The Fuels Institute Announces Board of Directors, Officers and Staff
ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- The Fuels Institute today revealed its inaugural board of directors.
Incorporated last week, The Fuels Institute was founded by NACS, the Association for Convenience & Fuel Retailing, to be a non-profit, research-oriented think tank dedicated to evaluating the market issues related to consumer vehicles and the fuels that power them.
Named to The Fuels Institute's inaugural board of directors are:
- Bill Douglass, managing partner, Douglass Distributing Co.
- Norman Herrera, manager of corporate development, Chesapeake Energy Corp.
- Jay Ricker, chair/owner, Ricker’s
- Ron Sabia, president & chief operating officer, Gulf Oil, Cumberland Gulf Group of Cos.
- Norman Turiano, principal, Turiano Strategic Consulting LLC
- Michael Whatley, executive vice president, Consumer Energy Alliance and
- Bob Wimmer, national manager of energy and environmental research, Toyota Motor North America Inc.
Specifically, Douglass was elected chairman of the board and Ricker was elected treasurer.
In addition, NACS announced John Eichberger was named executive director of The Fuels Institute. He will direct its research projects and oversee day-to-day operations. Eichberger currently serves as NACS' vice president of government relations. He will retain that position at NACS, while adding on his new role at The Fuels Institute.
As CSNews Online reported on Feb. 13, The Fuels Institute will commission and publish comprehensive, fact-based research projects addressing issues that will help inform both business owners considering long-term fuel investment decisions, and policymakers considering legislation and regulations affecting the market.
"We need to create a market in which consumers can safely, conveniently and affordably purchase the fuels that they desire," noted Eichberger. "Unfortunately, decisions that affect the market are being made in a vacuum, without coordination among the affected stakeholders. The Fuels Institute will rectify this problem by incorporating the perspective of diverse interests, identifying the challenges facing market innovation and delivering fact-based answers to business owners and policymakers."
Alexandria, Va.-based NACS represents 2,200 retail and 1,600 supplier member companies that do business in nearly 50 countries.