SPRINGFIELD— The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA) has named Ben Riser, Refinery Manager of ExxonMobil’s refinery in Joliet, to its Board of Directors as the association continues to build on its strong record of leadership on behalf of manufacturers across the state.
“We are happy to welcome Ben as the newest member of our Board of Directors and look forward to leveraging his experience to promote the interests of manufacturers throughout Illinois,” said Mark Denzler, President and CEO of the IMA. “Ben’s background in engineering and the energy sector will be an asset as we work to grow jobs and investment in Illinois and continue our mission of boldly moving makers forward.”
Riser has more than 25 years of experience at ExxonMobil, serving in leadership positions covering technical, operations and logistics at four different refineries across the US and Canada. During Riser’s seven years at the Joliet refinery, which has more than 600 employees and 250 contractors, the site has set records in every key metric, including safety, reliability, and profitability. Prior to his current position, Riser served as Technical and Operations Division Manager at the Joliet refinery and held several supervisory roles at ExxonMobil’s Baton Rouge refinery in Los Angeles. He also served as Technical Division Manager in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, head of both Technical and Operations departments at the Torrance refinery in California and as Gold Coast Product Optimizer at the company’s Fairfax, Virginia headquarters.
Riser has a record of involvement in community and civic initiatives and has served on the El Camino Community College Foundation Board and the Sarnia Chamber of Commerce Energy Committee. He recently joined the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of Will County Center for Economic Development and the Board of Directors of Three Rivers Manufacturing Association. An alumnus of Louisiana Tech University where he earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, Riser and wife Allison have two adult children. His personal interests include running, biking, hiking, baking, strategy games, and reading.
About the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association (IMA)
The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association is the only statewide association dedicated exclusively to advocating, promoting and strengthening the manufacturing sector in Illinois. The IMA is the oldest and largest state manufacturing trade association in the United States, representing nearly 4,000 companies and facilities. For more information, visit https://ima-net.org/