BPP’s Team Roster
Truman K. Homme – Holding Co. Board Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Homme is the founder of Biomass Products, LLC. He has worked extensively in the corn stover development industry for the past 27 years. Through his efforts, multiple uses for corn stover have been identified and developed. Homme was born and raised on a Minnesota farm where his father owned a registered and certified seed business. Education and work experience include studies at Luther College; four years of mechanical construction; 10 years at 1st National Bank (now US Bank) in operations, agriculture and real estate lending; four years as a federal grants administrator & fiscal manager; 13 years in real estate sales and commercial development (5 years general manager/50% partner, Coldwell Banker franchise).
BPP USA, LLC
Glenn Farris – Executive Vice President with Lee Enterprises Consulting and acting CEO and General Manager of BPP USA, LLC.
S. Glenn Farris recently joined BioPro Power (BPP) to provide support for the BPP Energy Island for Ethanol Plants concept, focused primarily on ethanol plant development in the US. Farris’s experiences align very well with BPP’s business trajectory. He has spent over 25 years in project development as well as roles developing, advising and commercializing new technology all in the biomass energy field. He was the project manager for a high-profile gasification project in Vermont, which was a public-private partnership with the US Department of Energy. The project won an R&D 100 Award. Farris’s work in the field earned his acclaim as one of the five most influential people in renewable energy in North America. Most recently, Glenn served as part of AGCO Corporation’s Strategic Marketing Group. Glenn’s major roles included development and perfection of methodologies in the biomass supply chain, using both agricultural waste products and purpose-grown crops as feedstock for conversion into fuels and chemicals. In this role, Glenn managed operations to bail over 1,000,000 bales of cellulosic feedstocks including corn stover, miscanthus, wheat straw, switchgrass and sorghum. He has a BA from the University of Alabama. Glenn currently serves as an industry advisor on the USDOE’s Feedstock Supply and Logistics program as well as the Feedstock Conversion Interface Consortium.
Glenn is the author of recent article published in Biofuels Digest, entitled: ‘Financing a biomass project when commercializing new technology’. Here's the link: Financing a Biomass Project When Commercializing New Technology
Daniel O. Skolness – President Biomass Division.
Expertise: Large Scale Farming, Ag Business & BioFuels Development. Business & Farming Experience: Owner Dan Skolness, Inc., 1972 to date, a corn, grain and sugar beet farming operation (peaked at 12,000 acres 1995-2000) in Clay County, Minnesota; a shareholder of Golden Growers High Fructose Corn Syrup Co-op, Wahpeton, ND and American Crystal Sugar Co-op, Moorhead, MN. Director (1993-2000) and Board Chairman (97-99) of High Plains Corporation, (HIPC - NASDAQ). Built in 1984 - A publicly traded ethanol, distillers grain and carbon dioxide producer based in Wichita, KS. HIPC was sold to Abengoa S.A. of Seville, Spain in 2002 for $115,000,000.00. Founding Director and V. Chairman of Gold Energy, LLC May 2005-Nov 2007 a 100 MMgy startup ethanol (Fagen/ICM) plant and was sold to U S BioEnergy in March 2006. Board Chairman of US Bio Hankinson. This company was sold to Verasun Energy in Nov 2007. The Verasun Hankinson plant came online in August of 2008. Has had an agri-business relationship with Truman Homme for over 18 years. Education: University of Minnesota, Crookston – Agricultural Aviation; North Dakota State University – Bachelor of Science.
Philip E. Tollefson, P.E. – Sr. Vice President: Process Engineering & Operations.
Mr. Tollefson is a registered professional engineer with 38 years of experience in electrical power generation, biomass combustion, and pulp and paper engineering. He has built electrical energy facilities using wood chips and wood waste as the fuel source. He began his engineering career in design engineering and construction supervision for Pacific Power and Light. Later, at both Harris Group and Jacobs Engineering, Tollefson engineered major projects from the greenfield stage to full operation. Tollefson has a B. S. degree in mechanical engineering, from Portland State University and a B. A. degree in biology at Dickenson State University. Mr. Tollefson has been a consultant to the Company for twelve (12) years.
Mr. John E. Clarke, CEO of BPP Asia, LLC
Mr. Clarke is the founder and President of Phoenix Consulting, a company established to leverage Clarke’s more than 19 years of experience and relationships in working with businesses between the United States and China. Phoenix Consulting currently focuses on market entry into China for US companies and is also the official representative of the Iowa Economic Development Authority in China for their trade program. Prior to founding Phoenix Consulting, Clarke was formerly the Country Manager – China for Alliant Energy International and the CEO of their majority owned development company in Beijing. Prior to exiting their investments, Alliant had invested approximately US$200 million in 10 coal fired cogeneration power plants across five provinces having over 3,000 employees. During his work experience in China, Clarke also held the positions of Chairman and Legal Representative of China based wholly foreign owned companies, joint ventures, and a China holding company as well as being a director of 12 Singapore and one Malaysian holding company used to hold Alliant Energy’s China investments. His tenure with Alliant Energy International involved the entire investment cycle for 10 cogeneration power plants from initial project due diligence and investment, through commercial and technical operations, including P&L responsibility, government and partner relationship management, to devising strategy, managing the legal and corporate governance processes, and negotiating the ultimate divestiture of all the entities. Clarke has a bachelor of science in electrical engineering from the University of North Dakota.
J Clarke's LinkedIn Address: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-clarke-06a2166?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile
Chin Wah Ying: Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning.
Chin Wah Ying is skilled in managing global business and has three decades of leadership experience. As he rose through the ranks in Bobcat Company, Chin grew international markets, achieving No. 1 spots in the regions of Asia Pacific and Latin America. When Bobcat was acquired by Ingersoll-Rand Company and later by Doosan Infracore, he restructured complex operations and strategically integrated disparate pieces of the company. He retired in 2012 after 35 years in the business. Chin is now an independent consultant/corporate advisor with North Dakota Trade Office (NDTO) and several global companies in light of his vast experience, connections and ability to bridge cultural differences. Chin graduated with distinction (MBA) from the renowned Thunderbird School of Global Management (Arizona) in 1977.
Michael K. Ouyang – Patent & IP Attorney. Senior Manager BPP’s Intellectual Property.
Michael Ouyang is Vice President, Intellectual Property at CommScope, which a $5 billion company that manufactures a diverse range of connectivity products. Mr. Ouyang has responsibility for managing the global intellectual property portfolio and strategy for the company. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology in 1989 and received a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1993.
Thomas J. M. Condon – Sr. Vice President, R&D & BioPro Fuel Supply, LLC.
Mr. Condon has been involved in the design, construction, and management of commercial grain handling and processing facilities for the past 35 years. He has designed facilities for grain handling and other agricultural products, including one in Saudi Arabia. His expertise extends into rail and trucking logistical management for the movement of agricultural products. Tom is a partner in Condon Farms, a large-scale farming operation which specializes in growing corn, soybeans and sugar beets. He is a past President of the Minneapolis Commodities Corporation and has served as a board member for the Clara City State Bank. In 1994, Mr. Condon was named by Governor Arne Carlson as a leading business person in the state of Minnesota. He has been associated with Truman Homme in agri-business relationships for over 20 years.
Laurence T. (Larry) Persinger – Sr. Vice President: Construction Management & Business Development.
Mr. Persinger has over 40 years of experience in the commercial and industrial construction industry. His work experience ranges from engineering to project management to corporate officer. Mr. Persinger was president of Baugh Industrial Contractors, one of the 50 largest general contractors in the country and was Sr. Vice president of EC Company, one of the ten largest electrical contractors in the U.S. His professional experience includes: President, Baugh Industrial Contractors, Inc. (sold to Skanska, Stockholm, Sweden in 2000); Senior Vice President, Electrical Construction Company. From 2002 to 2010 he was President & Owner of Pacific Construction Management until sold to McKinstry Company in March 2010. Mr. Persinger currently owns Industrial Projects Consulting (IPC) providing project management services for the industrial sector. Mr. Persinger holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Charles Kuster – Sr. Vice President, Corporate Communications.
Mr. Kuster is a marketing and communication consultant with content expertise in agriculture. During his 35-year career, Chuck has provided strategic communications to dozens of businesses. His client list includes Fortune 500 firms such as Monsanto, Pioneer Hi-Bred, DuPont, Massey-Ferguson, and Principal Financial. He has experience with banks, crop insurance companies, software developers, farm equipment manufacturers, cooperatives and food processors. Mr. Kuster spent 20 years with Pioneer Hi-Bred in leadership roles, including corporate communications director. Prior employers include CMF&Z Advertising, Farm Progress Publications and Century Communications. Mr. Kuster’s insights are particularly acute in areas of positioning, branding and crafting core messages. He was awarded a “Iowa Small Business Advocate of the Year Award” for his work with entrepreneurs. Chuck has degrees from Iowa State University in agricultural journalism and agronomy. Chuck’s hobby business is publishing educational games and children’s books, which have been sold in 13 countries.
Sylvan Melroe – Market Development
Mr. Melroe spent his career in manufacturing and marketing farm and construction equipment. Mr. Melroe grew up on a livestock and grain farm in southeast North Dakota. The Melroe Company developed and manufactured farm equipment. In 1961, it designed the first “Skid Steer Loader” called the “BOBCAT”. It is now world famous and over 1,000,000 of these versatile machines have been produced and sold. Mr. Melroe has been in all 50 States and 40 countries, hiring, training sales people and setting up dealers. In 1973 Mr. Melroe joined Steiger tractor as Vice President of sales and marketing. In 8 years, the company grew from $3.5 million to $124 million in sales. In 1984, he was appointed Director of the Economic Development Commission for the State of North Dakota by Governor Alan Olson.
Mr. Melroe has a degree in Ag. Education from North Dakota State University. He was recently given the Heritage Award from NDSU - for service to the University and has served on several NDSU Boards, including President of the Alumni Association. He has a long-time business affiliation with Dan Skolness. In August, 2013, Mr. Melroe was asked by BPP’s CEO Homme “if you were responsible for bringing BPP’s Technology to China, what would you do?” Inside of two days, Mr. Melroe had arranged a meeting with Dean Gorder, the head of the NDTO. BPP became a member of the North Dakota Trade Office in January 2014.
Announcement – Dean Gorder Joins BPP as a Consultant!
The BioPro Power Board of Governors is pleased to announce the addition of Mr. Dean Gorder as a consultant advisor to the company and as a member of the company’s Planning Board. Mr. Gorder was formerly Executive Director of the North Dakota Trade Office and brings years of experience in dealing with start-up and existing companies desiring to conduct international business. He also brings a large number of industry, banking, and financial contacts.