Valero Energy CEO and leadership

Joe Gorder became Chairman of the Board on Dec. 31, 2014, and Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2014. He previously served as President, and as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for refining operations and commercial operations in marketing, supply and transportation. He also has served as Chief Commercial Officer and President of Valero Europe.

He oversaw all commercial trading and related activity for the company, including Crude and Feedstock Supply and Trading, Products Supply and Trading, Wholesale Marketing, Logistics Operations, Commercial Business Development, Transportation and Specialty Products Marketing. In addition, he was responsible for all business activity and operations of Valero’s assets in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Gorder served as Valero’s Executive Vice President-Marketing and Supply, following tenure as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Before joining Valero, he held the positions of Vice President of Business Development for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, and Director of Commercial/Industrial Sales, Assistant Treasurer and Director of Information Systems for Diamond Shamrock.

Cheryl Thomas serves as Senior Vice President-Information Services and Chief Information Officer, with responsibility for the company’s information services network and related technology.

Thomas has served Valero and its predecessors since 1984. She previously served as Senior Vice President-Information Services for Valero, managing the company’s Information Systems Development, Support and Infrastructure teams. Prior to that role, Thomas served as Vice President of Retail Operations Support and Vice President of Retail Information Systems. She has played a key role in restructuring Valero’s Information Services Department and integrating recently acquired assets into Valero’s complex systems.

Lane Riggs serves as Senior Vice President-Refining Operations. He has been with the company since 1989 and has served in many leadership positions. He began his career at Valero as a Process Engineer at the McKee Refinery and subsequently held management positions including General Manager-Process Engineering, Director-Supply & Optimization, Vice President-Refinery Planning & Economics, and Senior Vice President-Crude, Feedstock Supply & Trading before being promoted to his current position of subsidiary Senior Vice President-Refining Operations where he oversees the operations of all Valero refineries. Riggs earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and his Master of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in finance and economics from West Texas A&M University.

Gary Simmons is Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, with oversight of the company's crude supply and products trading, wholesale marketing, transportation and international commercial operations groups. He previously served as Senior Vice President-Supply, International Operations and Systems Optimization; and Vice President-Crude, Feedstock, Supply and Trading.

Simmons joined Valero in 1987 and began his career as a Process Engineer at the Ardmore refinery and held many leadership positions including Executive Director-Regional Development, Vice President and General Manager of the Ardmore refinery, Vice President and General Manager of the St. Charles refinery, and Vice President-Planning and Economics, before being promoted to his current position. Simmons directs the supply, trading and hedging activities for supply of crude oil to all Valero refineries, and oversees international operations and refinery systems optimization.

Jason Fraser serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He has significant leadership experience at Valero, having served as General Counsel, as well as Senior Vice President with oversight of Valero's public policy, strategic planning, governmental affairs, investor relations and external communications functions.

Fraser also has served as President of European Commercial Operations, overseeing the company's European commercial businesses, and Vice President of Specialty Products Marketing. He began his career with Valero in 1999.

He earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the Business Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, and his Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School. Prior to attending the University of Texas, Fraser served in the U.S. Army in 1986-1990.

Julia Rendon Reinhart serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, responsible for Valero’s human resources operations companywide as well as global security, facilities and administrative services.

She joined Valero in December 2006 as Managing Counsel-Labor & Employment, overseeing legal aspects of Valero’s human resources policies, discipline, litigation and immigration. Reinhart was promoted to Executive Director-Corporate Communications, directing internal and external messaging, and advanced to Vice President-Corporate Communications in 2010.

In 2013, she became Vice President-Human Resources Administration & Refinery Operations, responsible for human resources in Valero’s refinery operations, as well as labor relations, technical training, HR Information Services and payroll. She was promoted to Vice President-Human Resources and Administration in November 2015, and to her current position in January 2019.

Prior to joining Valero, Reinhart served as a Partner in the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP, where she defended employers in all phases of employment law. Prior to Bracewell, she practiced law at Troutman Sanders in Atlanta, with a short secondment to CNN as in-house labor and employment counsel, and the State of Georgia as an Assistant State Attorney General.

Reinhart earned a Juris Doctor from Emory University in 1994, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and statistics, with a certificate in actuarial science, from the University of Rochester in 1991.

Lawrence Schmeltekopf is a Senior VP/Chief Acctg Officer at Valero Energy, VP/Controller at Valero Energy, and Senior VP:Accounting at Valero Energy. He has worked as Board Member at Grande Communications. Lawrence works or has worked as Assistant Controller at Valero Energy, VP/Controller at VALERO ENERGY PARTNERS GP LLC, and Audit Partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. He attended Texas State University System.

Joe Gorder became Chairman of the Board on Dec. 31, 2014, and Chief Executive Officer on May 1, 2014. He previously served as President, and as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for refining operations and commercial operations in marketing, supply and transportation. He also has served as Chief Commercial Officer and President of Valero Europe.

He oversaw all commercial trading and related activity for the company, including Crude and Feedstock Supply and Trading, Products Supply and Trading, Wholesale Marketing, Logistics Operations, Commercial Business Development, Transportation and Specialty Products Marketing. In addition, he was responsible for all business activity and operations of Valero’s assets in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Gorder served as Valero’s Executive Vice President-Marketing and Supply, following tenure as Senior Vice President for Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Before joining Valero, he held the positions of Vice President of Business Development for Ultramar Diamond Shamrock, and Director of Commercial/Industrial Sales, Assistant Treasurer and Director of Information Systems for Diamond Shamrock.