Board of Directors

David Aldous joined the DMC Board of Directors in 2013 and became Chairman in 2018. He served as co-CEO from January through August 2023. He has over 35 years of corporate leadership experience in the energy, alternative energy, chemical and petrochemical industries. David previously served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Rive Technology Inc., a privately held provider of solutions for diffusion-limited reactions to the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Prior to joining Rive Technology in 2012, Aldous served as Chief Executive Officer and Director of Range Fuels Inc., a clean energy and biofuels company from 2009 to 2012. Aldous also spent more than 20 years employed by Royal Dutch Shell where he held the roles of Executive Vice President of Portfolio and Strategy, President of Shell Canada Products, and President and CEO of CRI/Criterion. Additionally, he served as Director and Chairman of several Shell joint ventures. Aldous holds a B.S. in fuels engineering from the University of Utah and an MBA with distinction from Northwestern University.

Robert Cohen has served as a DMC Director since February 2011. Since 2005, he has been the managing partner of Joranel LLC, a private investment and consulting firm serving institutional clients. Prior to joining Joranel, he spent four years as President and Chief Executive Officer of Korea First Bank. Previously, Cohen spent 25 years with Credit Lyonnais, including eight years as Chief Executive Officer of Credit Lyonnais USA. He taught economics and finance for 16 years at the Paris Institut Technique de Banque et Finance and the French School of Management (ESSEC). He is a graduate of Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and earned a doctorate in finance from the University Paris Dauphine.

Ruth Dreessen was appointed as a DMC Director in 2020. She has more than 25 years of experience in financial leadership roles, specifically in the chemical industry. She currently serves as independent Chairman of Gevo Inc., a renewable technology, chemical products and advanced biofuels company, where she is also a member of the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee, and she is Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Dreessen has served on the boards of eight public and private companies during her career and has chaired three audit committees. From 2010 to December 2018, Dreessen served as Managing Director of Lion Chemical Partners LLC, a private equity firm focused on chemical and related industries. From 2005 to 2010, she served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of TPC Group Inc. Before joining TPC Group, she served as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Director of Westlake Chemical Corporation. She spent 21 years at J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and predecessor companies, ultimately as a Managing Director of Chemicals Investment Banking. Dreessen received her undergraduate degree from the New College of Florida and holds a master’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.

Richard Graff has served as a DMC Director since 2007 before being appointed Interim Chairman of the Board in 2023. He is a retired partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he served as the audit leader in the United States for the mining industry until his retirement in 2001. Graff began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1973. Since his retirement, he has been a consultant to the mining industry and was a member of a Financial Accounting Standards Board task force for establishing accounting and financial reporting guidance in the mining industry. He represents a consortium of international mining companies and has provided recommendations to the International Accounting Standards Board on mining industry issues and to regulators on industry disclosure requirements of securities legislation. Graff serves on the board of directors of Yamana Gold Inc. and Alacer Gold Corporation. He received his undergraduate degree in economics from Boston College and his post-graduate degree in accounting from Northeastern University.

Michael Kelly was appointed as a DMC Director in July 2020. He is president of Sentry Hill Partners, LLC, a global life sciences transformation and management consulting business founded by Mr. Kelly in 2018. From 2003 to 2017, he held a variety of senior and executive leadership positions with Amgen Inc., one of the world’s largest independent biotechnology companies. From 2014 to 2017, he was Senior Vice President of Amgen’s Global Business Services division. He twice served as Amgen’s acting CFO, and also was Vice President of Commercial Operations, and Vice President and CFO of Amgen’s International Commercial Operations. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Kelly was CFO of publicly traded TANOX, Inc. He also held financial leadership positions with BIOGEN, Inc., and NutraSweet Kelco Company, a subsidiary of Monsanto Life Sciences. Mr. Kelly is an independent member of the board of directors for publicly traded Hookipa Pharma, Inc., where he also is the audit committee Chairman. He serves on the Council of Advisors and was the former audit committee Chairman for Direct Relief, a humanitarian aid organization active in all 50 U.S. states, and more than 80 countries. Mr. Kelly received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from Florida A&M University.

Michael Kuta was appointed DMC’s President, CEO and Director in August 2023. He previously was DMC’s interim co-CEO, a position he and DMC Chairman David Aldous jointly assumed in January 2023.  From 2014 to January 2023, Kuta was DMC’s Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining DMC, he held a variety of financial and executive leadership roles with The Lubrizol Corporation, a $6 billion business of Berkshire Hathaway, and at Lincoln Electric, a global leader in advanced welding equipment.   

Kuta is experienced in managing a variety of complex financing transactions and assisting in the development of long-range strategic business unit growth plans. He has expertise in integrating mergers and acquisitions, managing capital structure, debt and equity financing, building and developing financial teams, and providing financial and operational leadership. His industry experience spans industrial, energy and petrochemical sectors.

Kuta earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Kent State University. He is a CPA and holds a Master of Business Administration in finance from Case Western Reserve University.

James O’Leary was appointed to DMC’s board in November 2023, and brought nearly four decades of executive leadership, finance and board-level experience, principally in the construction and industrial manufacturing industries. He is on the board of directors of publicly traded Builders FirstSource, Inc., the nation’s largest supplier of structural building products, value-added components, and services to professionals in the construction, repair and remodeling industry. He has served as chairman of Kinematics, a global leader in creating motion control solutions for the utility-scale solar, satellite and industrials sectors since 2015; and as a director of privately held ProSource Plumbing Supply, a regional provider of value-added plumbing supplies for high-growth residential markets throughout the Southeast since 2022.

Mr. O’Leary previously served as chairman of publicly traded BMC Stock Holdings, Inc. prior to its merger with Builders FirstSource in 2021, after joining the board of BMC in 2014.  From 2017 to 2019, he was chairman and CEO of WireCo WorldGroup, the world's leading supplier of steel and synthetic rope and electromechanical cable. He previously served as chairman and CEO of Kaydon Corporation, Inc., a leading, publicly traded manufacturer of highly engineered industrial products from 2007 until its successful sale in 2013. He joined the board of Kaydon in 2005. 

Mr. O’Leary began his career at Deloitte & Touche LLP, and holds an M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.  He earned a B.B.A. from Pace University in New York and is a CPA in the state of New York.  

Peter Rose has served as a DMC Director since 2016. He was a Senior Advisor to Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager from 2016 to 2022. From 2007 to 2016, he was a Senior Managing Director with Blackstone and served as its Global Head of Public Affairs. Mr. Rose also spent 20 years with Goldman Sachs, where he was a Managing Director and held a variety of senior positions in government relations and media relations in Washington DC, New York and Hong Kong. Mr. Rose is currently a Senior Adviser to FGS Global, one of the leading strategic communications firms in the world. From 1983 to 1987 he was Chief of Staff to Congressman Mike Synar (D-Okla) and a partner with the law firm of Williams and Jensen in Washington DC. Mr. Rose is a graduate of The George Washington University and The Yale Law School. He serves on the national board of the NAACP, the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the United States. He is also on the board of the Poetry Society of America.

Ouma Sananikone joined DMC’s board of directors in 2023. She has more than 30 years of experience in finance, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions and investment management. She previously served as managing director of corporate strategy and development at BT Financial Group, a $50 billion asset management firm that included BT Asset Management, Rothschild Asset Management and Westpac Financial Services. She also served as CEO at Australia-based Aberdeen Asset Management Ltd and Equitilink Group.  Ms. Sananikone was CEO at Equitilink when it was acquired by Aberdeen and she played a key role in the integration of the two asset management firms.  

She is an independent member of the board of directors at publicly traded Hafnia Ltd., a $1.8 billion owner and operator of oil tankers; iA Financial Group, where she serves on the investment committee; and Innergex Renewable Energy, a renewable power producer, where she is an audit committee member. Ms. Sananikone received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and political science and a Master of Commerce degree in economics from New South Wales.