Portrait

Sam Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Sam Mitchell has served as chief executive officer and director of Valvoline Inc. since September 2016.

Mitchell joined Valvoline, then a division of Ashland Inc., in 1997 as director of marketing for Valvoline’s brand management group. In 1999, he was named vice president of marketing, and in 2000, vice president and general manager of Valvoline’s do-it-yourself (DIY) retail business.

He became president of Valvoline and vice president of Ashland in 2002. In 2011, Mitchell was named senior vice president of Ashland, while retaining his responsibilities for Valvoline.

Prior to joining Valvoline, he held brand and category management leadership positions at The Clorox Company for eight years.

Mitchell serves on the board of trustees of Transylvania University and on the University of Kentucky Gatton College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. From 2006 to 2012, he served on the board of the Automotive Aftermarket Suppliers Association. Mitchell is active in the community, working with Young Life, the Lexington Leadership Foundation and Habitat for Humanity.

Mitchell holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Miami University and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He is also a graduate of the Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Portrait

Jon Caldwell, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer

Jon Caldwell has served as senior vice president and chief people officer of Valvoline Inc. since April 2020. In this role, he is responsible for the strategic direction and global leadership of all aspects of human resources, including talent acquisition, total rewards, business consulting, employee relations, organizational development, diversity and inclusion, and corporate communications.

Previously senior director, North American HR, Jon supported the Core North America business, global supply chain and our corporate functions. Joining Valvoline in 2016, he was also responsible for building and leading Valvoline’s talent acquisition and organizational development functions immediately after the Company went public.

Prior to Valvoline, Jon spent 17 years in progressive human resources and talent management roles with Fifth Third Bancorp, US Bancorp and Meritor Inc.

He serves on the board of directors for Commerce Lexington, Central Kentucky YMCA, and The Hope Center.

Caldwell holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Eastern Kentucky University and a master's degree in business administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati.

Portrait

Travis Dobbins, Senior Vice President, Chief Technology Officer

Travis Dobbins has served as senior vice president, chief technology officer for Valvoline Inc. since February 2023. In his role, he provides strategic and operational leadership for Valvoline Inc.’s IT team, which is responsible for desktop and cloud services, network, information security, retail store point-of-sale, customer experience platforms, as well as corporate applications that support finance, supply chain, HR and sales and analytics.

Dobbins joined Valvoline in 2010 where he led the technology team responsible for all Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeSM (VIOC) service centers nationwide. From there he held director and vice president roles responsible for all Valvoline retail technology platforms, business intelligence and analytics, digital products and overall end-to-end design and delivery of business platforms.

Before Valvoline Inc., he served for six years as a leader within the Ashland, Inc. technology group where he managed global business process solutions and ERP platforms.

Prior to his leadership roles at Valvoline and Ashland, he spent six years as a technology consultant at Plaut/IDS Scheer for companies including Paramount Studios and Raytheon.

Dobbins holds a bachelor’s degree in information technology from University of Louisville.

 

Portrait

Lori Flees, President

Lori Flees was named president of Valvoline Inc. in April 2022. In her role, she oversees the fast-growing Valvoline Inc. retail services business in North America which operates more than 1,700 Company-owned and franchised service center locations (No. 2 in the U.S. under the Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeSM brand and No. 3 in Canada under the Valvoline Great Canadian Oil Change brand by number of stores), and nearly 300 Valvoline Express Care locations.

Flees joined Valvoline after spending nearly a decade at Walmart where she, most recently, oversaw all aspects of Walmart’s Health & Wellness business across more than 4,800 locations, including the COVID vaccination operations. She started at Walmart as the head of Corporate Strategy which also included responsibility for global Mergers & Acquisitions. She was promoted to Senior Vice President, Next Generation Retail & Principal, Store No 8., where she led the incubation of new retail capabilities via the deployment of emerging technologies and strategic partnerships (including Google and Microsoft). Lori then moved to running part of the retail operations as SVP and GMM for Sam’s Club Health & Wellness, the 590-site wholesale club’s pharmacy and optical business.

Prior to her leadership experience at Walmart, she spent 17 years at Bain & Company Inc., where she did a variety of work in consumer goods and services, engineering and construction, industrial manufacturing and oil and gas. Flees has extensive experience in M&A, corporate strategy, and performance improvement, including experience developing growth strategies for retailers with a combination of company-owned and franchised stores. Early in her career, she worked at Intel and at General Motors.

Flees holds a bachelor’s degree in management systems from Kettering University and a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard Business School.

 

 

Portrait

Heidi Matheys, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer

Heidi Matheys has served as senior vice president and chief commercial and transformation officer for Valvoline Inc. since March 2023. Prior to such time, she served as Valvoline chief marketing and transformation officer from October 2021 to February 2023, and as senior vice president and chief marketing officer from June 2016 to September 2021. Previously, she was senior vice president of do-it-yourself (DIY) channels, leading the Valvoline Commercial Packaged Goods (CPG) business. She joined Valvoline in 2012 as vice president of global brands.

As Chief Commercial and Transformation Officer, Matheys is currently leading innovation related to the future of mobility including understanding how consumer beliefs will impact the adoption of electric vehicles, macro-dynamics influencing the changing car parc and determining how Valvoline’s retail business should evolve to best meet future customer needs.  She also oversees B2B relationships with both fleet customers and automotive manufacturers.

Before joining Valvoline, Matheys spent more than 15 years in brand management and advertising at Johnson & Johnson, Novartis AG, Young & Rubicam and Graham Advertising.

In addition to her work at Valvoline, Matheys is passionate about helping the disadvantaged and building a strong community. She is currently on the Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass. She previously served on the Boards for both The Nest Center for Women, Children & Families and the Lexington, Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.

Matheys holds a master’s degree in business administration in finance and strategy from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

 

Portrait

Mary Meixelsperger, Chief Financial Officer

Mary Meixelsperger has served as chief financial officer of Valvoline Inc. since June 2016. In this role, she is responsible for the company’s global financial and information technology organizations, including financial accounting and reporting, treasury and financial planning and analysis, risk management and credit, business development, investor relations, tax, and internal audit.

Before joining Valvoline, Meixelsperger served as senior vice president and chief financial officer of DSW Inc., a leading branded footwear and accessories omni-channel retailer. From 2005 to 2014, she was chief financial officer, controller and treasurer at Shopko Stores. Prior to that, Meixelsperger was the chief financial officer for two large, complex non-profit organizations and served as chief financial officer for Worldmark Group, a private equity firm. She began her career in public accounting at Arthur Young and Co.

An avid supporter of the community, Mary was recently appointed as vice chairman for United Way of the Bluegrass, continuing a long career commitment to United Way’s mission in the communities where she has lived and worked.

Meixelsperger earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting, with distinction, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a certified public accountant (inactive).

Portrait

Julie O’Daniel, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary

Julie O’Daniel has served as chief legal officer and corporate secretary of Valvoline Inc. since September 2016 and senior vice president since January 2017. She is responsible for managing Valvoline Inc.’s legal and corporate governance matters and oversees Valvoline’s security team and environmental, health and safety group.

She served as lead commercial council for Valvoline and been part of the Valvoline leadership team since October 2012. She joined Ashland, Valvoline’s former parent company, in 2007 as senior counsel, managing complex litigation matters across Ashland’s business units.

Previously, O’Daniel was a partner at the law firm of Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta, where she advised in the areas of securities litigation, mergers and acquisitions-related litigation, governmental investigations and other corporate matters.

O’Daniel holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Eastern Kentucky University and earned her J.D. from the University of Kentucky.

IR Contact

 CORPORATE OFFICERS

  Dione R. Sturgeon
  Chief Accounting Officer

  Christopher R. Mottet
  Chief Audit Executive

  Stephanie M. Johnson
  Assistant Treasurer

  Ian C. Lofwall
  Assistant Secretary

  Clayton T. Hagan
  Assistant Secretary - Tax