Energy Players

Janet F. Clark, executive vice president and CFO of Marathon Oil Corp., has elected to retire on Oct. 1, 2013, after serving almost 10 years as the company's CFO. The Marathon Oil board of directors has elected John R. (J.R.) Sult to succeed Clark as executive vice president and CFO effective Sept. 3, 2013. Clark will serve as executive vice president, assisting in transition related matters during the month of September. Sult was a member of El Paso Corp.'s executive management team from 2005 until the company was acquired by Kinder Morgan Inc. in 2012. While with El Paso, he served as executive vice president and CFO from 2010 to 2012 and senior vice president and CFO from 2009 until 2010. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president and controller from 2005 until 2009. Sult currently serves on the board of directors of Dynegy Inc. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree with special attainments in commerce from Washington & Lee University, and he is a CPA in the State of Texas. "We want to recognize and thank Janet for the substantial contributions she has made to Marathon Oil over the past decade," said Clarence P. Cazalot Jr., executive chairman of Marathon Oil. "Maintaining strong financial discipline has been a hallmark of Marathon Oil's commitment to its shareholders and Janet's knowledge and leadership has been critical in guiding the company through periods of extraordinary change."

More top execs out at Chesapeake

Steve Dixon, a one-time interim CEO of Chesapeake Energy Corp. is one of four executives to recently depart the Oklahoma City-based company as part of a restructuring in the wake of co-founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon's exit from the company earlier in the year. Prior to Dixon's stint as interim CEO, he served as executive vice president and COO since 2006. He joined the company in 1991. Dixon resumed his COO position following Doug Lawler's appointment as CEO in May. News of the recent departures, which also include Jeff Fisher, the head of oil and gas production; drilling executive Steve Miller, and human resources chief Martha Burger, came via memo from Lawler August 12. Lawler told investors on Aug. 1 that he is conducting a comprehensive review of the business.

Crady joins Norton Rose Fulbright

Energy transactions lawyer George E. (Ned) Crady has joined the Houston office of Norton Rose Fulbright. He most recently served as a partner at King & Spalding. Crady has represented energy companies and strategic investors in acquisitions and divestitures, project development and finance, and related joint venture planning and corporate governance matters. He advises clients in the purchase, transport, storage, tolling and sale of various energy commodities, including LNG. Crady, fluent in Spanish, received his JD from South Texas College of Law and BA from Washington & Lee University.

Bracewell adds Corken as Environmental Partner

Heather M. Corken has joined the Houston office of Bracewell & Giuliani LLP as a partner in the environmental strategies practice. Corken focuses on energy-related environmental issues such as advising clients on regulatory requirements, assisting them in the evaluation and negotiation of corporate and real estate transactions and representing them in environmental litigation and enforcement matters. Corken has experience serving as counsel for energy, petrochemical and pipeline companies and private equity firms that are seeking guidance on environmental compliance and the allocation of environmental liabilities in mergers and acquisitions. She also plays a major role in advising clients on the environmental issues surrounding shale play development, hydraulic fracturing and the permitting, construction and operation of liquefied natural gas (LNG) import/export facilities in the US.

Wind promoted to CFO at Forest Oil

Forest Oil Corp. has promoted Victor A. Wind, previously the company's senior vice president, chief accounting officer, corporate controller and treasurer, to the position of executive vice president, CFO, and treasurer. Wind will be responsible for overseeing all financing activities of the company and directing its accounting, treasury, corporate planning, investor relations, tax, and information technology functions. Wind started his career in public accounting in 1995, later served in various management positions, including director of financial reporting and controller, at Evergreen Resources Inc. from July 2001 through December 2004, and joined Forest as controller – financial accounting in January 2005. Wind's promotion comes as Michael N. Kennedy, Forest's former executive vice president and CFO, resigned his position, to become vice president – finance at Antero Resources Corp.

TAM International promotes Frisby to VP, technology

TAM International Inc., an independent oilfield services company providing inflatable and swellable packers, has promoted Ray Frisby to vice president of technology. Frisby will lead the identification and development of new technology for TAM International to facilitate the company's growth in new markets. Additionally, he will be responsible for planning and constructing the new TAM Technology Center, scheduled to begin construction later this year and open in 2014. Frisby is a veteran of the oil and gas industry with over 27 years of experience in various technical and operational roles in the oilfield service sector. Frisby joined TAM International as technical director in June 2012. He is a registered Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, both from Texas A&M University.

Liberty Energy appoints Roy CEO

Houston-based Liberty Energy Corp. has appointed Arthur Roy as its new CEO. He has experience in commercial and residential real estate investments, as well as in other acquisitions and developments. Over the last 10 years, Roy has focused on small cap investments and raising capital for oil and gas transactions, including the acquisition of properties and redevelopment of distressed properties. He received a BBA degree in marketing from the University of Texas at Austin.

Connors, Goltermann, Grampp join Northland Securities

Adam B. Connors has joined Northland Capital Markets, the Investment Banking Group of Northland Securities as managing director along with investment banking associate Carl P. Goltermann and equity research analyst Jeff S. Grampp. Connors, Goltermann, and Grampp previously served as energy capital markets professionals at C. K. Cooper & Company. Northland Capital Markets is a full-service investment bank including corporate finance, institutional sales/trading, retail asset management, and proprietary equity research focused on growth companies.

Wonstolen named senior VP, general counsel for Bill Barrett

Bill Barrett Corp. has named Kenneth A. Wonstolen as senior vice president–general counsel. He comes from the law firm Beatty & Wozniak PC, where he served as senior counsel since January 2009. Wonstolen has more than 30 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry, including serving as corporate counsel and officer at Gerrity Oil & Gas Corp. and corporate counsel at Patina Oil & Gas Corp., its successor. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from the State University of New York, and a Master of Environmental Policy and Management from the University of Denver. He earned his JD from the University of Colorado School of Law.

Capital One expands Energy Banking

Capital One Securities Inc. has appointed two new senior managing directors to expand its Energy Banking division. Russ Johnson and Bob Mertensotto will co-head the Houston Energy Banking office; Johnson will join as head of Energy Investment Banking, and Mertensotto will join as head of Energy Debt Capital Markets. In addition, Scott Joyce has been promoted to managing director of Energy Origination and will report to Mertensotto and Johnson, who, in turn, will report to Jim McBride, recently named chairman and CEO of the Capital One Securities Energy Banking Division. Both Johnson and Mertensotto began their energy banking careers at a predecessor to J.P. Morgan. Johnson, a 20-year industry veteran, was most recently a managing director at Barclays and co-head of its Oil and Gas Leveraged Finance group. Mertensotto, a 32-year industry veteran, was most recently a managing director at J.P. Morgan in its Oil and Gas Leveraged Finance group. Capital One has grown its energy business significantly in recent years, both in its Energy Banking loan portfolio and Capital One Securities energy-related investment banking transactions.

Naylor named corporate VP, Strategic Planning, Chevron

In August, Chevron Corp. named Joe M. Naylor corporate vice president of Strategic Planning. Naylor succeeds Charles "Chuck" A. Taylor, who was previously appointed managing director for the company's IndoAsia Business Unit in the international upstream business. In his new role, Naylor will oversee the setting of strategic direction for the company, allocating capital and other resources, and determining operating unit performance measures and targets. Naylor was previously general manager of Upstream Strategy and Planning. He began his career with Chevron in 1982 after graduating from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering.

Orrick names Cleary co-head Asia Energy and Infrastructure practice

Peter D. Cleary has joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP as co-head of its Asia Energy and Infrastructure Group, based in the Hong Kong office. Cleary will share leadership of this Asian practice group with Co-Head Yoichi Katayama, who is based in Japan. Cleary has experience handling complex cross-border energy and infrastructure projects, with a reputation for advising on first-of-a-kind transactions and other innovative projects in senior roles in the private sector, the World Bank and as a partner at major international law firms. Cleary joins Orrick from UAE-based RAK Petroleum Public Company Ltd. where he served as general counsel and secretary to the Board of Directors. Prior to this role, Cleary served as director and general counsel of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, the political risk insurance arm of the World Bank. Prior to his general counsel roles, Cleary spent 20 years as a partner in private practice with New York and London law firms, principally in Hong Kong and Tokyo, specializing in project finance and infrastructure. He received his JD from Harvard Law School and his undergraduate degree from Princeton University.

Middle East lawyers join Baker Botts

A group of 14 veteran lawyers with accumulated experience of more than a century of practice in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – including eight partners who specialize in a wide range of transactional and dispute matters – joined Baker Botts LLP on July 16. The lawyers will work from firm offices in Dubai, Riyadh, and Abu Dhabi. The Middle East group – a total of 14 lawyers and a number of support staff – moved to the firm from Norton Rose Fulbright, formed in June with the merger of London-based Norton Rose and Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski. The exiting group includes John Lonsberg, who established Fulbright & Jaworski's presence in the Middle East when he joined Fulbright in 2005 and served as the partner in charge of that firm's Middle East practice; fellow partners Mark Bisch, Jonathan Sutcliffe, Joseph Colagiovanni, Hassan Elsayed, Richard Devine and Philip Punwar in Dubai, and Sam Eversman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Antero Resources names finance VP, director

Antero Resources Corp. has appointed Michael N. Kennedy to the role of vice president – finance. Kennedy will also serve in the investor relations role. Kennedy brings to Antero broad corporate finance experience in both acquisitions and capital markets transactions in the exploration and production industry, including having served as executive vice president and CFO of Forest Oil Corp. since December 2009. Kennedy served in various roles at Forest Oil from 2001 to 2009 including treasury, capital markets, financial analysis and investor relations. Prior to Forest Oil, Kennedy was an auditor with Arthur Andersen. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Colorado. Additionally, the company has appointed Richard W. Connor to its board of directors. Connor has also been appointed to serve as chairman of the audit committee. Prior to his retirement in 2009, Connor was an audit partner with KPMG LLP, where he principally served publicly traded clients in the energy, mining, telecommunications and media industries for 38 years. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Colorado.

Former Apache counsel joins King & Spalding

King & Spalding recruited energy lawyer M. Kathryn Marietta to its global transactions practice as a partner in its Houston office. Marietta formerly was assistant general counsel of Apache Corp. At Apache, Marietta directed and executed international legal strategy. She has particular expertise in LNG as well as considerable experience in engineering, procurement and construction projects, upstream and downstream operational agreements, offshore long-term drilling contracts and acquisitions and divestitures. Marietta is a member of the California and Texas Bars. She has served on the board of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. She was a counsel at King & Spalding from 2000 to 2002.

Froggatt joins Korn/Ferry energy practice

Korn/Ferry International, a global provider of talent management solutions, has named Mark Froggatt as a principal in the company's global energy practice. He will be based in Houston. Froggatt holds more than three decades of business experience, 20 years of which have been dedicated to the oil and gas industry. He has worked for various petrochemical, upstream and downstream companies, and advisory firms in executive level roles. Such companies include: Ernst & Young; Noble & Co. Ltd.; BP plc; and Mobil Oil Company Ltd. Most recently, he served as a senior consultant in oil and gas business development and execution for Maxwell Drummond International. Froggatt earned a bachelor's and a master's degree from the University of Cambridge, Clare College. He also holds a diploma in Spanish from the University of Salamanca, and earned corporate finance qualifications from the Securities & Investment Institute in London.

Lindsay named president of Wood Group Mustang offshore business

Wood Group Mustang has named Bob Lindsay president of its offshore business unit. Lindsay has 35 years of management experience in international offshore business operations, having held various senior and executive management roles. His expertise includes design, construction, project management and business development of oil and gas production facilities that have included assignments in the UK, Brazil, Korea, South Africa, the US and Australia. He holds an MBA from The Open University in the UK, as well as a graduate diploma in business administration and an associateship in mechanical engineering (Bachelor of Science equivalent) from the Western Australia Institute of Technology.