Executive Team

Neil Koehler has over twenty years experience in ethanol production, sales, and marketing in the western United States. He was co-founder and general manager of Parallel Products, a California-based ethanol production company, which he sold to a public company in 1998. He also founded Kinergy Marketing, an ethanol sales and distribution firm that was acquired by PEI in May 2004. Neil is a Renewable Fuels Association board member and the director of the California Renewable Fuels Partnership.  He is also a sought-after speaker on the issue of renewable fuels. He has a B.A. degree in Government from Pomona College. 

John Miller has over twenty years of senior management and operating experience in the independent power sector, most recently with Calpine Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President of Central Services. At Calpine, John oversaw key human resources and safety programs and managed the build-out of more than twenty major power projects valued at over $6 billion. Prior to his tenure at Calpine, John served as president of Thermo Electron’s Thermo Ecotek division, where he directed Thermo Electron’s expansion of its independent power business to ten operating plants in the US, Germany and the Czech Republic. He has a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Oregon State University and an M.B.A. degree from the University of Portland.

Joe Hansen has over twenty years of financial and accounting experience with both public and private companies.  Before joining Pacific Ethanol, Joe served as Chief Financial Officer of JosephScott Properties, Inc., National RV Holdings Inc. and Zacky Farms Co.  His financial and risk management expertise includes experience in grain and commodity markets and transportation related businesses.  Joe is a CPA and an attorney.  He holds a J.D. from Tulane University School of Law, an L.L.M.-Taxation from the NYU Graduate School of Law, and a BBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin - Madison. 

Christopher Wright is a senior lawyer and manager with over twenty-three years of experience. Prior to serving as partner with the global law firm Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, he served as Partner-in-Charge at the Pacific Northwest office of Cooley Godward, a leading Silicon Valley-based law firm. His career has involved advising boards of directors on compliance, securities matters, and strategic transactions, with a particular focus on guiding the development of fast growing companies. He has acted as general counsel for numerous technology enterprises in all aspects of corporate development, including fund-raising, business and technology acquisitions, mergers, and strategic alliances. He has degrees from Yale College and the University of Chicago Law School. 

Jeff Manternach joined PEI in June 2003 and is primarily focused on financing the company’s capital projects. For his first year at PEI, Jeff served as CFO of the company, performing the varied accounting and finance functions of the rapidly growing business. Prior to joining PEI, he was a financial consultant at Pacific Resources and focused on controllership projects. Jeff received his MBA with distinction and an MS in Natural Resources from the University of Michigan.

Terry Kulesa has twenty years of progressive management experience in the areas of operations, marketing, finance, sales, risk management, and supply chain. Since the 1990s, Terry has been taking ethanol plants from construction through start up, and has managed both ongoing operations and major expansions. He has also held plant management positions with Kraft and Borden. He has served on the board of the Renewable Fuels Association and has been active in the promotion of ethanol. Terry has a BS degree in Agriculture and Biosciences from South Dakota State University and has an MBA from the University of Minnesota.

Paul Koehler has over twenty years of experience in business development and marketing in the energy industry.  Prior to joining Pacific Ethanol in 2005, he served as Director of Business Development for PPM Energy, Inc., leading their efforts to develop and acquire several wind power projects.  Paul was also a co-founder of ReEnergy, one of the companies acquired by Pacific Ethanol. During the 1990s Paul worked for Portland General Electric and Enron in marketing and origination of long term transactions, risk management, and energy trading. Paul has a BA from the Honors College at the University of Oregon. 

Doug Dickson has been active in the commodity and feed business for thirty years. Prior to taking the role as President of Pacific Ag Products in May 2004, Doug was President of Westside Milling LLC, an Arizona-based grain milling company. He has also held positions in commodity merchandising with Cargill and Scoular Grain, and has held senior management positions with Foster Farms, Zacky Farms, and J.D. Heiskell. Doug is a 1975 graduate of the College of Agriculture at UC Davis and in 1995 graduated from the California Agricultural Leadership Program.

Greg DiBiase has over fifteen years of experience in the petroleum refining and marketing business. Prior to joining PEI, he was a Director of Light Product Supply and Trading for Tesoro Refining. He has also held positions in products scheduling and accounting with Tosco Corporation and Amerada Hess Corporation. As an ethanol purchaser, Greg gained extensive knowledge of product supply and demand throughout the fuel industry as well as familiarity with refineries, suppliers and transportation companies. Through Pacific Ethanol’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Kinergy Marketing, Greg sells ethanol to major oil companies as well as independent petroleum marketers. Greg is a 1991 graduate of Temple University.