Breakthrough Fuel: Appoints members to new Board of Directors

Green Bay, Wis. – Breakthrough®Fuel, a pioneer in the field of transportation energy and information management, is excited to announce Daniel R. Elliott, a leader in the transportation economic and railway labor industries, and John A. Schmidt, longtime recognized industry leader and philanthropist, have been appointed to the organization’s Board of Directors. Elliott and Schmidt join Craig Dickman, former Breakthrough®Fuel CEO, who serves as the chairman of the newly instated Board of Directors, and Doug Mueller, Breakthrough®Fuel CEO and president, who also serves as a board member.

“It is both exciting and an honor to welcome Daniel and John to Breakthrough®Fuel’s Board of Directors,” Mueller said. “As true leaders in the transportation industry, these gentlemen have reputations of being innovative, creative and industry disruptors, all things Breakthrough®Fuel strives to encourage and embody.”

Having served on the Surface Transportation Board for two terms, Elliott was designated chairman twice by former President Barack Obama. During this time, he not only managed the agency, its staff and its budget, but also drafted and ruled on case decisions involving rate challenges, rail construction projects, mergers and acquisitions and a variety of other matters. He now works as a partner at Conner & Winters law firm and represents clients in rail economic regulatory matters, including policy issues and litigation, before the Surface Transportation Board.

As president and CEO of U.S. Venture, Inc., Schmidt is responsible for the strategic vision, talent development, culture building and financial performance of the synergistic organization. Comprised of U.S. Oil, U.S. AutoForce, U.S. Lubricants and U.S. Gain, U.S. Venture, Inc. is a group of distribution services that has been serving the transportation industry since 1951 with Schmidt at the helm since 2007. Schmidt is also widely recognized as a philanthropist in the local community and in 2010 created Riverview Gardens, a financially self-sustaining social enterprise that utilizes urban farming to provide job training and placement for those in need.