Swift Energy makes executive appointments; names two, re-elects one to board of directors
Several new executives have been appointed to key positions at Swift Energy Co. and its subsidiaries, and the company also has made some changes to its board of directors.
Laurent “Larry” Baillargeon has been named chief general counsel, and Karen Bryant has been promoted to chief governance officer and secretary for Swift Energy. She will continue her role as general counsel - corporate for the company.
Donald L. Morgan was chosen as president of Swift Energy International Inc. He will continue to serve as the non-executive chairman of Swift Energy New Zealand Ltd. In a related promotion, R. Alan Cunningham will become the principal executive officer for Swift Energy New Zealand.
Bruce H. Vincent, who previously served as president and secretary of Swift Energy and president of SEI, will continue his position as president of the parent company.
Baillargeon joined the company in 2000 with 29 years of legal experience in the oil and gas industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Assumption College, an MBA from Regis University, and a law degree from South Texas College of Law.
Bryant has practiced law for 19 years. Prior to joining Swift in 2003, she was with the law firm of Jenkens and Gilchrist. She holds a BBA from the University of Houston and a JD degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
Morgan received his BBA from the University of Houston. He joined Swift in 1994 and has more than 40 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry.
Cunningham, with over 25 years in the industry, joined Swift Energy New Zealand in 2002. He holds BS and BA degrees from the University of Texas and a JD from South Texas College of Law.
Swift also elected Douglas J. Lanier and Bruce H. Vincent to three-year terms on the company’s board of directors, and Deanna L. Cannon was re-elected to serve as director for a full three-year term after being appointed to serve out the remainder of a term at last year’s shareholders meeting.
Lanier has held positions at ChevronTexaco Exploration & Production Co., Gulf Oil Co., Cabinda Gulf Oil Co., and Chevron Petroleum Technology Co. He holds a BS in petroleum engineering. Vincent has held various positions of increasing responsibility since he started with the company in 1990. He holds a BA and a master’s degree in finance.
Swift Energy, headquartered in Houston, is an E&P company that focuses on onshore and inland waters in Louisiana and Texas and in New Zealand.
Jay Lendrum joins Torch Energy Advisors as president, COO
Houston-based Torch Energy Advisors Inc. has hired John J. (Jay) Lendrum III as president and COO. He brings with him more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Most recently, Lendrum was president of Rockport Resources Capital Corp. and a partner in Start Natural Gas Co. He served in various financial and business development roles with Torch-managed companies Nuevo Energy Co., Energy Assets International, and Bellwether Exploration before becoming executive vice president and CFO of Torch. Before that, he was the CFO of a company in Midland, Tex., and worked with KPMG Peat Marwick. Lendrum holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Texas. Torch Energy Advisors is the privately held parent company of Torch Energy TM Inc., Torch Energy Marketing Inc., and Torch E&P Co.
Lauletta retires as chair of National Oilwell Varco, Pete Miller to succeed
National Oilwell Varco Inc. has announced the retirement of John F. Lauletta as chairman of the board of directors. He will retire at the company’s 2005 annual stockholder meeting to be held this summer. The board intends to elect Merrill A. (Pete) Miller Jr. as chairman. The entire board, except Miller, consists of independent directors. Miller will continue his current role as president and CEO. National Oilwell Varco designs, manufactures, and sells equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, the provision of oilfield services, and supply chain integration services to the upstream oil and gas industry.
Gastar Exploration taps Michael Gerlich as CFO
Michael Gerlich has joined Houston-based Gastar Exploration Ltd. as CFO. Until recently he was senior vice president - accounting and finance for Calpine Natural Gas LP (formerly known as Sheridan Energy Inc.). Gerlich joined Sheridan as CFO in 1994. Before that, he held various positions with Trinity Resources Ltd. and a Big Four accounting firm. He has a degree in accounting from Texas A&M University and is a Certified Public Accountant. Gastar Exploration is an E&P company focused on finding and developing natural gas assets in North America and Australia.
Callon Petroleum loses its CFO, John S. Weatherly
Natchez, Miss.-based Callon Petroleum Co.’s senior vice president and CFO, John S. Weatherly passed away May 12. Fred L. Callon, chairman and CEO, and its former CFO, will assume Weatherly’s duties until a successor is named. “John has been a part of our management team for a quarter of a century and has been an important contributor to our current success,” said Callon. “Our deepest sympathy and condolences are expressed to his family; he will be greatly missed by all of us.” Weatherly joined the company in 1980 and served as vice president, CFO, and treasurer during his 25-year career. He was named senior vice president in 1999. Callon Petroleum has been engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition, and production of oil and gas in the Gulf Coast region since 1950.
Veritas selects Young to serve on board
Terence K. Young has been appointed to the board of directors of Veritas DGC Inc. Young is currently a professor and head of the department of geophysics at the Colorado School of Mines. From 1983 until 2000 he was employed by Mobil Research and Development Corp. in a variety of roles, the last of which was as a visiting scholar at the Institute for Statistics and Its Applications, Carnegie Mellon University. Before that, Young served as a research geophysicist with Compagnie Generale de Geophysique and an assistant professor at the Colorado School of Mines. Young started his career as a pilot and flight instructor in the US Navy. This appointment brings the number of directors to nine. Houston-based Veritas is a provider of integrated geophysical, geological, and reservoir technologies to the petroleum industry worldwide.
Prince retires; Beer to take over as senior vice president and CFO of Stone Energy
Stone Energy Corp. has named Kenneth H. Beer its new senior vice president and CFO, effective August 1. The current executive vice president and CFO, James H. Prince, will retire on that day. Prince has been an officer with Stone Energy since its incorporation in 1993. He has worked tirelessly first as the vice president and CAO, and most recently as executive vice president and CFO where he has coordinated several successful equity and debt offerings resulting in the raising of over $500 million in capital to finance the growth of Stone Energy. He was also instrumental in implementing the accounting procedures required by Sarbanes-Oxley. Prince has been planning his retirement for several years to provide for a less rigorous schedule and more time to devote to his personal life and family. Beer joins Stone Energy after a career as an energy analyst. He is currently a partner at the investment banking firm of Johnson Rice & Co., where he serves as director of research and a senior energy analyst for the firm. Prior to joining Johnson Rice, he spent five years as an energy analyst and investment banker at Howard Weil Inc. and prior to that, he was an associate at the Boston Consulting Group. Beer received an AB degree from Dartmouth College and an MBA from Stanford University. Stone Energy is an independent oil and gas company headquartered in Lafayette, La.
Voegele named CFO of Offshore Logistics
Brian C. Voegele has been named CFO of Offshore Logistics Inc., which provides helicopter transportation services to the oil and gas industry worldwide. Voegele joins Offshore Logistics from Transocean Inc., where he held various positions including vice president of corporate planning and development. Prior to that, he was employed by Arthur Young & Co. He earned his BA degree from the University of Texas and lives in Houston.
Accenture promotes Floether and Lajtha
Accenture has named Karl-Heinz Floether as the group chief executive of technology and delivery. The company will incorporate Floether into Accenture’s office of the CEO, where he will work side by side with the CEO and COO. In his new role, Floether will be responsible for all of Accenture’s technology, quality, and delivery capabilities to include its global delivery network. Floether joined the Accenture team in 1979 and became a partner in 1990. He holds an MBA degree from Hamburg University. Adrian Lajtha will succeed Floether in his role as group chief executive of financial services. Lajtha joined the company in 1979 and became partner in 1990. He served on Accenture’s board of partners prior to the 2001 incorporation of Accenture and is a member of the global financial services operating committee and the UK and Ireland Geographic Council.
Lajtha joined the company in 1979 and became partner in 1990. He served on Accenture¿s board of partners prior to the 2001 incorporation of Accenture and is a member of the global financial services operating committee and the UK and Ireland Geographic Council. Lajtha holds a degree from Oxford University. New York-based Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services, and outsourcing company with more than 110 offices in 48 countries.
Jefferies & Company hires David Tameron to expand O&G effort
In an effort to strengthen the firm’s focus on the energy sector, Jefferies & Company Inc. has hired David R. Tameron as senior vice president and senior equity research analyst. He will follow exploration and production companies and is joined by senior associate Michael A. Hall in this effort. Both will be based in Denver. The Austin-based group is headed by managing director and senior equity research analyst, Frank D. Bracken III, and includes research associates David C. Adams and Leo P. Mariani Jr. Tameron has covered the energy industry for nearly a decade. Prior to joining Jefferies, he worked as a senior research analyst at First Albany Capital Inc. and held similar positions at Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Inc., ABN AMRO Securities Inc., and Prudential Securities Inc. He started out at ExxonMobil Corp. Tameron earned a BS degree from Arizona State University and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Jefferies & Co. is the principal operating subsidiary of New York-based Jefferies Group Inc., a global investment bank and international securities firm. Jefferies acquired oil and gas advisor Randall & Dewey in February.
Judzis leads 2006 OTC board as new chairman
Arnis Judzis, executive vice president for TerraTek, has been elected chairman of the 2006 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC). His appointment was announced at this year’s event held May 2-5 in Houston. Members of the OTC board include: Frank Ademek, Vetco Gray, representing ASME International Petroleum Technology Institute; Rod Allan, Transocean Inc., representing the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers; Jack Caldwell, Acous-Tech Seismics, representing the Society of Exploration Geophysicists; Susan Cunningham, Noble Energy, representing the American Association of Petroleum Geologists; Rick Hill, EWImicroalloying, representing the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society; John Irwin, Atwood Oceanics Inc., representing the International Association of Drilling Contractors; Tony Jones, oceanUS Consulting, representing the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration Inc.; Arnis Judzis, TerraTek, representing the American Institute of Chemical Engineers; Peter Kinnear, FMC Technologies, representing the Petroleum Equipment Suppliers Association; Alain Labastie, Total, representing the Society of Petroleum Engineers; Bill Luyties, Shell E&P, representing the American Society of Civil Engineers; Doug Stroud, Canyon Offshore Inc., representing the Marine Technology Society; and Don Vardeman (vice chairman), Kerr-McGee Corp., representing the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-Oceanic Engineering Society. Members of the OTC board are appointed for up to two four-year terms by their respective society or organization. The OTC board includes 13 representatives, 11 from OTC’s sponsoring organizations, and two from OTC’s endorsing organizations. The chairman and the vice chairman serve two-year terms. OTC .06 is scheduled May 1-4 2006.
Range Resources adds McCarthy and Ventura to board of directors
Forth Worth-based Range Resources Corp. has elected Kevin S. McCarthy and Jeffrey L. Ventura to its board of directors. Seven of its nine directors are independent, as defined under New York Stock Exchange guidelines. McCarthy currently serves as chairman, CEO, and president of Kayne Anderson MLP Investment Co. He joined the firm as a senior managing director in 2004. Previously, he served as global head of energy investment banking for UBS Securities. He has also held positions at Dean Witter Reynolds and PaineWebber Inc. McCarthy earned his BA from Amherst College and his MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Ventura is currently Range’s executive vice president and COO. Before joining the company, he served as president and COO of Matador Petroleum Corp. until its sale to Tom Brown Inc. Before that, he held various management positions with Maxus Energy and Tenneco. He earned his BS degree from Pennsylvania State University. Range Resources Corp. is an independent oil and gas company operating in the Southwestern, Appalachian, and Gulf Coast regions of the United States.
Frontier Oil announces departure of CFO
Frontier Oil Corp. announced that Julie Edwards, executive vice president of finance and administration, and CFO has resigned to pursue another career opportunity. Frontier’s chairman, president and CEO, James Gibbs, will assume Edwards’ responsibilities until a successor is named. The company is in the final stages of its search and expects to name a successor very soon. Frontier operates a 110,000-b/d refinery located in El Dorado, Kan., and a 46,000-b/d refinery located in Cheyenne, Wyo., and markets its refined products principally along the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains and in other neighboring plains states.
Energy Partners names Phillip Gobe president, elects new directors
Energy Partners Ltd. has appointed Phillip A. Gobe as president in addition to his role as COO. Dr. Norman C. Francis and William R. “Bob” Herrin have been elected to the board of directors of the company. Gobe has served EPL as executive vice president and COO. Now as president and COO, he is responsible for ELP’s operations and other corporate and strategic matters. Francis has served as president of Xavier University of Louisiana since 1968. He chairs the board for the Southern Education Foundation and for Liberty Bank and Trust. He is a member of the board of the American Council on Education and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Herrin has served in many capacities at Chevron Corp., most recently as vice president and general manager of Chevron USA Production Co. New Orleans-based EPL is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company whose operations are focused along the US Gulf Coast, both onshore in south Louisiana and offshore in the shallow to moderate depth waters of the Gulf of Mexico shelf.
Resignation spurs management changes at Fidelis Energy
Dan Hodges, president of Fidelis Energy Inc., resigned from his position, effective May 31. William Marshall assumes the role as president of Fidelis, and Brian Wildes also has accepted a position with initial responsibilities as operations and engineering consultant. Marshall is a financial consultant with more than 15 years of venture capital experience and is one of the founders of the company and its largest shareholder. He was responsible for bringing the Alberta and California projects to Fidelis and has served on the board of five other public companies. Wildes joins the team with more than 40 years’ experience in all facets of the industry. He earned his MBA from the Wharton School of Business and worked for Deloitte, Haskins, and Sells in Denver. He then went on to manage Neitzel Wildes Investment Co.’s drilling and capital markets activities. More recently, he created Wildes Exploration Co. to explore for oil in Oklahoma and Kansas. Based in Tucson, Ariz., Fidelis Energy is an oil and gas company that identifies, acquires, and develops working interest percentages in smaller, underdeveloped oil and gas projects in North America.
Battey appointed CFO of CanArgo Energy, McDonnell named COO
CanArgo Energy Corp., an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with operations in the Republic of Georgia and the Caspian Sea, has announced the appointment of Richard Battey as CFO. Before joining CanArgo, Battey, a Chartered Accountant, served in various positions in the Schroder Group, most recently as a director.
The former CFO, Vincent McDonnell, already an executive director, will assume the position of COO in addition to his duties as CCO. He holds a BS degree in geology, an MS in geophysics, and an MBA. His previous experiences include roles with Mobil Oil and Britoil PLC. CanArgo Energy has headquarters on Guernsey in the Channel Islands.
Board of directors elects Michael Pearce president of Smith International
Michael D. Pearce has been appointed president of Houston-based Smith International Inc. Before his election, Pearce was vice president of sales for Smith Bits. He joined the company in 1995 as vice president of sales for GeoDiamond. When the company merged with Smith’s bit group, he became vice president for the combined operations. Pearce earned his degree at the University of Texas. Smith International is a worldwide supplier of products and services to the oil and gas exploration and production industry, the petrochemical industry, and other industrial markets through its four principal business units - M-I SWACO, Smith Technologies, Smith Services, and Wilson.
Apollo Resources taps Heino Ahrens for key international position
Dallas-based Apollo Resources International Inc. has appointed Heino Ahrens to the position of vice president of international business development. He will focus on current activities in Russia involving the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Apollo Eurasia Inc. Ahrens’ experience started when he began ITOC International GmbH in Germany. The company grew to become the second-largest oil trading company in Europe. He also started Dome International Corp. in Houston, an Amoco distributor. Most recently, Ahrens joined with a Swiss partnership to develop oil and gas ventures between Russia and China. Apollo Resources is a public energy company focused on the acquisition and development of upstream oil and natural gas production assets. The company also evaluates and develops existing and future alternative energy sources.
Jim Leonard named VP and controller of Occidental Petroleum
Occidental Petroleum Corp.’s board of directors has elected Jim A. Leonard as vice president and controller. He is responsible for the company’s external financial reporting, technical accounting, consolidation functions, and will direct accounting support for all Occidental business units. Leonard joined the company in 1978, serving in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as senior assistant controller of the company and senior vice president of finance for the company’s oil and gas division. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from California State University, Los Angeles.
Sherrick named to senior corporate development role at Houston Exploration
The Houston Exploration Co. has chosen Jeffrey B. Sherrick as its senior vice president of corporate development. He brings nearly 30 years’ experience to the newly created position, where he is responsible for the organization’s corporate development activity, reservoir engineering, and the assessment of new prospect areas. Before joining the company, Sherrick was senior vice president of production and non-regulated services at El Paso Production Co. He also held positions at EVP Oil & Gas, Enron Global Exploration and Production, Enron Oil & Gas International Inc., Enron Oil & Gas Co., and Tenneco Oil Co. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Marietta College. The Houston Exploration Co. is an independent natural gas and crude oil producer engaged in the development, exploitation, exploration, and acquisition of natural gas and crude oil properties. They are focused in South Texas, the Arkoma Basin, the Rocky Mountains, and offshore in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Additional production is located in East Texas.
Giampetroni joins PDC’s senior management team
Joseph C. Giampetroni has joined Petroleum Development Corp. as vice president of finance and business development. Before joining the company he was employed at JP Morgan Securities Inc. and its predecessors for more than 20 years. He earned his BBA degree from Eastern Michigan University and is a Series Seven General Securities Registered Representative. PDC, with headquarters in Bridgeport, W. Va., is an independent energy company engaged in the development, production, and marketing of natural gas. The company’s operations are focused in the Rocky Mountains with additional operations in the Appalachian Basin and Michigan.
New VP, controller at Burlington Resources
Dane E. Whitehead will assume his new position as vice president and controller of Houston-based Burlington Resources on August 1. For three years Whitehead has served as senior vice president and CFO of Burlington Resources Canada Ltd. He has held various other positions since joining the company in 1993. Before that, Whitehead served with Coopers & Lybrand. He holds a bachelors degree from the University of Washington and is a Certified Public Accountant. Burlington conducts exploration, production, and development operations in the US, Canada, the United Kingdom, Africa, China, and South America.
GE Commercial Finance names CEO Urquhart an officer of the company
J. Alex Urquhart, current president and CEO of GE Commercial Finance, Energy Financial Services, has been appointed a company officer by GE. Since his start with the company in 1981, Urquhart has served in numerous positions of increasing responsibility. He held roles within the structured finance group and worked his way to managing director of global energy in Commercial Finance’s structured finance group (SFG), which he held until being named president and CEO in 2003. Urquhart earned his BS degree from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and his MBA from the University of Connecticut. GE Commercial Finance, Energy Financial Services, based in Stamford, Conn., invests in the energy industry. The company offers financial products and services to businesses worldwide.
