Leadership
Alex p. Burke
Founder & CEO
Alex Burke is the CEO and a founding principal of Archem, LLC. Under his leadership, Archem has advanced novel aerospace fuel technologies into operational readiness, securing multiple U.S. Department of Defense contracts.
Before founding Archem, Alex spent over a decade in the energy sector. He began his career as a landman and later joined Calumet Specialty Products Partners, where he managed crude supply and quality control for a fleet of specialty refineries serving diverse product and facility requirements.
He holds a B.A. in English from Louisiana State University. His liberal arts training informs a leadership style that is mission-driven, collaborative, and focused on clear communication across technical and strategic stakeholders.
Outside of Archem, Alex has served as a ruling elder in his church and is a founding board member of a classical Christian school, where he twice served as board chair and led the institution through the COVID-19 pandemic as interim head of school. He lives in Shreveport with his wife and three sons and enjoys studying geopolitics, culture, theology, fitness, food & wine.
Joe. H. Ritch
Advisory Board
Joe. H. Ritch is a practicing attorney and shareholder in the law offices of Dentons Sirote in its Huntsville, Alabama office. His legal practice includes business and corporate matters with a concentration on defense and aerospace companies engaged in advanced technologies.
He has been active for more than 25 years in the Tennessee Valley BRAC Committee (now known as the Redstone Regional Alliance) which has been active in supporting growth efforts at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. He has served on the Board of Directors of many corporate and non-profit organizations for many years. He served on the Board of Directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 2013-to 2017 and as Chair of the Board from May of 2014 until his term ended in 2017. He rejoined the Board of Directors of TVA in January of 2023. He was previously a member of the board of trustees of the University of Alabama System and is now a trustee emeritus. He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 2021.
Lt. Gen. James Pillsbury (Ret.)
Advisory Board
Jim Pillsbury retired from the Army in July 2011 after 38 years of service. He retired as a Lieutenant General, with his last duty as Deputy Commanding General of Army Materiel Command in Huntsville. Most of his career was in aviation logistics. Pillsbury spent 16 years in infantry divisions, leading and serving soldiers and their families, with tours on both the Army Staff and the Joint Staff. Jim Pillsbury currently works for Hontek, a rotor blade coating company, and is the owner of Pillsbury Solutions.
Jim Pillsbury graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He also holds a Master of Science degree in International Relations from Troy State University. His military education includes the Infantry Officer Basic Course, Transportation Officer Advanced Course, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, and the U.S. Army War College.
Jim Pillsbury served as AMC’s Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics and Operations, G-3, from July 2007 to October 2008, and as the Commander of the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Life Cycle Management Command from December 2003 to July 2007.
He has served in a variety of command and staff assignments. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1973 and began his military career as a mortar platoon leader and later support platoon leader with the 2nd Battalion, 47th Infantry, 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis, Washington. Early in his career, he also served as a platoon leader, detachment commander, company executive officer, and company commander.
From 1991 to 1993, Jim Pillsbury served as Commander of the 8th Battalion, 101st Aviation Regiment, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. From 1993 to 1994, he served as Executive Officer for Force Development, Aviation Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C. From 1995 to 1997, he served as Commander of the Division Support Command, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell. He also served as Assistant Division Commander (Support) of the 10th Mountain Division (Light) at Fort Drum, New York, from 1997 to 1998.
His joint assignments include Chief of the Sustainability, Mobilization Plans and Exercises Division, J-4, from 1998 to 1999; Deputy Director for Logistics, Readiness and Requirements, J-4, from 1999 to 2000; and Commander of the Defense Distribution Center, Defense Logistics Agency, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, from 2000 to 2002. From 2002 to October 2003, he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff, G-4, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, Germany.
His awards and decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Joint Service Medal, Army Commendation Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with three Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Stars, and the Parachutist, Senior Army Aviator, Air Assault, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification, and Army Staff Identification Badges.
Jim Pillsbury serves on several boards, including the Huntsville Housing Authority Advisory Board. He is a deacon at Locust Grove Baptist Church and enjoys working to improve his 7-handicap in golf.
Jim Pillsbury is married to Amanda and has a son, Michael, and a daughter, Katherine.
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Thomas W. Hicks
Advisory Board
Tom Hicks is a founding principal and managing director of Mabus Group, a strategic advisory firm. He also serves on the Board of Advisors at Avenue Capital for their Impact Fund and on the Board of Advisors of Arctaris Impact Investors’ Opportunity Zone Fund.
Tom Hicks served as the Under Secretary of the Navy from 2014 to 2016 and again in 2017, representing the Department on all policy, budget, and strategy matters. In this role, he also served as the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Management Officer of the Navy. Concurrently, he held the position of Deputy Under Secretary of the Navy for Management, acting as the Secretary of the Navy’s principal advisor on all business management functions, including the offices of the Chief Information Officer, Strategy and Innovation, Business Operations, and Administration.
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Before these roles, Tom served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy, acting as the Secretary’s senior official on matters related to energy sourcing, energy efficiency, and alternative fuels. In this role, he managed an energy investment portfolio of $1 billion annually.
Prior to his service with the Navy, Tom was Vice President of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) and International Programs with the U.S. Green Building Council. Before that, he was a senior program manager with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program, where he created the ENERGY STAR commercial building rating system, enabling measurement and tracking of building energy performance on a 1 to 100 scale.
Tom received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland.
Robert m. Mills
Advisory Board
Robert M. Mills is a former Louisiana State Senator (2020–2024) and veteran of the oil and gas industry with over four decades of leadership experience. He currently manages his family’s oil and gas interests in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Mr. Mills began his career in 1977 as a petroleum landman and went on to serve as President of the Ark-La-Tex Association of Petroleum Landmen, the oldest association of its kind in the United States. In 1993, he joined Calumet Lubricants Company as Manager of Supply and Distribution. Over the course of his tenure, Calumet expanded from a single privately owned refinery into a publicly traded company with a growing national footprint. As Vice President of Crude Oil Supply, Mr. Mills played a central role in the company’s operational scale-up while also leading international business development efforts across Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, Indonesia, China, and India, in pursuit of strategic opportunities.
Mr. Mills also served as Executive Vice President of the Shreveport Bossier Committee of 100, a regional business leadership group focused on economic development and strategic growth.
A native of Shreveport, Mr. Mills is a graduate of C.E. Byrd High School and earned his B.S. in Business Administration from Louisiana State University in 1976.
Advancing the Mission
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