Board of Directors

Mr. Cowart has served as our Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President since April 2009. Mr. Cowart has been involved in the petroleum recycling industry for over 30 years. Mr. Cowart is the founder of the Vertex group of companies and has served such companies since 2001. As a leader in the recycling field, Mr. Cowart helped pioneer the reclamation industry by developing recycling options for many residual materials once managed as a hazardous waste. Mr. Cowart has served on NORA's Board of Directors and as President in 2008. Mr. Cowart was a finalist for the 2015, Gulf Coast Area, EY Entrepreneur Of The Year®. Mr. Cowart has taken an active role in the petroleum industry with his involvement in speaking, consulting, chairing, and serving on various committees and industry associations. Prior to the formation of Holdings, Mr. Cowart served as the Vice President of Aaron Oil Company, a regional recycler in Alabama.

Mr. Borgen currently serves as Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of U.S. Development Group LLC (“USD”), where he has worked since May of 1995. In his current role, Mr. Borgen guides all senior aspects of USD’s corporate activities. USD is comprised of wholly owned subsidiaries that focus on industrial development, logistics, products terminaling, power corridors, financial services and gasification. In addition to his work with USD, Mr. Borgen has served as President of U.S. Right-of-Way Corporation since June 1993. Prior to this, Mr. Borgen worked for 11 years as an investment banker serving as Merger & Acquisition Director, Portfolio Manager and as a member of the Executive Committee for strategic planning and development. His activities were focused on manufacturing, food service, oil and gas exploration/production, telecommunications, banking and Western European finance. In his capacity as an investment banker, Mr. Borgen served as Vice President of The Oxford Group from July 1990 to June 1993, Vice President/Principal of The Paramount Companies from July 1985 to April 1990 and Manager – Investor Relations of Invoil Inc. from April 1982 to June 1985.

Ms. Maston has decades of experience representing clients in complex environmental, energy, contract, fiduciary, and other cutting-edge legal matters. After graduating magna cum laude with her Bachelor of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Missouri-Columbia, Ms. Maston worked at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Following her tenure at Mayo Clinic, Ms. Maston joined Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, Texas as the Assistant Director of Occupational Therapy (1978-1979), and then became the Director of Occupational Therapy for St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Texas Heart Institute (1979-1984). Ms. Maston graduated from The University of Texas Law School with a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1986 and began her legal career with the global law firm of Baker Botts L.L.P. During her 17-year tenure at Baker Botts, she was elected as an equity partner. Ms. Maston accepted a position as a partner with the environmental boutique law firm Connelly Baker Maston Wotring and Jackson from 2003 to 2007. Ms. Maston continued as a partner in private practice, including serving as the managing partner of the Houston office of the international law firm of Sedgwick, L.L.P., and was a member of the firm’s executive committee. Ms. Maston left private practice in 2015 to accept a position with the Department of Justice serving as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, which position she held from January 2015 to October 2018. Ms. Maston is currently licensed to practice law in the states of Mississippi, Texas, and West Virginia and as an Occupational Therapist in Nebraska and Texas. She is a supporter of the arts and has served as an advisory board member of Children at Risk and the Houston Grand Opera. The Board of Directors believes that Ms. Maston is well qualified to serve on the Board of Directors because of her significant legal and management experience.

Mr. Khoury joined Shell Oil Products US Company in 1991 and at the time of his retirement in late 2021, Mr. Khoury served as the Regional Vice President of Commercial – Fuels Supply, Distribution & Trading– Americas, and was a member of Shell’s Global Products Trading & Supply Executive Leadership team. During his most recent 5+ year tenure, he led all regional commercial, supply, and logistics activities across 35 clean fuels terminals, including P&L management, value chain optimization, price risk management, business development and origination, bio/renewable fuels program compliance and optimization, and overall leadership of Shell’s US Downstream Fuels integrated business units. Prior to that, Mr. Odeh served as Vice President & General Manager of the Motiva Convent, Louisiana Refinery on behalf of Motiva Enterprises LLC (a former JV between Shell Oil Products & Saudi Aramco) (“Motiva”). From 2011 to 2013, Mr. Khoury held the position of Senior Operations Director for the Motiva & Shell Norco, Louisiana Petrochemical Complex, where he provided senior operations leadership for three separate sites (Fuels Refinery, Olefins Complex and Bitumen Refinery). Previously in 2009-2010, Mr. Khoury served as the US Gulf Coast Regional Director of Strategic Business Improvement - Refining & Chemicals for Shell Oil Products US Co., where he was responsible for strategic improvements across their refining and chemicals portfolio. In the preceding three years, Mr. Khoury served as Director - Strategy & Business Development for Supply & Distribution with Motiva, where he led business development and fuels/biofuels distribution strategy and managed third party commercial contracts and relationships. From 1991 to 2005, Mr. Khoury held various technical, operational, and commercial roles with Shell Oil Products US Co. Between 2011 and 2021, Mr. Khoury served on several boards and trade associations, including Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association (LMOGA), Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA), National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), First Coast Energy LLC in Jacksonville, FL., TriStar Energy LLC in Nashville, Tennessee and most recently served as Shell’s Executive Member on American Petroleum Institute (API) Downstream Committee. Mr. Khoury obtained his Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Maryland and an MBA from Rice University in Houston, Texas. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Khoury is well qualified to serve on the Board of Directors due to his more than 30 years of experience in the downstream and midstream energy industry. Mr. Khoury brings to the Board significant insight, extensive technical, operational, and commercial expertise, as well as broad executive and general management experience.

Mr. Harvey served as a Vice President of Oil Trading at Westport Petroleum, Inc. (“Westport”), which operates in the petroleum trading, blending and transportation industries, from November 1987 to June 2012, during which time he specialized in Black Oil trading. From May 1986 to October 1987, Mr. Harvey served in an oil trading position with Shell International, providing services in throughput trading and sourcing. From May 1984 to May 1986, Mr. Harvey served as a supply trading analyst with Shell Oil Company. From June 1980 to May 1984, Mr. Harvey served as a logistics analyst with Shell Chemical Company. Mr. Harvey obtained his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville in Business Marketing and Transportation in 1980.

Mr. Gregory currently serves as the General Counsel of the Company and was appointed as the Secretary of the Company on December 12, 2022 (taking over for Chris Carlson, the Chief Financial Officer of the Company). Previously Mr. Gregory served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Company since July 2014, and as the General Counsel of Vertex Refining Nevada since May 2014. Mr. Gregory is currently a Manager/Partner at Gregory & Plotkin, LLC, a law firm located in Denver, Colorado, a position he has held since November 2002. Prior to forming Gregory & Plotkin, LLC, Mr. Gregory had served as a partner and associate with various law firms in Denver, Colorado and Detroit, Michigan since 1974. Mr. Gregory’s forty years of legal experience in the private practice of law has been focused on tax, transactional work, structuring, and finance. From 1990 to present, Mr. Gregory has served as counsel to Global Environment Fund (“GEF”), a registered investment advisor and private equity fund management group with almost $1 billion under management with a focus on environmentally beneficial goods, services and technologies concentrating on emerging market countries. Since 1997, Mr. Gregory has served on the Board of Directors of GEF. Mr. Gregory has served on the Board of Directors of Omega Holdings Company, LLC (“Omega”) and several of its subsidiaries including Omega Refining, LLC, Bango Refining NV, LLC and Golden State Lubricant Works, LLC since May 2008. Omega is involved in the refining, blending and marketing of lubricants and fuels. The Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Omega in March 2014, and consummated the initial closing thereunder in May 2014. Between April 2010 and May 2012, Mr. Gregory served as a member of the Board of Directors of Nutrinsic, Inc., a wastewater processing company. Mr. Gregory also owns and operates two Egg & I restaurants in Denver, Colorado. Mr. Gregory is licensed to practice law in Colorado, Michigan and in the District of Columbia and holds a Master of Laws (in Taxation) from New York University Law School (1976), a Juris Doctorate from Wayne State University Law School (1974), and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Michigan (1971). Director Qualifications: Mr. Gregory has had a long and successful career with various law firms with extensive experience in tax, transactional work, structuring, and finance. In addition to his extensive legal experience, Mr. Gregory served on the Board of Directors of Omega Holdings Company, LLC which was involved in the refining, blending and marketing of lubricants and fuels. As such, we believe Mr. Gregory is highly qualified to serve as the General Counsel of the Company.

Appointed to Vertex’s Board of Directors on August 23, 2024, Mr. Jeffrey S. Stein is an accomplished corporate executive and director with extensive experience in both public and private companies. He has held various leadership roles, including Executive Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Restructuring Officer. Additionally, Mr. Stein has served on audit, compensation, corporate governance, finance, restructuring, and risk committees, including as Chairman of those committees.

Mr. Stein is Founder and Managing Partner of Stein Advisors LLC, a financial advisory firm that provides consulting services to public and private companies and institutional investors. 

Previously, Mr. Stein was a Co-Founder and Principal of Durham Asset Management LLC, a global event-driven distressed debt and special situations equity asset management firm. From January 2003 through December 2009, Mr. Stein served as Co-Director of Research at Durham responsible for the identification, evaluation, and management of investments for the various Durham portfolios. Mr. Stein was a member of the Executive and Investment Committees at Durham responsible for oversight of the management company and investment funds, development and execution of the investment strategy, portfolio composition and risk management. Launched in 2003 with $50.0 million in assets under management, Durham successfully grew to $1.5 billion in total assets under management across its core hedge fund and collateralized loan obligation strategies.

From July 1997 to December 2002, Mr. Stein served as Co-Director of Research at The Delaware Bay Company, Inc., a boutique research and investment banking firm focused on the distressed debt and special situations equity asset classes.

From September 1991 to August 1995, Mr. Stein was an Associate and Assistant Vice President at Shearson Lehman Brothers in the Capital Preservation & Restructuring Group.

Mr. Stein currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Ambac Financial Group, Inc. Mr. Stein previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Restructuring Officer of Rite Aid Corporation and GWG Holdings, Inc. and as Chief Restructuring Officer of Liberty Steel Group Holdings Pte. Ltd., Whiting Petroleum Corporation, Philadelphia Energy Solutions, LLC and Westmoreland Coal Company.

Mr. Stein received a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University and an M.B.A. with Honors in Finance and Accounting from New York University.