Tesoro Fills Newly Created EVP of Operations Role

SAN ANTONIO -- Tesoro Corp. has hired an industry veteran to serve in the newly created position of executive vice president of operations, effective March 21. Dan Romasko will join Tesoro from Suncor Energy Inc. of Canada, where he most recently was vice president of operations integrity and vice president of technical operations and competence.

According to a report by the San Antonio Express-News, Romasko's appointment coincides with the March 21 retirement of Everett Lewis, Tesoro's executive vice president and chief operating officer (COO). The new position of executive vice president of operations will replace the COO's job, Tesoro spokesman Mike Marcy told the newspaper in an e-mail. Romasko, 47, will report directly to Tesoro CEO Greg Goff and be responsible for the company's refining, marketing, logistics and marine groups. "Dan's strong leadership capabilities and extensive industry experience will be a great asset to the company," Goff said.

At Suncor, Romasko's job was to focus on operations, with emphasis on improving reliability, safety and environmental performance. Prior to that, he worked for more than 20 years with ConocoPhillips, where he held leadership positions in transportation, pipeline, supply and trading, global specialty products and refining, Tesoro said in a statement. Romasko also worked for Petro-Canada, which merged with Suncor in 2009.

Goff, who joined Tesoro as CEO and president May 1, also is a ConocoPhillips veteran. He was senior vice president at the Houston-based company before joining Tesoro.

Shortly after Goff joined Tesoro, he took steps to shore up the company's top management team following a spate of departures in mid-2010, the newspaper reported.

In June 2010, Goff offered Lewis a $400,000 cash retention bonus "as an incentive for his continued service to the company," should he agree to stay through Jan. 31. The bonus is to be paid six months after the retention period ended, SEC documents show.

The ranks of Tesoro's executive team were thinned late last spring by the retirement of then-Chairman and CEO Bruce Smith, Chief Financial Officer Greg Wright and William Finnerty, executive vice president of strategy and development.