WASHINGTON, March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Advanced BioFuels Association announced today that its member companies elected a Chairman and Vice Chairman of its Board of Directors at its Winter Board Meeting in Washington D.C.  The members unanimously elected Lee Edwards, CEO of Virent Energy Systems, as Chairman and Robert M. Ames, Vice President and General Manager of Tyson Foods, as Vice Chairman.

"Our member companies have great confidence in these two leaders and their abilities to help strengthen and grow the ABFA as it quickly positions itself as 'the' voice for the advanced biofuels industry," said ABFA President Michael McAdams.

The Advanced BioFuels Association engages lawmakers to ensure consistent and fair public policies on the state and federal level as the groundbreaking technologies of its member companies face various economic and regulatory obstacles in the pursuit of commercialization.   Its member companies hold the promise to achieving America's energy and economic security for future generations.

"It is a great honor to serve the members of the ABFA as they represent the leading edge of the next great technology revolution," said Chairman of the ABFA Board of Directors Lee Edwards. "We are proof that American ingenuity and entrepreneurship will prove to be the real winners in a Green economy as we create new clean energy jobs and open up new economic markets."

Robert M. Ames, Vice Chairman of the ABFA Board of Directors, added, "We believe it's vitally important to our nation's renewable energy efforts that the ABFA help provide a greater understanding of advanced biofuels and encourage lawmakers to develop public policy that is technology neutral and does not pick one alternative over another."

Lee Edwards, CEO of Virent Energy Systems, based in Madison, Wisconsin.  Virent is commercializing its patented BioForming^® platform that converts a variety of biomass feedstocks into fungible premium green gasoline, jet fuel and diesel.  Virent counts Cargill and Honda among its leading investors and Royal Dutch Shell as a strategic collaboration partner to commercialize the production of advanced renewable fuels.    Edwards brings 25 years of global energy leadership and petroleum industry experience to Virent and the ABFA.  He was most recently CEO of BP Solar and has held numerous executive positions at BP.  Edwards earned a MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University.

Robert M. Ames, Tyson Foods VP and General Manager, is responsible for commercializing Tyson Foods' portfolio of renewable energy initiatives.  These include an alliance with ConocoPhillips and a joint venture with Syntroleum Corporation called Dynamic Fuels, which is constructing the first commercial scale advanced biofuels plant in North America.  Prior to this position, he served in a variety of management roles within Tyson Foods. Outside of Tyson Foods he serves on a joint USDA/DOE panel advising the Secretaries on biofuel research and development.  He earned a BA from the University of St. Thomas and a MBA from the Yale School of Management where he was a John M. Olin Foundation fellow.

SOURCE Advanced Biofuels Association

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