PERC president, CEO to retire in 2017

Willis

Roy Willis, president and CEO of the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), plans to retire July 31, 2017, the council announced at its meeting in Naples, Florida.

Willis became PERC’s first president on March 1, 1998, about eight months after the council held its first meeting. The Propane Education and Research Act of 1996 had authorized formation of the industry’s check-off program.

According to PERC Chairman Tom Van Buren, Willis guided the council through its startup phase, acquired and modernized the industry’s workforce training program, built an advertising campaign, transformed PERC during a federal government restriction into a propane commercialization organization and after the restriction reintegrated consumer education into PERC’s strategy.

“On reflection, it is amazing the challenges and opportunities Roy has helped lead us all through, and we should also remember his steady hand and voice to the market during the cold winter of 2013-14,” Van Buren says. “We recognize that Roy’s institutional knowledge, experience and public profile are valuable assets that, fortunately, will continue, with Roy serving in a consultant role for a brief time after the new CEO takes the reins.”

The PERC executive committee and Willis have been working for months on a succession plan, and a selection committee is in place to oversee the search for PERC’s next CEO, Van Buren adds. In addition to Van Buren, the selection committee is composed of:

• Drew Combs of CHS, PERC’s vice chairman of marketers
• Bruce Leonard of Targa, vice chairman of producers
• Rob Chalmers of Meritum Energy Holdings, treasurer
• Bob Barry of Bergquist, secretary
• Rob Freeman of Freeman Gas, councilor
• Gene Bissell, councilor, retired CEO of AmeriGas and former National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) chairman
• Stuart Weidie of Blossman Gas, NPGA chairman

NPGA President and CEO Rick Roldan, GPA Midstream Association President and CEO Mark Sutton and Willis will also serve as advisers to the committee.

The first step for the committee will be to select a search firm to evaluate candidates, Van Buren says. The search will be open to qualified people from inside and outside the propane industry, he adds.

“It’s been the highlight of my career to work with the men and women of America’s propane industry, and especially those who have served on the council and the advisory committee, and those who worked with me on the PERC staff,” Willis says. “They will always have a special place in my heart. Still, as the Scriptures remind us, ‘For every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.’ I look forward to the coming season.”