James F. Crowley

James F. Crowley has served as a director of the Company since May 28, 1998 and is Chairman of the Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee. Mr. Crowley is a private investor and Chairman and Managing Partner of Old Strategic LLC, headquartered in Connecticut. Since October 2008, Mr. Crowley has served as a Director of Green Plains and is Chairman of its audit committee. From 1993 to 2006, Mr. Crowley was a founding partner and Chairman of the Strategic Research Institute LLC. From 1984 to 1992, Mr. Crowley served in various capacities with Prudential Securities, Inc., including President of Global Investment & Merchant Banking. Prior to joining Prudential Securities, Inc., Mr. Crowley was a First Vice President and Partner at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. in its Investment Bank and Capital Markets Division. Mr. Crowley has also served on the board of various not-for-profit and private organizations and universities. Mr. Crowley has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the Wharton Graduate School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Villanova University. In addition Mr. Crowley has attended corporate governance courses at Harvard, Stanford and Northwestern Universities. In 2019, Mr. Crowley was awarded the Harvard Business School Certificate in Corporate Governance. As a result of these and other professional experiences, the Board of Directors has concluded that Mr. Crowley should serve as a director because of his extensive business, investment banking, finance and corporate management experience, as well as his in-depth understanding of the financial markets and insight into the role of serving as Chair of the Company’s Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee.