The Opportunity
American Refining Group (ARG) is a family-owned refining company located in Bradford, Pennsylvania - the birthplace of the U.S. domestic oil industry. Employing over 340 people and with a capacity of 11,000 barrels per day, ARG runs the longest continuously operating refinery in North America. ARG stocks are converted into high-quality waxes, lubricant base oils, gasoline and fuels, as well as a wide variety of specialty products, whilst state-of-the-art blending and packaging facilities produce a full spectrum of finished lubricants.

In 2023, President & COO Jon Giberson informed the board of his intention to retire. Despite competition from public-listed executive search firms, Bramhall & Co was engaged to identify Mr. Giberson’s successor. Managing Director, Joe Redfearn, has personally sourced outstanding talent for ARG over the last 5+ years, including leadership positions such as Vice President of Operations, Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Director of Engineering and more. This long-standing partnership is based upon shared values of excellence, integrity, trust and out-of-the-box thinking. We pride ourselves on our ability to forge genuine relationships and deep understanding of our clients’ businesses, evidenced by our ongoing successful collaboration with ARG. We were therefore the natural choice to lead this search project. 

Our Approach
To gain true understanding and appreciation for our clients and their hiring needs, Bramhall & Co places heavy emphasis on comprehensive briefing. As such, we flew out to Bradford to meet the ARG team, touring the refinery and conducting individual discussions with the board and executive leaders during our week-long stay. This enabled us to create a well-informed basis for the search, clarifying the necessary background, experience and human skills required. Having also explored the local area, we gained a holistic view of the opportunity from a candidate’s perspective. Through our commitment to in-depth research, we collectively arrived at a clear vision for the project with ARG.

The brief was undoubtedly challenging. ARG required a President & COO experienced across both the commercial and operational functions of the downstream oil industry. The successful candidate needed to be a visionary, capable of working with the ownership and board to define ARG’s strategic direction, whilst also being a strong tactical leader in continuing the safe, sustainable and reliable running of the refinery. Candidates with this combined skillset and experience are rare, and so our extensive industry network proved invaluable in identifying them.

Based on the brief, we conducted thorough market research to select a longlist of candidates. Utilsing non-disclosure agreements to ensure confidentiality, we approached and screened the targeted individuals prior to providing them with a bespoke briefing pack, offering our detailed insight into ARG and the opportunity. Candidates were rigorously assessed, including the use of Hogan psychometric testing, following which a shortlist of first-class talent was presented to the board. Bramhall & Co then consulted with ARG’s Vice President of HR to design an effective and efficient interview process, including virtual meetings, an onsite interview and a tour of the local area.


The Results
The extensive global search process was successfully completed in February 2024. Challenges along the way were unavoidable - an initially selected candidate unfortunately withdrew from the process due to unexpected personal circumstances. However, we remained focused, renewed our efforts, and quickly went on to identify an exceptionally well-suited leader in Mr. Ryan Krogmeier. Prior to joining ARG, Krogmeier served in various leadership roles at Chevron, including Vice President, Crude Oil and Supply and Trading, and was most recently Senior Vice President for Refining, Supply, Trading and HSE at Parkland Corporation.

The ARG team were delighted with this result. Having commenced duties on 1st April, we wish Ryan the best in this new chapter and look forward to our continued partnership with ARG.

Client Feedback
“Thank YOU (Bramhall & Co) for providing us with such a great choice of candidates despite the many headwinds, and for representing ARG so well to all those you engaged”.
- Neil Halloran, Chairman of the Board

“Thanks for all your efforts... I am very appreciative of your respect of ARG’s values and how you incorporated our values in your search”. 
- Jeannine Schoenecker, Board Member and Former President & COO

“Especially appreciate the terrific coordination with the committee and the way you restarted the second process with even more effort and efficiency”.
- Kathryn Coffey, Board Member