BIOGRAPHY

Angie has 28 years of experience working in the oil and gas business, primarily focused on sulphur recovery and sour gas treating. She has served as sulphur technology manager for two of the world’s leading sulphur technology licensing firms and has been involved in the delivery of several world-class projects. In 2014, Angie initiated an owner’s engineering focused consulting business, UniverSUL Consulting, based in Abu Dhabi, which has since been relocated to the USA.

Angie has published numerous papers, is a member of several international conference committees, and previously served on the Board of Directors for ASRL (2013-2023).  Angie received her BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kansas in 1996 and MBA from Hult International Business School (Dubai, UAE) in 2018.  

In her free time, Angie enjoys distance running; she completed the Abbot Marathon World Majors (Berlin, Boston, Chicago London, New York, Tokyo) in 2021.   

BIOGRAPHY

Elmo Nasato is a process engineer specializing in sulfur recovery, amine treating and sour water processing. He has 35 years' experience including design, retrofit, start-up and optimization, On-site field activities have included support of construction activities, turnaround assistance and operator training. Elmo graduated from the University of Waterloo, Canada with a B.A.Sc. Chemical Engineering (1987) with an option in Management Science. He is the president of Nasato Consulting Ltd. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for Alberta Sulphur Research, Technical Advisory Committee for the Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference, and the Brimstone Sulfur Symposium Technical Advisory Committee. He has eight patents for SRU operation, oxygen enrichment and sulfur degassing technologies, has published 42 papers and has made over 74 presentations at conferences worldwide.

BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

Willis joined CRU in February 2017 with more than five years in metals sales, production, and procurement activities. As Head of CRU+ he is responsible for a team focused on efficiently delivering CRU data and custom reports which fall outside of the subscription or consultancy/advisory service offerings.Before moving to CRU+, he managed consulting projects across a wide range of mined commodities, metals and fertilizers. Willis has significant experience in ferroalloys (silicon, manganese, vanadium & niobium), steel metallics and raw materials, base & minor metals (zinc, tin, germanium), as well as broad coverage across fertilizer markets for nitrogen, phosphorus, potash and sulphur.Willis holds a Masters in Finance from Colorado State University and a BA in Political Science from Washington & Jefferson College. Willis is based in CRU's Pittsburgh office.

BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Rene LeBlanc has over 20+ years of experience in a variety of development and production operations as well as commercial experience in supply chain development for the energy storage industry. He currently leads the growth and product development areas for Lithium Americas.Previous experience has been managing efforts to develop supplies of critical materials for Tesla Inc., and after a decade on lithium production projects for FMC Corporation’s Lithium Division.Rene earned his Bachelors and PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Carolina.

BIOGRAPHY

Christopher Larson leads Global Operations for Lithium Americas Corporation (LAC) with a focus on improving and expanding operations as well as developing new opportunities utilizing LAC’s technology in the Lithium Market. Prior to joining LAC, he was the Vice President of Supply Chain and Operations for Arysta LifeScience. He has held several other roles in the Specialty Chemical and Consumer Products industry in his 30+ year career focused on Process Technology, Chemicals/Specialty Chemicals, Mining, Operations, Product Development, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Corporate Strategy and Analysis. He has also worked for Dow Chemical and L’Oreal. He holds an MS from Columbia University and Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

BIOGRAPHY

Frank has over two decades of experience in the mining industry, holding senior leadership roles across strategy, market intelligence, metallurgy, digital transformation, and global commercial operations. During his time at Vale Base Metals, Frank led initiatives that improved Vale Base Metals’ commercial operations, including overseeing global logistics, optimizing contract management, and implementing digital transformation projects that enhanced operational efficiency and provided valuable strategic insights.

In his strategic planning and market intelligence roles, Frank helped shape Vale Base Metals’ approach to commodities such as nickel, copper, and cobalt, supporting the company's involvement in the energy transition and electric vehicle markets. His expertise guided commercial strategies and engaged investors and stakeholders through clear, forward-looking narratives about the future of these commodities.

Now serving as Vice President for Base and Battery Metals in North America at CRU, Frank focuses on providing thought leadership and strategic guidance to support the commodity value chain as it adapts to meet the demands of a sustainable energy future. He holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mineral Processing from the University of Toronto and an MBA specializing in Strategic Planning and Industrial Relations from York University. Frank’s extensive background in both the technical and strategic aspects of the industry makes him well-positioned to address the opportunities and challenges in the evolving mining and metals landscape.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Harrisson has worked on CRU’s Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid analysis since joining the company in early 2011 and is Head of the Sulphur team. He also works across other nutrient areas, including both market and cost analysis. Prior to joining CRU, Dr Harrisson completed a PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Durham University.

BIOGRAPHY

Dr Harrisson has worked on CRU’s Sulphur and Sulphuric Acid analysis since joining the company in early 2011 and is Head of the Sulphur team. He also works across other nutrient areas, including both market and cost analysis. Prior to joining CRU, Dr Harrisson completed a PhD in Industrial Chemistry at Durham University.

BIOGRAPHY

BIOGRAPHY

Craig Jorgenson is a member of TSI's senior staff, serving as director of transportation, regulatory affairs and operations. Mr Jorgenson joined TSI after a 25-year career with the US military. Jorgenson brings to TSI vast experience in the intermodal transportation sector, past affiliation with non-profit associations, and global expertise in his field. During his career, he has led various teams focused on strategic planning and project management in aspects of logistics and supply chain operations. Mr Jorgenson holds degrees from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Indiana University and the National Defense University.

BIOGRAPHY

Dan’s 30+ years of worldwide heavy industrially focused engineering experience encompasses a wide range of industries and commodities.   For the past 13 years he has served as Vice President of Manufacturing for Georgia Gulf Sulfur improving systems, workforce and safety while ensuring the constant quality of manufacturing their ground, formed and liquid sulfur products.  He oversees all aspects of manufacturing throughout their 3 facilities including design/management of all projects, troubleshooting/continuous improvement, safety, and the ISO 9001 Program.   Dan and Robin have 2 kids (Chesley and Andrew), 3 cats and a dog.  Dan is very involved in Scouting America as a Council Commissioner and will be running the Mountain Biking Program at the 2026 National Jamboree.

BIOGRAPHY

Jay is a Senior Sulfur Technology Leader for Chevron’s Refineries and Chemical Plants. After graduating from Mississippi State University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Jay worked in various process engineering, process control, and capital project roles at Shell Oil and Chevron. He has been at the Pascagoula, Mississippi refinery since 1998, starting in the Process Engineering group. Jay serves as Task Group Chairman for API-565, Board of Directors for Alberta Sulfur Research Ltd, and Leader of the Amine Best Practices Group.

BIOGRAPHY

Aleksandr joined EuroChem in 2021 and has since led major strategic and business transformation initiatives in the Brazilian subsidiary and at the Group level. Most recently, he served as Strategy Director at EuroChem Brazil and Head of Commercial Strategy for EuroChem Group, spearheading projects across Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. Before that Aleksandr held key strategy roles at companies such as General Electric, Chelpipe Group, and Petrovax.   

BIOGRAPHY

Steve Puricelli is currently the Senior Technical Director at InterAcid, a sulfuric acid logistics and marketing company. Over the course of his career, he has designed, started up and analyzed operating problems on a wide variety of sulfuric acid plants. He has also worked to bring several new technologies from the laboratory to commercial operation. Mr Puricelli also had P&L responsibility for several businesses and was a member of the MECS management team for many years. In the early days of his career, Mr Puricelli worked in a support and operating role at a manufacturing company that produced nitrogen fertilizers, flexible urethanes (Toluene diisocyanate) and sulfuric acid. He has a BS in Chemical Engineering from Missouri S&T and a Masters of Business Administration from Washington University in St. Louis.

BIOGRAPHY

Viviana Alvarado is a market analyst based in CRU’s London Office. She joined CRU in February 2023 as part of the sulphur and sulphuric fertilizer team. She has a background in Economics and holds an MSc (Distinction) in Development Economics from the University of Sussex. Before joining CRU, Viviana worked as an economic analyst at the tax administration of Colombia.