Our Mission
The Global Syngas Technologies Council (GSTC) mission is to be the central meeting place for the international syngas industry. We provide a platform to showcase the cutting edge technologies that move the industry forward as voiced by the industry’s technology providers, as used and evaluated by the industry’s manufacturers, and as supported by the industry’s engineering, construction, and equipment providers. We provide attractive settings where industry leaders and decision makers network, do deals and make life-long friendships. Finally, we promote the industry to the public by articulating its value and environmental sensitivity and amplifying our member’s news, operational achievements, and accomplishments.
GSTC Leadership
William E. Preston
Executive Director
Bill has been involved with the GSTC and its predecessor organizations since 1983. He has had a 38-year career in the process industry including all aspects of the syngas industry. He is the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KP Engineering.
Bill had a 22-year career at Texaco that encompassed technical positions, and leadership positions in technology licensing, project development, and ultimately, division management. He went on to top management positions in international technology companies Linc Energy Ltd., Synthesis Energy Systems, GreatPoint Energy, and the Energy Capital Group.
Bill holds an MS degree in Chemical Engineering from his beloved University of Texas at Austin, and a BA in Chemistry from Pomona College in Claremont, California. He is the recipient of numerous industry awards and honors and has authored and presented numerous technology-related articles and papers.
Bea Ann Phillips
Director, Membership and Planning
Bea Ann Phillips has been an independent meeting planner and consultant for over 20 years, managing conferences and trade shows for a variety of national and international clients in the energy sector. She has worked with the GTC/GSTC since 2000.
Prior to establishing her consulting business, Bea Ann spent 16 years managing an association in Washington DC where she wrote and managed grant projects and served as chief financial officer; membership development specialist and education coordinator. Prior to that, Bea Ann was a research analyst in the public relations firm of Hill and Knowlton.
Bea Ann holds a BA in Communications from Kent State University and a Master’s in Public Administration, specializing in Non-Profit Management from Virginia Polytechnic institute and State University.
Executive Committee
David Burns
Chairman
Dr. David Burns is the Vice President of Global Business Development for Linde. While based in Pullach, Germany he is responsible for supporting the hydrogen and syngas businesses growth globally.
Prior to Praxair’s merger with Linde, David was Praxair’s Director of Business Development for hydrogen and syngas and also held several positions before that supporting the growth of new business globally in the chemical and energy industries. Before joining Praxair, Dr. Burns worked for Dow Chemical as the Business Manager for their gas treating and specialty amine businesses.
Dr. Burns has a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Leeds in the UK, and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Texas in Austin.
Marc Bacon
Vice Chairman
Marc is President and COO of OMNI Conversion Technologies, having led the team that advanced its technology to commercial readiness and is now deploying it worldwide. During that journey, with over 1.2M person-hours of effort, the OMNI team developed over 20 patent families, engineered, and supported the operations of a full scale demonstration plant. It then packaged the system into a modular commercial design and set up a low-cost, high-quality international supply chain to produce it.
Marc’s history combines two engineering degrees, an MBA, and doctoral studies in organization leadership with over 40 years of operations, engineering, and executive experience. His greatest love is his family, and his goal to be a worthy steward of the assets and people entrusted to him.
Lucy Wilson
Treasurer
Lucy is the Commercial Licensing Manager for Johnson Matthey’s LCHTM blue hydrogen technology within the Low Carbon Solutions business.
In the last 12 years, she has contributed to all of the different Catalyst Technologies business teams within JM being based first in the UK before moving to the USA in 2015. Through roles in design, commissioning, technical service, global key account management then licensing of methanol and hydrogen technology, Lucy has built knowledge and experience across the chemicals value chain from offshore and upstream purification to downstream chemicals production and catalyst.
Lucy holds a B.Eng in Chemical Engineering from Teesside University in the UK.
Jeffrey Kloosterman
Senior Research Associate, Process Gases Technology
Jeff has over 17 years of experience in R&D and technology for industrial business development and growth. His experience encompasses high temperature processes, including gasification, shift, syngas clean up, steam methane reforming, autothermal reforming and combustion.
Jeff received PhD in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University in 2003.
Justin Murphy
At Large Member
Justin is a Scale-Up Project Leader in the Technology division of Eastman Chemical Co.
Over the past 30 years with Eastman, he as gained broad knowledge of gasification, syngas clean-up, and downstream uses. Recently he has been focusing on evaluating waste gasification.
Justin holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from Kansas State University.
Andrew M. Shuff
At Large Member
Andrew is the Director of Industrial Gas Procurement for Celanese. He joined Celanese 14 years ago and has held roles in Planning, Product Management and Research and Development.
Andrew holds two BS degrees from Texas A&M University – Chemical Engineering and Chemistry – and an MBA from Rice University.