Jack Porter – Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Porter is the one most experienced and knowledgeable executives in the United States in working with communities and local residents in identifying sites and organizing the structure and capital for ethanol plants. He has over 30 years of experience in the management of agricultural companies. He has substantial knowledge and experience with regard to equity and debt funding for ethanol plants, plant location parameters, plant management issues, plant board of director issues, local community commitment, plant organization, plant operations, marketing of ethanol, national ethanol usage issues, pricing, state and national legislative issues, environmental issues and vision of the future for ethanol.

Mr. Porter has been Vice President and a member of the National Board of Directors of the American Seed Trade Association, as well as Chairman of the Corn and Sorghum Division. In addition, he was a member of the Board of Directors of the U.S. Feed Grains Council and Chairman of the Public Relations Committee. From 1983 to 1998, after a 16 year career as an executive in the seed corn industry, when the ethanol industry began to grow and numerous plants were built in Minnesota and Nebraska, Mr. Porter has also been involved in consulting with and starting new companies. He was also active in diagnosing and solving problems of existing companies. In 2002, one of Mr. Porter’s consulting clients engaged Mr. Porter to conduct and prepare a comprehensive and detailed analysis of the status of the U.S. ethanol industry. As part of the analysis, Mr. Porter interviewed top management and production engineers at 25 of the 33 dry mill ethanol plants west of the Mississippi River.

Since January 2003, Mr. Porter has raised over $450 million in equity from community farmers and residents to build ethanol plants. In addition, he has worked with local and area banking institutions to arrange debt financing of $650 million for ethanol plants.

Mr. Porter graduated from the University of Nebraska in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.