Motiva Enterprises recruits new general counsel

Amy Marlyse Plato has joined Houston-based Motiva Enterprises as executive vice president and general counsel. In her new role, she also serves as corporate secretary and business compliance officer.

Plato succeeds Chris Vice, who retired after ‘performing this role with distinction’ since 2011, according to the company.

Motiva refines, distributes and markets petroleum products and owns North America’s largest refinery in Port Arthur, Texas. From January 1, 2002 until May 1, 2017 the company was operated as a 50-50 joint venture between Shell and Saudi Aramco. On May 1, 2017, Saudi Aramco, through wholly owned subsidiaries, assumed full ownership of Motiva having completed an asset separation with Shell.

Plato joined Motiva in January having spent seven years as senior counsel at Aramco Services Company (ASC), where she worked as the primary corporate counsel for its subsidiary Saudi Refining (SRI). In that role, she led the dissolution of the joint venture between SRI and Shell that led to Motiva becoming an Aramco subsidiary in May 2017. She also managed corporate governance issues and oversaw federal regulatory filings for ASC and its affiliates.

Before ASC, Plato was a partner at litigation law firm Zabel Freeman and with Mayer Brown. During her time in private practice, she advised companies on commercial litigation, including oil and gas disputes, commercial fraud, bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud, securities fraud and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

‘I am thrilled to welcome Amy to Motiva’s leadership team,’ says president and CEO Brian Coffman in a statement. ‘Amy’s breadth and depth of industry experience strengthens our team. We look forward to her contributions as we strive to be the safest and most profitable downstream business in the Americas.’