Co-Founder John Keppler Rejoins Enviva Inc. as Executive Chairman of the Board
March 31, 2023
BETHESDA, Md. -- Enviva Inc. announced that John Keppler is returning to the Company as Executive Chairman, effective April 1, 2023. Thomas Meth will continue to lead the Company as President and Chief Executive Officer, and the Company's interim Chairman, Ralph Alexander, will transition to the role of Lead Independent Director of the Board.
Today's announcement is consistent with the Board of Directors' (the "Board") governance plan as announced in November 2022, when Mr. Keppler stepped down from his role as Chairman and CEO of Enviva to address a heart condition. With Mr. Keppler's recovery and rehabilitation following heart surgery well underway, he is returning to the Company to support his co-founding partner and CEO, Thomas Meth. As Executive Chairman, in cooperation with Mr. Meth, Mr. Keppler is expected to help drive strategic corporate initiatives, growth, and interaction with key capital markets and financial stakeholders.
"I am very happy to welcome John back to Enviva. With his two decades of executive and Board leadership, he will help take our incredible enterprise to the next level and deliver on its potential. He is deeply respected by the Board, our management team and associates, and our key financial partners, and we are thrilled to see him rejoin the Company in good health," said Thomas Meth, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As our CEO for nearly 18 years, John led the Company's growth from our humble beginnings as a small start-up to a highly valued publicly traded, global enterprise. I look forward to working closely with him in his new capacity as Executive Chairman," Meth continued.
"As I shared in November, Thomas, the Board, and the leadership team are executing a proven model and business strategy to create significant value for all of our stakeholders. I look forward to rejoining my colleagues in this new leadership capacity to help Enviva unlock the tremendous opportunities inherent in our business," said Keppler. "Most immediately, I look forward to seeing many of our equity and debt investors at our upcoming investor day in April, and to reengaging consistently and frequently with our financial stakeholders thereafter."
Ralph Alexander, who has been a member of the Board since 2013 and led the original private equity investment in Enviva in 2010, will transition to Lead Independent Director effective April 1, 2023, and will focus on supporting the business' operational excellence and continue to serve as Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. "We are incredibly thankful for Ralph's support and leadership over the last few months as we transitioned and navigated through a pivotal time, not just for Enviva, but also for our industry and the global energy landscape," added Meth. "I am delighted that we'll continue to benefit from his expertise and leadership as Lead Independent Director," concluded Meth.
Mr. Meth, Mr. Keppler, and Mr. Alexander each participated in the Company's recently announced - and now closed - PIPE transaction which yielded aggregate net proceeds of approximately $246 million to the Company. The PIPE was led by affiliates of Enviva's two largest stockholders, Riverstone Holdings LLC and Inclusive Capital Partners, and included BTG Pactual as well as members of the Board and of Enviva's management. For more information about this transaction, refer to the Company's March 1st announcement here.
About Enviva
Enviva Inc. (NYSE: EVA) is the world's largest producer of industrial wood pellets, a renewable and sustainable energy source produced by aggregating a natural resource, wood fiber, and processing it into a transportable form, wood pellets. Enviva owns and operates ten plants with a combined production capacity of approximately 6.2 million metric tons per year in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi, and is constructing its 11th plant in Epes, Alabama. Additionally, Enviva is planning to commence construction of its 12th plant, near Bond, Mississippi. Enviva sells most of its wood pellets through long-term, take-or-pay off-take contracts with primarily creditworthy customers in the United Kingdom, the European Union, and Japan, helping to accelerate the energy transition and to defossilize hard-to-abate sectors like steel, cement, lime, chemicals, and aviation. Enviva exports its wood pellets to global markets through its deep-water marine terminals at the Port of Chesapeake, Virginia, the Port of Wilmington, North Carolina, and the Port of Pascagoula, Mississippi, and from third-party deep-water marine terminals in Savannah, Georgia, Mobile, Alabama, and Panama City, Florida.
To learn more about Enviva, please visit our website at www.envivabiomass.com. Follow Enviva on social media @Enviva.
