Jay Ricker Elected Fuels Institute Chairman

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Ricker Oil Co. Chairman Jay Ricker was elected chairman of the Fuels Institute on Nov. 20 during the organization's Annual Meeting and Fuels Summit in Newport Beach, Calif. Phillips 66 Co. President of Global Marketing Andy Viens was elected treasurer, and Fuels Institute Executive Director John Eichberger was re-elected secretary.

NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, founded the Fuels Institute in 2013. The nonprofit, research-oriented think tank is dedicated to evaluating market issues related to vehicles and the fuels that power them. Since its founding, the Fuels Institute has commissioned and published feasibility studies related to several alternative fuels and examined the vehicle market and consumer perceptions of key fuels and vehicle types.

Ricker fills the position vacated by Bill Douglass, managing partner of Douglass Distributing Co., who served as the Fuels Institute's chairman during its first 21 months of existence. Douglass will continue to serve on the 11-member board of directors.

Ricker and his wife Nancy founded Ricker Oil as a fuel distributor in the 1970s, and opened their first Ricker's convenience store in 1989. Today, the company operates 50 c-stores in Indiana, as well as a petroleum distributorship and other enterprises.

Along with serving on the NACS board of directors from 2000 to 2012, Ricker was the 2010 NACS chairman of the board, and served two terms as NACS vice chairman of convention and events and two terms as NACS vice chairman of industry relations. Additionally, Ricker served on the NACS Supplier Board and on the NACS/Coca-Cola Retailing Research Council.

In addition to his service with NACS, Ricker is a past chair of the BP Amoco Marketers Association, past president of the Indiana Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, and past member of the Marathon Jobber Advisory Council. He holds a bachelor's degree from Purdue University.

The Fuels Institute's complete board of directors is:

• Jay Ricker (chairman); chairman, Ricker Oil Co., Anderson, Ind.

• Andy Viens (treasurer); president of U.S. marketing, Phillips 66 Co., Houston
• Mark DeVries; director of business development, POET LLC, Wichita, Kan.
• Bill Douglass; managing partner, Douglass Distributing Co., Sherman, Texas
• Norman Herrera; manager of corporate development, Chesapeake Energy Corp., Oklahoma City

• Max McBrayer; senior vice president, RaceTrac Petroleum, Atlanta
• Jeff Morris; vice chairman of the board of directors, Alon USA, Dallas
• Ron Sabia; president, Gulf Oil LP, Framingham, Mass.
• Norman Turiano; principal, Turiano Strategic Consulting LLC, Cape Coral, Fla.
• Michael Whatley; executive vice president, Consumer Energy Alliance, Washington, D.C.
• Bob Wimmer; director of energy & environmental research group, Toyota Motor North America Inc., Washington, D.C.