divested in 2016. Prior to
joining Rentech, Mr. Summers worked in investment banking and held principal
investment roles with various financial institutions. His past employers include
the investment banking divisions of Salomon Smith Barney and Citigroup, Inc.
as well as Allied Capital Corporation, where he was responsible for principal
debt and equity investments. Mr. Summers graduated summa cum laude from the
University of Southern California with a bachelor of science degree in business
administration.
Joseph V. Herold, Senior Vice President, Human Resources — Mr. Herold
has served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of Rentech since December
2011. During the past 30 years, Mr. Herold has worked in the oil, chemical,
aerospace and semiconductor industries, with leadership roles in operating sites,
engineering design centers, sales & service offices and division & corporate
headquarters. His experiences include leadership roles with Occidental Petroleum,
AlliedSignal Aerospace, Robertshaw Controls and International Rectifier, where
he held the position of VP, Global Human Resources. Mr. Herold is a graduate
of Case Western Reserve University, an alumnus of the Human Resources Roundtable
(HARRT) at UCLA's Anderson School of Business and a member of the Advisory Board
to the Master's in Human Behavior program at USC. He has also served as a life
skills trainer and mentor at Covenant House Los Angeles, and a member of the
Training Advisory Board for Inroads LA.
Colin M. Morris, Senior Vice President and General Counsel — Mr. Morris
has served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of Rentech since October
2011. From June 2006 to October 2011, Mr. Morris served as Vice President and
General Counsel. Mr. Morris practiced corporate and securities law at the Los
Angeles office of Latham & Watkins LLP from June 2004 to May 2006. From
September 2000 to May 2004, Mr. Morris practiced corporate and securities law
in the Silicon Valley office of Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati. Prior
to that Mr. Morris practiced corporate and securities law in the Silicon Valley
office of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. Mr. Morris received an A.B. degree
in government from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the University of California,
Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. Mr. Morris was appointed Senior Vice President,
General Counsel and Secretary of Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC, the general partner
of Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P., in October 2011, and from July 2011 to October
2011, Mr. Morris served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.
Nicole M. Powe, Vice President and Assistant General Counsel — Ms. Powe
has served as Vice President and Assistant General Counsel of Rentech since
May 2015, and prior to that, held various legal related roles at Rentech since
April 2007. Ms. Powe has been involved with numerous public and private financings
and acquisition transactions of Rentech and its subsidiaries, including the
initial public offering and merger of Rentech Nitrogen Partners, L.P., a publicly
traded subsidiary of Rentech that was divested in 2016. Prior to joining Rentech,
Ms. Powe practiced in the business and finance group of Hogan Lovells from November
2004 to March 2007. From June 2003 to October 2004 Ms. Powe acted as Legal Advisor
and Vice President, Wholesale Bank in the New York Branch of Standard Charted
Bank, an international banking group headquartered in London. Prior to that,
from September 1999 to June 2003 Ms. Powe practiced at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher
& Flom, LLP in the Mergers and Acquisitions and Banking and Institutional
Investing groups. Ms. Powe received a bachelor of business administration degree
in finance from the University of Notre Dame and graduated cum laude from Tulane
Law School receiving a Juris Doctor degree.
Michael S. Burke, Director — Mr. Burke was appointed as a director of
Rentech in March 2007. He serves as chair of the Audit Committee and is a member
of the Compensation Committee of Rentech. Mr. Burke was appointed as a director
of Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC in July 2011 and was a member of the Audit Committee
of Rentech Nitrogen GP, LLC. Mr. Burke is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
of AECOM, a global provider of professional technical and management support
services to government and commercial clients. Mr. Burke was appointed chairman
of the board of AECOM on March 4, 2015. From October 1, 2011 through March 5,
2014, Mr. Burke served as President of AECOM. From December 2006 through September
2011, Mr. Burke served as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
of AECOM. Mr. Burke joined AECOM as Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy
in October 2005. From 1990 to 2005, Mr. Burke was with the accounting firm,
KPMG LLP, where he served in various senior leadership positions, most recently
as a Western Area Managing Partner from 2002 to 2005. Mr. Burke also was a member
of the board of directors of KPMG from 2000 through 2005. While on the board
of directors of KPMG, Mr. Burke served as the Chairman of the Board Process
and Governance Committee and a member of the Audit and Finance Committee. Mr.
Burke also serves on the boards of directors of various charitable and community
organizations. Mr. Burke received a B.S. degree in accounting from the University
of Scranton and a J.D. degree from Southwestern University. Our Board has determined
that Mr. Burke brings to our Board extensive accounting, financial and business
experience, including experience as an executive officer of a public company,
and therefore he should serve on our Board.
General (ret) Wesley K. Clark, Director — General (ret) Wesley Clark was
appointed as a director of Rentech in December 2010 and currently serves on
the Audit Committee. General Clark is an active investment banker and strategic
energy consultant in the oil, gas, biofuels, and energy industries in the United
States, Europe, and Latin America. In 2003 General Clark founded his own strategic
consulting firm, Wesley K. Clark and Associates, where he currently serves as
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. From 2000 to 2003 General Clark was a
managing director at Stephens, Inc., an investment banking firm based in Arkansas.
He acts as a Senior Advisor to the Blackstone Group with a focus in the energy
sector. General Clark currently and historically has served on several public
and private company boards in the areas of energy, infrastructure and technology.
He serves on the board of directors of the following publicly traded companies:
BNK Petroleum Inc., an energy company focused on the acquisition, exploration
and production of large oil and gas reserves; Leagold Mining, a Canadian based
gold mining company; and Amaya Gaming, a Canadian company in the electronic
gaming industry. General Clark retired a four star general from the United States
Army in 2000, as NATO Supreme Allied Commander, Europe, following a 38 year
Army career. He is the recipient of numerous U.S. and foreign awards, including
the Presidential Medal of Freedom and Honorary Knighthoods from The United Kingdom
and Netherlands. He graduated first in his class from the United States Military
Academy at West Point and attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar earning
degrees in philosophy, politics and economics. Our Board has determined that
General Clark brings to our Board extensive leadership experience, including
having held high-ranking positions in the United States Army, and directorial
and governance experience as a result of having served on boards of directors
of numerous companies in the financial and energy sectors.
Kevin Rendino, Director — Mr. Rendino was appointed as a member to our
Board of Directors in April 2016 and currently serves on the Compensation Committee
and the Audit Committee. Mr. Rendino has been the President and CEO of RGJ Capital,
LLC, a fund focused on investing in securities that are undervalued relative
to the future true worth of their underlying assets, since December 2012. In
May 2016, Mr. Rendino joined the board of directors of Harris and Harris Group,
Inc. serving as a director and as a member of the Audit Committee, the Compensation
Committee and the Valuation Committee. On April 1, 2017 Mr. Rendino is expected
to become the CEO of 180 Degree Capital Corp, one of the successor entities
of Harris and Harris Group, that will operate as a registered closed-end fund.
Prior to this, Mr. Rendino served as Portfolio Manager and Managing Director
at BlackRock, Inc., where he was head of the Basic Value Equity Group ($10 to
$13 billion in assets), as well as being a member of BlackRock’s Leadership
Committee until 2012. Mr. Rendino joined BlackRock in 2006, following its merger
with Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. His career began with Merrill Lynch
in 1988, where he held various roles, including Managing Director, Portfolio
Manager and heading the Basic Value Group. A well-respected member of the investment
community, Mr. Rendino has been a frequent contributor to CNBC, Bloomberg TV,
Fox Business and other financial newspapers and magazines, including the New
York Times and the Wall Street Journal. Since 2014, Mr. Rendino has been Board
Chair of Partners for Health, a public charity based in Montclair, NJ. The Foundation’s
focus areas include: hunger and homelessness; policy and environmental changes
that promote healthy people in healthy places; aging in our communities and
mental health. Partners for Health has awarded grants totaling more than $7
million to 60 organizations, congregations, school districts and municipalities.
He joined the Board in 2011. Mr. Rendino received his BS in Finance with high
honors from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Our Board has
determined that Mr. Rendino brings to our Board financial and business experience
and therefore he should serve on our Board.
Ronald M. Sega, Director — Dr. Sega was appointed as a director of Rentech
in December 2007 and serves as chairperson of the Nominating and Corporate Governance
Committee. Currently Dr. Sega serves as Special Assistant to the Chancellor
for Strategic Initiatives, Director, Systems Engineering Programs, and as Woodward
Professor of Systems Engineering at Colorado State University where he also
holds the title of Professor Emeritus. From 2010 to 2013 he served as Vice President
and Enterprise Executive for Energy and the Environment for both Colorado State
University (CSU) and The Ohio State University (OSU), two Land-Grant universities
engaged in efficient, sustainable development of practical products using natural
resources (e.g. land/crops, forests, water, natural gas, etc.) through education,
research and outreach. At CSU, he served as chair of the Sustainability, Energy,
and Environment Advisory Committee. Dr. Sega also served as chair of the President’s
and the Provost’s Council on Sustainability at OSU. Since 2008, Dr. Sega
has served as a member of the board of directors of Woodward Inc., a public
company that designs, manufactures and services energy control systems and components
for aircraft and industrial engines and turbines. From August 2005 to August
2007, Dr. Sega served as Under Secretary for the U.S. Air Force. In that capacity,
he oversaw the recruiting, training and equipping of approximately 700,000 people
and a budget of approximately $110 billion and was the first senior energy official
for the Air Force. Designated as the Department of Defense (DoD) Executive Agent
for Space, Dr. Sega developed, coordinated and integrated plans and programs
for all Department of Defense space major defense acquisition programs. From
August 2001 until July 2005, Dr. Sega was Director of Defense Research and Engineering,
Office of the Secretary of Defense, serving as the Chief Technology Officer
for the DoD. Dr. Sega worked for NASA from 1990 until 1996 and made two shuttle
flights during his career as an astronaut. He serves on several non-profit boards
and committees: U.S. Space Foundation (board of directors), Alaska Aerospace
Corporation (director), U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for 21st Century
Energy (advisory committee), Air University (board of visitors), U.S. Army Science
Board, National Research Council (NRC) Division on Engineering and Physical
Sciences, Defense Science Board (Capability Surprise study member), Colorado
Space Coalition (CSU representative) and Joint Institute for Strategic Energy
Analysis (CSU representative). Dr. Sega received a B.S. in mathematics and physics
from the United States Air Force Academy in 1974, a master of science degree
in physics from The Ohio State University in 1975, and a doctorate in electrical
engineering from the University of Colorado in 1982. Our Board has determined
that Dr. Sega brings to our Board a strong background in sustainability, energy,
environment, aerospace, technology research, and operations with significant
experience in leadership positions, including those involving responsibility
for large budgets, and therefore he should serve on our Board.
Edward M. Stern, Director — Mr. Stern was appointed as a director of Rentech
in December 2006 and he currently serves as chairperson of the Compensation
Committee. He also serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
of our Board. Mr. Stern is the President and Chief Executive Officer of PowerBridge,
LLC, or PowerBridge, the leading developer of non-utility, privately financed
electric transmission systems in the U.S. PowerBridge has developed, financed,
constructed and now operates more than 1300 megawatts of transmission capacity,
with a total investment in excess of $1.5 billion. PowerBridge has recently
completed the development and construction of a natural gas line and is currently
developing several billion dollars of new electric transmission facilities.
Mr. Stern has nearly 30 years of experience leading the successful development,
financing and operation of major energy and infrastructure projects. Under Mr.
Stern’s guidance, PowerBridge developed and built the Neptune Regional
Transmission System, completed in 2007, and the Hudson Transmission Project,
completed in 2013. Both the Neptune Regional Transmission System and the Hudson
Transmission Project are 660 megawatt HVDC underwater and underground electric
transmission systems, managed by PowerBridge, that interconnect the PJM energy
grid in New Jersey with power grids in New York. Both projects were completed
on budget and ahead of schedule. From 1991 through 2004, Mr. Stern was employed
by Enel North America, Inc., the North American subsidiary of the Italian electric
utility, Enel SpA, and its predecessor, CHI Energy, Inc., an energy company
specializing in renewable energy technologies including hydroelectric projects
and wind farms. While at Enel North America, Inc. and CHI Energy, Inc., Mr.
Stern served as General Counsel and, commencing in 1999, as President, Director
and Chief Executive Officer.
Rentech, Inc. currently has 606 employees.