Most recently Mr. Castle was President and CEO of Aventine Renewable Energy, one of the country’s largest ethanol producers.  He joined Aventine as CFO just after its emergence from bankruptcy in March of 2010.  While at Aventine, Mr. Castle completed financings of over $450 million.  The proceeds of which were used to take out the bankruptcy exit financing and to fund the completion of two large scale ethanol plants.  Upon taking the CEO role he led the effort to reduce operating costs by over $27 million allowing the Company to complete an out of court restructuring after the second collapse of the industry in 2012.  

Prior to joining Aventine, Mr. Castle worked with a venture capital firm to start White Energy Inc.  White Energy was a development company focused on the production of ethanol.  In early 2006, as CFO, Mr. Castle helped raise over $400 million in debt and equity financing to build the business to the 6^th largest ethanol producer in the country.  As SVP of Operations he oversaw the construction of two large scale refineries and the acquisition of a third refinery.  The original private equity investor achieved a return in excess of 2.25 times.  With the 2008 crash of the ethanol market Mr. Castle negotiated a waiver and forbearance agreement with the lenders. However the new foreign owner chose to file bankruptcy in an attempt to force the lenders into concessions.   Although Mr. Castle did not support the decision to file, he worked with the all the constituents and through his efforts the lenders agreed to provide new credit arrangement and consented to plan of reorganization.  Shortly after taking the position at Aventine, White Energy emerged from bankruptcy.  

In 2004 and 2005 Mr. Castle was Director of Accounting at Dresser Inc. a global manufacturer of energy related product.  While at Dresser Mr. Castle as actively involved in improving the internal control environment in support of an effort to complete a financial restatement process.  

In 2003 and 2004 Mr. Castle was CFO of Rohn Industries, Inc. a manufacturer of communications equipment.  Mr. Castle was hired after a sale attempt failed and the Company was in significant financial trouble.  Mr. Castle dramatically improved working capital through tight management of inventory and receivables.  This allowed the Company time to put a plan in place to liquidate the assets through a section 363 sale under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.  In the end all creditors and vendors were made whole.  

At Telxon Corporation, Mr. Castle served as VP, Treasure and Corporate Controller. He had responsibilities for the global accounting and finance group.  As part of the new management team he participated in the turnaround of this business, resulting in a 300% increase in stockholder value.  As Treasurer, Mr. Castle replaced a frozen credit line with a new $70 million revolving credit facility which was subsequently taken out with the establishment of a $236 million line.  The new line was secured by stock received in the sale of non-core assets to Cisco Systems Inc.  

From 1996 to 1999 Mr. Castle was the Corporate Controller at Mosler Inc, a manufacturer of security equipment.  He also served as interim CFO for 8 months.  While at Mosler, Mr. Castle made significant improvement in the cash flow cycle. His efforts generated $6.7 million of positive cash in his first 90 days allowing the Company to get back into compliance with its financing agreements and avoid bankruptcy.   Mr. Castle directly participated in cost control efforts which resulted in over $16 million in annual cost savings. With renewed financial stability the Company was able to acquire a major competitor.  

Prior to joining Mosler Inc, Mr. Castle worked in various financial roles at Litton Industries Inc.  While at Litton, Mr. Castle participated in his first turnaround.  He was part of a new management team that Litton installed in its Material Handling division.  The team’s efforts returned the division to profitability and allowed Litton to sell the division.  

Mr. Castle is a CPA licensed in the State of Kentucky.  He holds a Bachelors of Science Degree in Accounting from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration from Xavier University in Cincinnati Ohio.