Alphabetical Directory of Significant Characters in Kochland
Antrich, Darrell. Former electricity trader for Koch Energy Trading. Antrich was involved in Koch’s “parking” trades during the energy crisis in California in 2000.
Ballen, Ken. Attorney hired by the US Senate to investigate Koch’s theft of oil in Indian reservations during the 1980s. Ballen uncovered extensive evidence of the theft and referred it to the US Attorney’s office in Oklahoma City.
Barnard, Don. Labor negotiator for Georgia-Pacific. He represented the company in drawn-out negotiations that were among the first after Koch Industries purchased Georgia-Pacific.
Beckett, Melissa. Koch Industries commodities trader. Beckett traded gasoline and fuel products, learning the “contango storage play” and other strategies. She later shifted to the Koch Energy Trading desk, where she traded megawatt-hours in the California market. She finally went to the fertilizer trading group, where she worked for Chase Koch.
Bingel, Kelly. Democratic lobbyist who represented Koch Industries as it sought to derail the cap-and-trade bill in 2010.
Brady, Maria. Tea Party activist from Boiling Springs, South Carolina. Brady became politically active after receiving a revelation from God. Her group helped unseat Republican Congressman Bob Inglis. Her Tea Party chapter’s efforts were promoted by Americans for Prosperity.
Bucknum, Gary. Former local labor union president at the Inlandboatmen’s Union, or IBU, at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Bucknum didn’t work for Georgia-Pacific but joined the union from a different company it represented. He joined in 2008, at the same time as Steve Hammond. Bucknum negotiated one drawn-out negotiation against Georgia-Pacific and did not seek reelection. Also known as “Gary the Anarchist.”
Cordes, Don. Koch Industries’ general counsel throughout the 1980s and 1990s. During that time, he was vice president of legal and the corporate affairs chief legal officer. He joined the company’s board of directors in 1996. Cordes was Charles Koch’s legal advisor as the US Senate investigated Koch’s oil theft in Oklahoma and as Bill Koch waged a multiyear legal war against Charles Koch.
David, Steve. Manager of environmental engineering at the Pine Bend refinery in the mid-1990s. Oversaw the work of whistle-blower Heather Faragher during the period when Pine Bend released ammonia into the surrounding environment.
Davis, Gray. Governor of California during the electricity crisis of 2000. The crisis ended Davis’s political career.
Dodge, Brian. Local labor union president at the Inlandboatmen’s Union, or IBU, at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Dodge was Steve Hammond’s boss and was elected to the position after his predecessor, Gary Bucknum, resigned. Dodge negotiated multiple labor contracts with Koch Industries but felt that he had no leverage. Also known as “the Dodger.”
Dubose, Phil. Longtime Koch employee who joined the company in 1968. Dubose spent many years as an oil gauger, collecting oil for Koch’s pipeline system. Dubose used the Koch method of oil collection, in which he intentionally mismeasured the oil supplies for Koch’s benefit.
Ebell, Myron. Scholar with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think tank funded by Koch Industries and other energy companies. Ebell has spoken out against “climate hysteria” and regulatory efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Ebell led transition efforts at the EPA for the Trump administration.
Ellender, Philip. President and CEO of Koch Industries’ lobbying office, called Koch Companies Public Sector. Ellender began as a lobbyist in Louisiana and transferred later to Washington, DC. He was unusual among lobbyists because of his embrace of Koch’s MBM theories. He was known as a “Wichita guy,” rather than a Washington guy. Helped lead Koch’s lobbying efforts to derail the cap-and-trade bill in 2010.
Elroy, James. Special agent of the FBI, based in Oklahoma. He was the primary FBI investigator into Koch’s oil theft in Oklahoma, surveilling the company’s employees. Elroy later assisted the US Attorney’s office in Oklahoma City as it investigated the theft. After leaving the FBI, Elroy was employed by Bill Koch as Koch pursued a civil suit against Koch Industries for oil theft.
Estes, Ruth. Assistant safety chief at the Pine Bend refinery in the mid-1990s, intimately involved in decision-making around the release of ammonia into the environment.
Feilmeier, Steve. Chief financial officer of Koch Industries from the mid-2000s until present day. Feilmeier held that position during many of Koch’s major acquisitions and helped train Chase Koch when Chase joined the company after college.
Franklin, Cris. Koch Industries trader. Franklin began in Koch’s pipeline division, helping design software systems to manage complex gas flows. He later shifted to trading financial products. He was on a financial products trading desk during the crash of 2008.
Franzen, David. Warehouse worker at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Longtime member of the Inlandboatmen’s Union, or IBU. He was on the committee that negotiated a labor contract with Georgia-Pacific, and believed that doing so forever tainted his reputation with managers. He was known as something of a brawler.
Hall, Bradley. Longtime Koch Industries employee who joined the firm in 1975. Hall rose up through the ranks of finance and deal making at Koch, eventually running the corporate development group, which evaluated potential acquisitions. He later became CFO of Koch Supply & Trading before leaving the company in 2004.
Hammerschmidt, Joseph. Militant leader of the OCAW labor union at the Pine Bend refinery who led the strike against Koch in 1972.
Hammond, Steve. Union official with the Inlandboatmen’s Union, or IBU, at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Hammond was from Portland and worked at the warehouse since graduating from high school. He ran for election as a union leader after his work life at the warehouse became increasingly miserable. Hammond was the deputy negotiator in several contract negotiations with Koch, each one less successful than the last. He retired in 2016, after negotiating a contract that was deeply dissatisfying to the union members. Also known as “the Hammer.”
Hanna, Bill. Former president of Koch Industries during the late 1980s and a close associate of Charles Koch’s.
Hannan, Jim. Koch Industries executive who joined the company in 1998 as a finance executive. Hannan later joined a deal-making group and was instrumental in the Georgia-Pacific acquisition, the largest in Koch’s history. He joined Georgia-Pacific and became CEO of the company. He was later promoted to CEO of Koch Enterprises, a large division of the company that includes Georgia-Pacific, Invista, Molex, and other assets. He is seen as a candidate to become CEO after Charles Koch leaves the company.
Hoffmann, David. Senior compliance attorney at Koch Industries’ Invista division from 2005 to 2010. Hoffmann helped implement Charles Koch’s 10,000 percent compliance doctrine at Invista’s facilities. Hoffmann later transferred to Koch’s lobbying office in Washington, DC, where he attended strategy sessions to defeat the cap-and-trade bill.
Howell, Ron. Longtime Koch Industries employee who began as a gasoline trader with the company. He oversaw an expansion and transformation of Koch’s trading operations in the early and mid-1980s as electronic trading emerged. Howell later retired and entered politics, becoming a Koch Industries lobbyist in Oklahoma. He led the political effort there to combat the legal case against Koch’s oil theft.
Inglis, Bob. Republican congressman from South Carolina. Inglis was once an ally of Koch Industries and took campaign donations from the company. His stance on global warming, however, turned the company against him. Koch Industries funded an opponent to challenge Inglis in a primary election during 2010 and helped unseat him.
Jones, Jeremy. Koch Industries executive who ran the venture capital group called Koch Genesis. Jones worked closely with Charles Koch but left the company when Koch Genesis was shut down after the crash of 2008.
Jones, Nancy. Assistant US Attorney in Oklahoma City who oversaw the office’s investigation into Koch’s oil theft. Jones says she developed evidence showing that multiple managers at Koch Industries directed the theft. She quit her job as she was pursuing evidence against senior Koch executives. After she left, the case was dropped.
Jones, Wesley. Georgia-Pacific manager whom Koch promoted to run the company’s pulp mill division. Jones was later promoted again to become executive vice president over operations. He saw firsthand how G-P’s operations changed under Koch, and was allowed to reinvest in the company with far less bureaucracy than before.
Koch, “Bill” William. Charles Koch’s younger brother and David Koch’s twin. Bill Koch led an attempted coup to unseat Charles Koch as CEO in the 1980s. After the coup failed, Bill Koch launched a legal battle against his brother that lasted for years. He eventually ran his own, smaller company, called Oxbow.
Koch, Charles. CEO and chairman of Koch Industries. Charles Koch took over the company in late 1967 after his father, Fred, died, and has run the firm ever since.
Koch, Chase. Charles Koch’s son, born in 1977. Chase began working for the family company as a teenager and joined it full-time a few years after graduating from college. He rose through the ranks to become president of Koch Fertilizer before leaving the position to eventually launch the Koch Disruptive Technologies division. Chase is widely viewed as an heir apparent who might one day succeed his father as CEO.
Koch, David. Bill Koch’s twin brother and Charles Koch’s younger brother. David Koch joined the family company after graduating from MIT and splits ownership of the firm equally with Charles Koch. Longtime Koch executives describe David as a “silent partner” who largely deferred to Charles Koch’s vision. David Koch retired in 2018 due to health problems.
Koch, Elizabeth. Charles Koch’s daughter, born in 1975. While she holds seats on many Koch boards, she has not held significant positions inside Koch Industries. She runs a publishing company in New York.
Koch, Fred. Founder of Koch Industries. Fred Koch was raised in a small town in Texas. Over many years, he built a small corporate empire with holdings in refining, oil transportation, and ranching. He died of a heart attack in 1967.
Koch, Frederick “Freddie,” Jr. The oldest of the four Koch brothers, named after his father. Freddie, as he is known, avoided the family company and moved to New York.
Koch, Liz. Charles Koch’s wife of more than forty-five years. She is involved in Koch’s community efforts and philanthropies.
Leonard, Timothy. Former US Attorney in Oklahoma City who oversaw the criminal investigation into Koch’s theft of oil. Leonard was appointed to become a federal judge and dropped the case against Koch Industries before he took the job on the bench.
Lonegan, Steve. The New Jersey state director of Americans for Prosperity. Lonegan was one of the first paid directors hired to run a chapter of the activist group. He helped stoke opposition to the cap-and-trade bill and punished Republicans who voted for it.
Markel, F. Lynn. Koch’s former chief financial officer, serving in that position during Koch’s period of explosive growth in the 1990s. Markel was hired as an accountant and rose through the ranks as Koch transformed its financial control systems. He left the company in 2000 after twenty-four years.
Markey, Ed. Democratic senator from Massachusetts. When he was a congressman from that state, he helped lead the effort to pass a cap-and-trade bill to control greenhouse gas emissions. Markey led a select subcommittee that spent years crafting the measure.
Mawer, Steve. President of Koch Supply & Trading from 2000 until 2014. Mawer held a social event at his home to host Charles Koch, who gave a salon-style talk to traders about politics and economics.
McKinney, Travis. Forklift driver at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. He was grateful to get the job, and started just as G-P implemented its Labor Management System. He was an active member of the the Inlandboatmen’s Union, or IBU, as its power declined.
Meadows, Mark. Republican congressman from North Carolina and leader of the House of Representatives’ Tea Party–aligned Freedom Caucus during 2017. Meadows was often caught in the middle of policy differences between the Koch network and the Trump administration.
Nesmith, Tom. Salesman with the utility company Public Service Company of New Mexico (PNM). Nesmith pitched the “parking” strategy to Koch Energy Trading, which allowed Koch to game electricity markets in California. PNM’s participation was vital to making the parking strategy succeed.
Obama, Barack. The forty-fourth president of the United States, elected in 2008 and reelected in 2012. Obama ushered in a liberal political wave that Charles Koch considered dangerous to the nation’s future.
O’Neill, Brenden. Koch Industries derivatives trader who earned millions of dollars during the natural gas price spike. O’Neill was an engineer in Koch’s oil refinery in Corpus Christi before he shifted to the trading group. He was briefly Chase Koch’s boss when Chase worked at the Corpus Christi refinery.
Osbourn, Wes. Energy and gasoline trader with Koch Supply & Trading in Wichita and Houston. Osbourn traded physical gasoline supplies in Wichita and traded paper products like futures contracts in Houston.
Packebush, Steve. Former president of Koch Fertilizer. Packebush was on the team of Koch Nitrogen employees who executed the 2003 acquisition of Farmland Industries’ fertilizer plants. He later became president of the new division. He was a key mentor to Chase Koch, bringing him into the fertilizer business and encouraging Chase to later become president.
Paulson, Bernard. Oil refining executive hired by Charles Koch to oversee the Pine Bend refinery in the early 1970s. Paulson led the efforts to break the OCAW labor union there during the strike of 1972–73. He was later promoted to oversee Koch’s oil refining operations from Wichita, where he worked closely with Charles Koch.
Peace, Steve. The California state senator who was widely seen as the “father” of the state’s electricity deregulation bill, which he cosponsored. Peace shepherded the bill into law and later tried to warn regulators that the system was being manipulated by companies like Enron and Koch Industries.
Phillips, Jonathan. Congressional staffer who helped draft key parts of the Waxman-Markey cap-and-trade bill. Phillips, a Harvard graduate, came to see global warming as a fundamental threat to the environment.
Phillips, Tim. National president of Americans for Prosperity. Phillips was an activist in conservative religious groups before joining AFP. He led the group during a period of explosive growth during the Tea Party movement of 2010.
Pruitt, Scott. Former attorney general of Oklahoma who was EPA administrator from 2017 to mid-2018. Pruitt carried forward many deregulatory efforts long sought by the energy industry and Koch Industries.
Quinn, Joseph. Member of the OCAW labor union at Pine Bend who participated in the nine-month labor strike of 1972–73.
Razook, Brad. Former CEO of Koch’s oil products division, Flint Hills Resources. Razook played a key role in helping Koch exploit the fracking boom in the Eagle Ford Shale region of Texas. He was later promoted to CEO of Koch Resources, a large division that includes Flint Hills and other natural resource companies. Razook is seen as a candidate to become CEO of Koch Industries after Charles Koch leaves the company.
Robertson, David. Koch Industries’ current president. He joined the company in 1984. Robertson oversaw large parts of Koch’s disastrous foray into the beef and agribusiness during the 1990s. He later moved to Koch’s oil refining division. Robertson is seen as a strong contender to replace Charles Koch as CEO.
Roos, Brian. Manager, or “process owner,” of the Utilities Profit Center division of the Pine Bend refinery during the mid-1990s. Oversaw the wastewater facilities that released ammonia into nearby wetlands.
Roskind, Herbert. Manager of Koch Industries’ chemical trading division who hired Bill Koch. Roskind oversaw Bill Koch’s early trading activities and tried to diminish the tension between Bill and his brother Charles.
Rothbard, Murry. Libertarian activist who cofounded the Cato Institute with Charles Koch.
Rudd, Leslie. Longtime friend of Charles Koch and the Koch family in Wichita. Rudd encouraged Chase Koch to join the family company after he graduated from college. Rudd died on May 3, 2018, at the age of seventy-six.
Ryan, Paul. Republican congressman from Wisconsin who was Speaker of the House in 2017 and 2018. Ryan was often caught in the middle of policy differences between the Koch network and the Trump administration.
Schnare, David. Longtime EPA employee who later became a critic of what he called the agency’s regulatory overreach. Schnare helped lead the Trump administration’s transition efforts at the EPA and helped draft a transition plan for the agency that aligned with Koch Industries’ interests.
Seibert, Walter. Father of twelve-year-old Zachary Seibert, a pedestrian killed in a 1993 car accident involving Chase Koch, who was driving. Walter Seibert spoke with Chase Koch after the accident, at the urging of Liz and Charles Koch.
Sementelli, Tony. Chief financial officer at Flint Hills Resources who played a critical role in helping the company exploit the fracking boom in the Eagle Ford Shale region of Texas.
Sharp, Jeff. Communications director for the House select subcommittee that wrote the cap-and-trade bill in 2010. Sharp was among the first to notice the Tea Party activism that eventually derailed the effort.
Sobotka, David. President of Koch Energy Trading from 1997 through 2001. Sobotka came to Koch from Lehman Brothers, and he brought Wall Street practices to Koch’s trading floor. He promoted a new compensation model that gave derivatives traders a bonus based on a percentage of their profits.
Soliman, Sam. Former head of trading operations at Koch’s trading desk in Houston. Soliman became CFO of Koch Industries in 2000 and was replaced by Steve Feilmeier when Soliman left the company.
Sollers, Wick. Assistant investigator to Ken Ballen in the US Senate. Helped oversee the Senate’s investigation into Koch’s oil theft in Oklahoma. Traveled to Wichita with Ballen to depose Charles Koch.
Trimm, Dennis. Manager at Georgia-Pacific’s warehouse in Portland, Oregon. Trimm was a manager when Koch Industries took over and watched the company implement its new policies. He told employees during meetings that Koch could shift their work to nonunion facilities. He was later fired for committing a safety violation.
Tromberg, Ernie. Onetime member of the OCAW labor union at Pine Bend who later left the union to join the ranks of Koch management at the refinery, where he spent his entire career.
Trump, Donald. The forty-fifth president of the United States, elected in 2016. Trump was never close with Charles Koch and operated outside of Koch’s political network.
Varner, Sterling. Longtime Koch Industries employee and protégé of Fred Koch. Varner was a father figure to Charles Koch in the late 1960s and is credited with deeply influencing Koch’s corporate culture. Varner became president of Koch Industries in 1974 and held that position for thirteen years. He retired as vice chairman of Koch’s board of directors in 1989 but remained active in the company and advised Charles Koch.
Voyles, James. Koch Industries attorney involved with the pollution case at the Pine Bend refinery in the mid-1990s. Voyles undermined whistle-blower Heather Faragher as she tried to contain illegal pollution at the refinery.
Watson, Dean. A rising star at Koch Industries who was put in charge of Koch’s rapid expansion into the agribusiness sector. Watson oversaw the failed Purina Mills acquisition and was later fired.
Williams, Roger. One of the earliest executives at Koch Industries hired by Charles Koch. Williams oversaw Koch’s sprawling pipeline division.
Winn, Abel. Leader of Koch’s experimental economics lab, run in partnership with Wichita State University, which tested the tenets of Market-Based Management. Winn ran a large-scale experiment to find ways to beat “holdouts” who bargained for higher prices.