In addition to joining Pilko as an Advisor, Bob continues to work as a self-employed advisor that provides technical assistance and problem-solving support to a wide variety of downstream refineries and petrochemical companies around the world.

Prior to embarking on his own, Bob worked for CITGO Petroleum, where he was site manager of the Lemont and the Lake Charles refineries. Prior to his departure, he was the EVP-Refining with responsibility for all three refineries, HSSE, Capital, and Planning & Optimization refining.

For more than 20 years, Bob worked with Koch Industries in a variety of roles including process engineer, manager of planning and economics, and as technical manager at both their St. Paul and Corpus Christi refineries. He also spent time in Wichita in the trading group, leading business development, and managing the overall optimization group for both refineries.

His background in process design and engineering were gained when he began his career with Chevron.

In addition to a BS in ChE from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA in Finance from the University of MN, Bob is a registered professional engineer in MN, a member of the board of directors for Sinclair Oil Company and participates on several advisory committees for smaller start-up companies.