
Joe Craft
CEO of Alliance Resource Partners
Education
- undergraduate degree in accounting - University of Kentucky
- JD degree - University of Kentucky College of Law
Overview
Joseph Craft III is an American businessman. He is the president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners, L.P., Inc.(ARLP) the third-largest coal producer in the eastern United States.
Career :
Craft began his career at Mapco Inc, a pipeline company that had diversified into other energy sectors, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1985, he was elected senior vice president of legal and finance.[10] In 1986, Craft became head of the coal division at Mapco.
In 1996, Craft led a management buyout of the unit. The buyout involved Mapco selling a 75% stake in the coal division to the Beacon Group Energy Investment Fund. The new company was called Alliance Coal LLC.
In 1999, he led the effort to take Alliance public. In August 1999, he became president and chief executive of Alliance. In January 2019, while already president and chief executive officer of Alliance Resource Partners' general partner, he also assumed the additional role of chairman of the general partner's board of directors.
In 2019, Alliance started mining under I-70 near the West Virginia state line with Pennsylvania. The long wall mining is expected to last until 2038.
Early Life
Craft born 1950 . He received an undergraduate degree in accounting in 1972 from the University of Kentucky, and then earned a JD degree in 1976 from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Craft was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
Career
- Alliance Resource Partners, L.P. - CEO
Recognition
Craft was inducted into the Tulsa Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2008, Craft was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Southwest Region energy, chemical, and mining category. In 2009, Craft was inducted into the University of Tulsa's Collins College of Business Hall of Fame. In 2010, he was inducted into the University of Kentucky College of Law Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was inducted into the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.