Ralf van der Ven
- Managing Partner at Acretio
- Audit Committee, Houston Chapter Committee
Born and educated in the Netherlands, Ralf joined Royal Dutch Shell after completing his master’s in business at the Groningen University. After traineeship rotations and a senior procurement role at the Shell Pernis refinery, Ralf was transferred to Shell in Houston in 1998. For Shell in the USA he held various business development, commercial and management positions, including General Manager of Shell Gas (LPG) in North America and Global Manager Sales Excellence for Lubricants. In 2008 Ralf started a boutique advisory firm working with early stage start-ups, including Xenex healthcare services, and assisting mid-cap organizations with growth planning and execution. As such he joined the Vopak North America team in 2010 as Director Business Development. As a result of the integration of Vopak across the Americas he assumed the Americas Commercial and BD responsibilities mid-2013. Ralf has recently been appointed Managing Director for the Vopak Moda Terminal, a joint venture project in the Houston ship channel.
Ralf and his Argentine wife have three American kids and have been living in Houston, Texas for 17 years. He is a founding board member of the Houston NAF chapter where he has the education portfolio and is actively engaged in the local arts through his Board role at Mercury Orchestra.
