During the annual shareholders meeting May 8, The Andersons Inc. Chairman Dick Anderson officially left his post, passing it to President and CEO Mike Anderson.
Dick Anderson, who indicated his plans not to stand for re-election last fall, served with the company since 1947 when he, along with his siblings and parents, founded the company as a family partnership. Starting as a crew boss on construction of the first grain elevator in Maumee, Ohio, he worked his way up through the company and was named president and CEO in 1986. He was instrumental in the company’s transition from a family-owned business to a publicly traded enterprise in 1996. He has served as chairman of the board since 1999, and now serves as chairman emeritus.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to work alongside Dick for more than a decade,” said Mike Anderson. “He has been a tremendous teacher to the generations of employees who have worked here for the past 62 years. His contributions to this company have helped shape it into what it is today, and for that we thank him.”
The Sulphur Institute (TSI) recently named John LeMieux supervisor, industrial projects. LeMieux will be responsible for various activities associated with the Transportation Regulations and Logistics Program, as well as the Environmental Health and Safety Program of TSI. He will report to Harold Weber, director, industrial programs.
LeMieux earned a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla. His previous experience as a project engineer, with Nooter Construction Co., offered him the opportunity to work at several refineries, including those owned by TSI members BP and ExxonMobil. A Missouri native, he will be relocating to the Washington, DC area and can be contacted at JLeMieux@sulphurinstitute.org.
Compass Minerals has announced that Paul Williams has been named to the board of directors, effective immediately. Williams will serve on the compensation and the audit committees. The appointment returns the board to its customary size of eight members.
Williams, 49, is a partner in the firm of Major, Lindsey & Africa, the nation’s largest legal recruiting firm. Previously, he had 20 years of legal and business experience counseling diverse service and manufacturing businesses, including 14 years as in-house counsel in the health care, food, and software industries. He has served as executive vice president, chief legal officer, and secretary of Cardinal Health Inc., a publicly-traded health care services company with $87 billion in revenues. He has also been a member of the board of directors of State Auto Financial Corp.
Williams graduated cum laude from Harvard College in 1981 and received his J.D. from Yale Law School in 1984. In 2003, he completed coursework in finance and accounting through Stanford Business School’s Executive Education Program.
Allana Resources Inc., Toronto, reports that Richard Lacroix, P. Eng., has been appointed to the company’s advisory board. Lacroix, now retired, is the former senior vice president, technical services, for PotashCorp, and spent 30 years with that company. He was also board member with Canpotex and chairman of Canpotex Bulk Terminals Ltd. Lacroix obtained his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Saskatchewan.
Chris Neser has been named technical adviser to Sunkar, which owns the Chilisai phosphate project in North West Kazakhstan. He will advise on all technical and financial aspects of the project. He has over 30 years of experience, most recently as a consultant to Agrifos Fertilizers Inc. He has also worked for Jordan Phosphate Mines, the Saudi Arabian Mining Co.’s Al Jalamid Phosphate Project, and South Africa’s Foskor. Neser holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cape Town and a Masters degree in Business Leadership from the University of South Africa.
Sunkar’s goal is to build an integrated, world-class ammoniated phosphate project with low operating costs. It estimates its contract area contains 800 million mt of ore, and cites access to cheap sulfur from the nearby Tengiz oil field and regional low gas prices. Mining at the site has already started, and the company says 432,000 mt were mined from January-April 2009. A mobile beneficiation plant was established late last year and is producing 17 percent P2O5 grade phos rock concentrates.
Direct Hedge SA has moved to new offices in Tulsa. They are located at 10441 S. Regal Blvd., Suite 208, Tulsa, Okla., 74133; phone: 918-364-3455; and fax: 918-364-3456.