Calumet announces the hiring of Interim CEO

Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. has announced that F. William Grube, the Partnership's Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is being promoted to the newly formed position of Executive Vice Chairman. As Executive Vice Chairman of the Partnership, Grube will continue to serve as an Executive Officer of the Partnership and remain actively engaged as an influential member of Calumet's Board of Directors. Concurrent with Grube's promotion and departure from the CEO position, the Partnership has hired Bill Hatch as Interim CEO. Both officers will assume their new roles effective 1 April 2015.

The Board has established a formal and rigorous process for its CEO succession planning in its pursuit of best practices in corporate governance. As part of this process, the Board has organised a CEO Search Committee composed of its independent directors, retained The Miles Group to assist in establishing the correct selection criteria and retained Spencer Stuart, one of the world's leading executive search consulting firms, to assist in identifying the most qualified successors to Grube from a pool of both internal and external candidates.

Hatch, 62, retired as Vice President Operations-Chief Operating Executive of CITGO Petroleum Corporation at the end of 2008. During his 33 year career at CITGO, Hatch was the leader of an executive team that developed the vision and implemented operating strategies, culture changes and technology enabling a major transformation of one of the nation's largest petroleum refining and marketing companies. The results were a streamlined operating group, which produced record branded marketing profitability in light oils and lubes and record utilisation and profitability in refining. During his tenure at CITGO, he championed and implemented a complete restructuring of CITGO's branded gasoline sales programme. As Refining Vice President, CITGO had the best safety and environmental compliance record in the company's history. He also managed the realignment and renegotiation to market based contracts, CITGO's aromatics, solvents and olefins sales contracts company wide. Hatch also directed CITGO's capital expenditures programmes, which included projects costing between US$500 and US$900 million/y. Hatch has a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Tulane University and a MBA from McNeese State University.

Grube, 67, co-founded Calumet Specialty Products Partners, L.P. with Fred M. Fehsenfeld, Jr, in 1990. Since that time, Grube has been a visionary leader who has helped to transform Calumet from a private, single asset specialty refiner to a NASDAQ listed, Fortune 500 company with over US$5 billion in annual sales, 14 manufacturing facilities and thousands of global customers. During Grube's tenure, Calumet has achieved record profitability and a consistent track record of returning value to limited partners.

"For the past 25 years, I have had the privilege to call Bill Grube my friend and business partner, a man who's core principles are hard work, humility, innovative thinking and teamwork," stated Fred M. Fehsenfeld, Jr, Calumet's Chairman of the Board. "His ability to cultivate and develop talented leaders within our organisation and a keen eye for identifying undervalued strategic acquisitions have been instrumental in helping Calumet to achieve profitable growth over the years. While he will be missed in his current role as CEO, we will continue to have the benefit of his wise counsel as Executive Vice Chairman of our Board of Directors. On behalf of our employees, customers and limited partners, I want to express my deepest gratitude for his outstanding service as CEO to the Partnership and willingness to continue to serve us in a new executive role concentrating around his unique strategic vision for the Partnership which will help assure our growth and prosperity in the future."

"Calumet is well positioned for the future, supported by a deep bench of talented leaders and a highly competitive asset base that positions the Partnership for long term growth," Grube said. "I believe we have the right people and resources to further our strategy of becoming a vertically integrated producer of specialty and fuels products throughout North America. As a Board, we will take the appropriate time to identify a new permanent CEO capable of successfully managing our organisation for many years to come, guided by a commitment to operational excellence, responsible stewardship and visionary leadership. I look forward to assisting with a seamless transition of my responsibilities as CEO to Hatch for an interim period as we seek to identify our new permanent CEO."

Adapted from press release by Rosalie Starling

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