Our Staff

CEO – Doug Punke

Doug is a 27-year veteran of Cargill. His background includes seven years in Cargill’s grain division and nine years with Cargill Corn Milling. Most recently, he was VP of Cargill Energy Risk Management Services, which provides risk management services to a broad base of industrial clients. Doug is a graduate of the University of Illinois.

COO – Steven Dietz

Steve spent five years with ADM and four years as the general manager of a full-service grain elevator in Illinois. Prior to joining RPMG two years ago, Steve spent four and a half years at Golden Grain Ethanol, an ethanol plant in Iowa, as their risk manager. He brings over 15 years of experience in the grain and ethanol industries and has a solid knowledge of the petroleum, ethanol, co-product, and grain markets. Steve is a graduate of Iowa State University.

CFO – Paula Rheault

Paula spent 11 years as CFO and controller at Minnesota Energy, an ethanol plant and full service grain elevator including agronomy feed and fuel services. She was also an accountant for three years at a hospital in Minnesota and spent two years at a tier two railroad. Paula has been with RPMG since 2007 and brings over 20 years of accounting and management experience that is critical to RPMG’s foundation. Paula graduated from Mankato State University with a BA in accounting and finance.

Director of Ethanol Marketing – Todd Kruggel

Todd has been with RPMG since its inception in 1996. Todd led RPMG’s trading as the company grew to over one billion gallons. He brings a tremendous knowledge base of the ethanol industry and has developed invaluable relationships in the petroleum industry. He has a degree in sales and marketing.

Ethanol Marketing Manager (West Coast) – Darren Knop

Darren was a territory manager at Cargill Salt Division for 14 years. He also spent eight years at Cargill Corn Milling as a national account manager. Prior to joining RPMG in 2009, he was the national marketing manager for Pacific Ethanol (Kinergy Marketing). Darren brings over 26 years of sales and trading experience and has a core understanding of the ethanol and petroleum industries. He graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Political Science and Economics.

Ethanol Marketing Manager – Don Howe

Don was the Marketing Manager at Flint Hills Resources for 29 years. He managed the Minnesota/Dakotas territory for gasoline, diesel fuel, and aviation products out of their Pine Bend, MN refinery. He conducted sales to major oil companies, retailers, jobbers, and commercial accounts. Don’s vast experience with the petroleum distribution, supply system, and customer base are vital in his roll at RPMG. Don has leased storage at key Magellan Pipeline Terminals that are near RPMG ethanol plants providing a competitive advantage. Don’s knowledge in the splash blending of ethanol with gasoline at terminals provides customers with the edge they need to compete in the retail market.

Senior Ethanol & Biodiesel Trader – Patrick Griffin Boyle

Patrick has been a part of the RPMG team since 2008. Prior to joining RPMG he worked at CHS, Inc as a commodity merchandiser on the winter wheat desk. Since he joined RPMG Patrick has been working as a Senior DDG merchandiser. He has taken on the responsibility of developing and growing RPMG’s corn oil marketing as well as trading flat-price ethanol for our ethanol customers. Patrick has a B.S. in Economics from Minnesota State University, Mankato and a Masters degree in Management from Saint Mary’s University in Minneapolis.

Corn Oil Merchandiser - Matt Niemeyer

Matt has over 10 years of experience in the animal nutrition industry, starting with Purina Mills in Saint Louis, MO. He moved up to Minnesota with Land O Lakes Purina Feed and then went on to Cargill Animal Nutrition to be a merchant for the Upper Midwest. Prior to RPMG, he was at Cargill as a regional sales manager of co-products for the brewing industry in the upper Midwest. Matt is a graduate of Kansas State University.

Co-Products Marketing Manager – Jim Montbriand

For 14 years, Jim was a senior merchandiser of distillers grains at Commodity Specialists Co./CHS. He has been with RPMG since 2008 and has been a critical part of the development and growth of the Co-Products Division. Jim has a great knowledge base of the distillers and grain markets and has spent the past 16 years developing solid customer relationships in the industry. Jim is a graduate of St. Cloud State University.

DDG Merchandiser - Trevor Kallop

Trevor joined the RPMG team after spending the past 5 years with Cargill merchandizing non-grain feed ingredients. More specifically, Trevor worked as a DDGS export manager and spent the last four years merchandizing DDGS as a marketer for Cargill. Previous to his work at Cargill Trevor spent 4 years working in Boston for a publishing company as a print buyer. Trevor graduated from the University of Albany in New York.

Merchandising Assistant – Emily Black

Emily started as an intern for RPMG in 2007, assisting with the implementation and installation of the Ethanol Tracking System. She joined the DDG division in 2008 as a Logistics Coordinator/Merchandising Assistant and has proceeded to develop strong customer relationships. She is well-versed in many aspects of RPMG’s business. Emily is a graduate of Augustana College.

Director of Logistics – Jason Wojahn

Jason grew up in southwest Minnesota. He was introduced to the ethanol industry at an early age and has 14 years experience. He started his career with Poet and spent seven years in various roles gaining valuable experience about the entire ethanol process. He joined RPMG at the beginning of its growth in 2004. Jason is a graduate of Augustana College in Sioux Falls, SD with a degree in business management.