OCTOBER 4 – 7, 2025
BOCA RATON, FL
The Boca Raton Boca Beach Club
Mitra Basiri Kashanchi, President, Chevron Chemicals
Mitra Basiri Kashanchi became president of Chevron Chemicals, which includes Chevron Oronite and Chevron Phillips Chemical, in April 2023. Kashanchi began her career with Chevron in 1991. She most recently served as vice president, manufacturing & supply for Chevron Oronite. Before then, she was general manager of Chevron’s Salt Lake Refinery for three years. Prior to her Salt Lake role, Kashanchi was refinery business manager for the Richmond Refinery hydroprocessing business unit. She also served as the operations manager for the company’s refinery in Burnaby, British Columbia. From 1991 to 2012, Kashanchi worked at the El Segundo Refinery in various roles, including an assignment as the refinery system division’s section head, where she was responsible for three cogeneration units, the water treatment unit, blending, and shipping and wharf operations. Kashanchi earned a bachelor’s degree in applied chemistry from Iran National University. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and a master’s degree in physical chemistry, both from California State University, Long Beach.
Dinesh Bansal, Senior R&D Engineer, Chevron Oronite
Dinesh Bansal is a senior R&D engineer with Chevron Oronite based in Richmond, California, where he is currently leading R&D on lubricant additives for various alternative fuels. Bansal has 15 years of industry experience in heavy-duty engines and lubricant additives. He joined Chevron Oronite in 2019, with prior industry roles at Cummins and Infineum. Bansal holds a Ph.D. from Georgia Tech and a master’s degree from Purdue University.
Dr. Stephan Baumgärtel, President, VSI
Dr. Baumgärtel is managing director of the Association of the German Lubricants Industry (VSI), a position he has held since 2010. Prior to joining VSI as group leader for industrial lubricants in 2005, he served as technical advisor with Mobil Oil (now ExxonMobil). Dr. Baumgärtel holds both a master’s and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Frankfurt, Germany.
Luc Girard, Consultant, Sanjuro Solutions
Luc Girard is a Ph.D. chemist with over 27 years of experience in the lubricants industry. He represents ILMA's interests before technical societies such as API, ASTM and others. Before starting Sanjuro Solutions in 2014, Girard spent 17 years with Petro-Canada Lubricants working in various R&D and sales roles, including as manager of OEM technical sales. He has experience in engine oils, gear oils and transmission fluids, as well as base oils, white oils and a wide range of other finished lubricants. He is currently chair of the API Detroit Advisory Panel and a past chair of the API Lubricants Group. He has also been a representative to the Base Oil Interchange/Viscosity Grade Read Across Task Force, SAE TC-1 and TC-3, the Automotive Oil Advisory Panel, a voting member at NCDT and has participated in ASTM heavy-duty and passenger car engine oil classification panels. Girard holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and a bachelor of science in chemistry from Bishop’s University in Lennoxville, Quebec.
Steve Knapp – Chief Executive Officer, Plan. Grow. Do.
Steve Knapp is one of the U.K.’s most celebrated and influential sales experts. His inspirational selling techniques are still the cornerstone for Shell, one of the world’s biggest brands. The Sheffield-based entrepreneur rose through the ranks of the Shell to become responsible for the success of the multi-national company’s sales teams across the globe. In 2019, he made his pioneering teachings available to a wider audience via his Amazon best-selling book, FunnelVision – Selling Made Easy, which won plaudits from some of the most influential voices in the industry. In 2021, along with his business partner Rob Taylor, he co-authored Modern Sales Leadership to rave reviews from many international sales leaders.
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Knapp’s thinking on the future of organizational and cultural change and its impact on sales culture and growing sales has been in high demand. We are excited to have him share his insights with ILMA members.
Evy Poumpouras – Keynote Speaker
For more than 12 years, Evy Poumpouras served as a Secret Service special agent in an action-packed career during which she was responsible for protecting the world’s most high-value assets. Poumpouras has been described as “the epitome of a badass” as she reveals hard-won lessons on building a more confident and resilient mindset, communicating for maximum impact, and unleashing your inner fighter as you push past the obstacles on the path to success. In addition to safeguarding our nation’s heads of state, during her tenure in the Secret Service, Poumpouras worked complex criminal investigations, operated undercover and was an interrogator for the agency’s elite polygraph unit specially trained in the art of lie detection, human behavior and cognitive influence.
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In her keynote address, Poumpouras will show how you can apply Secret Service principles of communication, leadership, psychology and inclusion in your own pursuits.
Rob Taylor – Co-Founder, PLAN. GROW. DO.
Rob Taylor has been at the forefront of digital marketing for two decades. He worked with Google to build a ground-breaking, eight-week program aimed at helping businesses truly harness the power of emerging technology. The project has now helped hundreds of companies turn around the fortunes of their business with the introduction of digital marketing. Taylor has also worked on Amazon’s pioneering Dads In Business program, delivering online seminars to employees based around the world. He has particular expertise in helping companies make the digital transition, helping nationally renowned brands adapt to a modern marketing and sales environment.
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In 2021, along with his business partner Steve Knapp, he co-authored Modern Sales Leadership to rave reviews from many international sales leaders.