Chris Groven

Chris Groven, an Oliver Wight business advisor, works with organizations to achieve superior and sustained business results through the principles of Integrated Business Planning. He is a proven leader of change with over 28 years in the downstream energy industry where he developed and implemented strategies from refining to market participation, driving quality improvement in manufacturing and financial disciplines, and achieving lasting efficiencies across an integrated business – always focused on sustainability.

Chris has extensive experience with BP where he worked in various roles of increasing responsibility in Illinois, Indiana, California, Utah and England. His most recent position with BP was as Director of Transformation and General Manager of Chicago Area Facility Operations where he set the real estate strategy for Fuels North America. With a BP/Contract staff of 200, he managed a $45m annual budget to provide maintenance/operations, security, janitorial, and food service for 2000 staff and 1.5 million square feet of office, lab, and process space.

Prior to that, Chris was the CFO of the largest inland refinery in the U.S. in Whiting, Indiana, where he was responsible for planning, performance, accounting, control, and procurement functions. This included the financial management of a multi-billion-dollar modernization project to enable high run rates of advantaged feed stocks. Chris also led the diagnostic and planning process to establish a five-year plan to deliver $100m in cost efficiencies.

As Head of Planning, Performance, and Cash Management for BP’s assets East of the Rockies, Chris was instrumental in developing and implementing Integrated Business Planning. This Class A Capable implementation, in parallel with the performance management framework, supported delivery of a $2.2 billion profit in 2012.

Chris has a BS in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University, an MBA in Finance from the University of Utah and is conversational in Spanish. He is also involved in public service as the Kane County Representative on the Board of Directors for Chicago’s Regional Transportation Authority, where he provides oversight for the nation’s second-largest public transportation system.