Lawrence M. Ziemba
For his extraordinary professional accomplishments, excellent leadership, and generous philanthropic and professional commitment to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Executive Vice President of Refining, Phillips 66
- BS, 1977, Mechanical Engineering, University of Illinois
- MBA, 1985, University of Chicago
Larry Ziemba has 35 years in the oil and gas industry, during which he has continually taken on increasingly difficult and complex positions and has navigated the interwoven fabric of numerous company acquisitions, mergers, and divestures.
Originally from Chicago, Ziemba began his career at Unocal’s Chicago refinery in 1977. In 1988, he moved to Unocal’s Los Angeles corporate headquarters as manager of planning and business development for downstream business. In 1991, he managed the acquisition of Shell’s Carson Refinery and subsequently integrated this asset into the Los Angeles operations. In 1997, Ziemba joined Tosco as they acquired Unocal’s downstream business. In 1999, he was named vice president of Tosco’s three San Francisco area refineries. In 2000, he was assigned to handle the acquisition and takeover of the Wood River (Illinois) Refinery.
Ziemba first joined Phillips Petroleum in 2001 after its acquisition of Tosco. Ziemba was in charge of handling the integration of refining operations during the merger.
When Phillips and Conoco merged, he was named the President of U.S. Refining at ConocoPhillips, a position he held from 2003-10, and subsequently served as the President of Global Refining at ConocoPhillips. Since the formation of Phillips 66 as an independent corporation in 2012, he has served as an Executive Vice President of Refining, Project Development and Procurement.
Ziemba has held a number of industry and community leadership positions, including board positions with American Fuel & Petrochemicals Manufacturers, WRB Refining LP and the Western States Petroleum Association. He has been chairman of the “American Jobs for America’s Heroes” Campaign Advisory Committee, a national coalition of more the 70 trade associations, professional societies, state Chambers of Commerce and nonprofit organizations that help employers across the country post jobs for National Guard service members.
In addition to his demonstrated professional success and leadership, Ziemba has given his time, professional skills and financial support to University of Illinois College of Engineering and was named a Distinguished Alumnus of the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering in 2014.
Current as of October 2021.