The Iowa Biodiesel Board (IBB) has appointed Doug Struyk as its executive director, effective October 1, as the organisation prepares for its 20th anniversary and a transition to independent management ahead of Iowa’s 2027 legislative session.
Struyk succeeds Grant Kimberley, who has led IBB as executive director since 2014. Under the new arrangement, management of the organisation will transfer from the Iowa Soybean Association (ISA), which founded IBB in 2007, to Struyk in association with lobbying firm Carney & Appleby.
The leadership change comes as Iowa’s biodiesel industry approaches a legislative period in which two state incentives are scheduled to expire at the end of 2027.
Doug Struyk takes over Iowa Biodiesel Board
IBB’s board of directors approved Struyk’s appointment at its annual meeting in September. The board includes Iowa biodiesel producers, farmers and other participants in the biodiesel supply chain.
Struyk has worked with IBB as a contracted state policy director since 2015. In that role, he has been involved in the organisation’s state policy activities, including advocacy surrounding Iowa’s 2022 Governor’s Biofuels Access Bill.
Before working with IBB, Struyk served as a member of the Iowa House of Representatives for Council Bluffs from 2003 to 2011. He served on the Agriculture Committee and Ways and Means Committee during his time in the legislature.
In a statement announcing the transition, Struyk said his experience with biodiesel policy dates back to his time as a state legislator.
“I’ve been a biodiesel believer and supporter since my time as a state legislator, and I look forward to taking the reins to propel the organization for another 20 productive years of industry success and growth.”
He identified extension of Iowa’s biodiesel tax incentives as the organisation’s principal legislative priority for the year ahead.
Iowa biodiesel tax credits set for 2027 expiration
The leadership transition comes ahead of the 2027 Iowa legislative session, when lawmakers are expected to consider the future of state biodiesel incentives scheduled to expire at the end of 2027.
Iowa’s Biodiesel Production Tax Credit was extended through calendar year 2027 under the state’s 2022 renewable fuels legislation. The production credit was also increased to 4 cents per gallon from 2023.
Separately, Iowa’s Biodiesel Blended Fuel Tax Credit is currently scheduled for repeal on January 1, 2028. The credit applies to qualifying biodiesel-blended fuel sold by retail dealers, with the applicable rate varying according to the biodiesel blend.
IBB has described the extension of both incentives as its defining legislative priority under the new leadership.
The organisation’s position is therefore focused on maintaining the existing state incentive framework beyond its current statutory sunset dates. Any extension would require action through Iowa’s legislative process.
Leadership transition follows decade-long Kimberley tenure
Kimberley is stepping down from his executive director position to concentrate on his primary role with the Iowa Soybean Association, where he serves as senior director of market development.
According to IBB, Kimberley’s responsibilities at ISA have expanded in areas including trade, domestic market dynamics and other demand-related priorities affecting Iowa soybean farmers.
Reflecting on his tenure at IBB, Kimberley said:
“I am very proud of what the Iowa Biodiesel Board has accomplished with the growth of our industry and many policy successes in Iowa and around the nation, thanks to the tremendous support of our staff, board members, soybean farmers, biodiesel producers, fuel marketers, coalition partners and elected officials who have championed biodiesel along the way.”
Kimberley will continue to participate in IBB in an ex-officio capacity, while the Iowa Soybean Association will remain a member of the organisation despite the change in its funding and management relationship.
IBB moves towards independent management structure
The management transition represents a structural change for IBB as it approaches its 20th anniversary.
Founded by the Iowa Soybean Association in 2007, the organisation has operated with ISA involvement since its establishment. Under the new arrangement, day-to-day management will move to Struyk, working with Carney & Appleby, which has served as IBB’s lobbying firm for more than a decade.
The transition comes while Iowa remains a major biodiesel production centre. IBB said Iowa had eight operating biodiesel plants that produced an estimated 266 million gallons in 2025, citing industry data. The organisation also reported that the sector contributes nearly $1.5 billion in annual economic output and supports more than 1,198 jobs in the state.
Ron Lutovsky elected as IBB chair
Alongside the executive director transition, IBB’s board elected Ron Lutovsky, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of biodiesel producer Iowa Renewable Energy, as chair.
Lutovsky said the organisation expected the leadership transition to continue its existing work while entering what he described as an important period for Iowa’s biodiesel industry.
The board’s new leadership team will therefore enter the 2027 legislative cycle with the tax-credit question among its principal policy matters.
What the transition means for Iowa’s biodiesel industry
For IBB, the immediate change is organisational: management is moving from its founding relationship with the Iowa Soybean Association to a structure led by Struyk and supported by Carney & Appleby.
The policy environment is equally significant. Iowa’s existing biodiesel production and blended-fuel incentives have statutory end dates in 2027, making the upcoming legislative session an important point for determining whether the current framework continues beyond those dates.
Struyk’s previous experience in Iowa state government and his years working on biodiesel policy place him at the centre of IBB’s engagement with that legislative process.
For the organisation, the appointment therefore marks both a change in leadership and the beginning of its first full year under an independent management structure as it approaches two decades of advocacy for Iowa’s biodiesel sector.
