Vaineri, H.

is president of Vainieri Consulting, a firm that he established in 2005. His consulting practice is based on more than 35 years of industrial experience, which includes research and development, plant operations, human resources, acquisitions and divestitures, and senior executive management roles in several of the oil sector’s most successful global companies. Dr. Vainieri has held posts such as senior vice president of Global Refining at BP, president and CEO at UOP, and senior vice president of R&D and Engineering at Yukos. His business travels have taken him all over the world, including postings in London, Madrid and Moscow. In 1999, Dr. Vainieri received the “Executive of the Year” award from World Refining magazine. He was also recognized as an outstanding alumnus by the Engineering School of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2003. He currently serves on the boards of Auterra in Schenectady, New York; Rive Technology in Princeton, New Jersey; and Chemrec in Stockholm, Sweden; as well as on the advisory boards of Near Miss Management, Maine Pointe, and the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering. Dr. Vainieri holds BS, MS and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, as well as an MBA degree from John Carroll University in Ohio.