Thomas E. Claugus

Thomas E. Claugus

CEO & Chairman of the Board

Thomas E. Claugus has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since GMT Energy was formed in early 1991. Mr. Claugus resigned his positions with GMT Energy effective with the merger and has since served as a member of the Board and the Chief Executive of GMT Exploration.  Mr. Claugus graduated with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering degree, summa cum laude, from Ohio State University in 1973. Upon graduation, he joined Rohm and Haas Company (‘Rohm and Haas’) as a process engineer. In 1975, Mr. Claugus entered Harvard Business School and graduated with a Master of Business Administration degree, with high distinction, in 1977. Upon graduating from Harvard in 1977, Mr. Claugus returned to Rohm and Haas as a production manager of a manufacturing facility in Mexico. Over the next eight years he held positions of increasing responsibility with Rohm and Haas in Mexico, culminating in his appointment as General Manager of Rohm and Haas for Mexico. During the period from 1985 to mid-1989, Mr. Claugus was the business manager for the Construction Products business and then the Trade Sales business (about $180 million in sales) for Rohm and Haas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From June 1989 to November 1990, Mr. Claugus was the manager for Europe of the Polymers Division of Rohm and Haas, based in London, England. This position included all polymer business (approximately $200 million in sales) conducted by Rohm and Haas in Africa and Eastern and Western Europe. In November 1990, Mr. Claugus left Rohm and Haas to engage in private investment activities. Mr. Claugus is presently a principal of GMT Capital Corp., a private investment management company with approximately $5 billion of assets under management.