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New role follows reorganization of Neste's fastest-growing business
Elim Yeoh, vice president, Biofuels Growth Americas at oil and gas giant BP, will join Neste as president, Renewable Products, North America on Sept. 1, 2026, to lead the Finnish company's new North American business unit as Neste strengthens executive oversight of Renewable Products, one of its two largest operating businesses.
Yeoh will oversee the North American business unit, including commercial operations, feedstock sourcing and the Martinez Renewables joint venture, while reporting to President and CEO Heikki Malinen, the world's leading producer of renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel announced recently.
The position has been held on an interim basis by SVP Carl Nyberg since April, when Neste established the regional business unit as part of a broader reorganization of its renewable products business that the company said was designed to accelerate value creation.
New structure puts greater emphasis on renewables
Renewable Products, which produces renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel, delivered Neste's strongest earnings growth in 2025, with comparable EBITDA rising nearly 49% to EUR 764 million, making it one of the company's two largest operating segments alongside Oil Products.
Against that backdrop, North America remained Neste’s second-largest market for Renewable Diesel and SAF in 2025, accounting for 28% of sales volumes, compared with 72% in Europe.
Reflecting the segment's growing significance, Neste established the Renewable Products, North America business unit to oversee regional commercial operations, feedstock sourcing and the Martinez Renewables joint venture with Marathon Petroleum. The company said the new structure will support long-term growth without altering its financial reporting structure.
BP executive brings more than two decades of industry experience
Yeoh brings more than 20 years of leadership experience across the downstream, midstream and renewable fuels sectors. At BP, she led biofuels growth across the Americas, focusing on commercial partnerships and business development. Before joining the London-headquartered multinational, she held leadership positions at Chevron spanning refining, chemicals and renewable fuels.
President and CEO Heikki Malinen highlighted Yeoh's track record and industry experience, adding that: "This will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen our regional presence and drive the growth of our Renewable Products business in North America."
What Neste is trying to accomplish
The leadership addition is part of Neste's broader effort to strengthen its renewables business as it expands production capacity, improves profitability and adapts to evolving market conditions.
The company expects the Rotterdam refinery expansion, which adds renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel production to meet growing demand, to increase annual renewables production capacity to 6.8 million tons by 2027. Neste also plans to continue its group-wide performance improvement program after exceeding its 2025 EBITDA improvement target ahead of schedule.
At the same time, Neste is advancing several major priorities in 2026. The company plans to invest more than EUR 400 million in a nine-week maintenance turnaround at its Porvoo refinery between August and October while maintaining uninterrupted fuel deliveries through advance production and storage. It also revised its climate targets in late 2025, replacing its carbon-neutral production goal with a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its own operations by 80% by 2040, citing its financial position and a more focused investment portfolio.
North America remains central to those ambitions. The company has expanded renewable diesel and sustainable aviation fuel in the region, strengthened its feedstock sourcing platform through acquisitions, and operates the Martinez Renewables joint venture in California, which produces renewable diesel for the US market. Neste expects long-term demand for renewable fuels to be supported by tightening emissions regulations and is expanding production capacity to meet that demand.
Investor watchpoints
Yeoh joins as North America receives dedicated leadership within Neste's renewables organization. Investors will be watching whether the new structure strengthens the company's commercial position in a market where profitability remains closely tied to evolving US renewable fuel policy, feedstock economics and demand for low-carbon fuels.
Across the broader business, attention is also likely to remain on the more than EUR 400 million Porvoo refinery maintenance turnaround, the Rotterdam expansion and whether Neste can sustain the segment's stronger financial performance while maintaining capital discipline.
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