Energy Players

May 1, 2012
10 min read

Skadden promotes Monastyrskaya to projects partner

Cantrell heads Continental Resources' regulatory affairs

Energy industry leader Mike Cantrell has joined Continental Resources as vice president of government and regulatory affairs. In this new role, Cantrell will work to affect public policy conducive to the growth of the U.S. oil and natural gas industry and to the creation of a regulatory environment that leads to the nation's energy independence. Cantrell has worked with Harold Hamm, chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources, in various capacities for more than 25 years. Prior to joining Continental Resources, Cantrell owned and operated several oil and gas exploration and production companies. Cantrell is president of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, a collaboration of 10 petroleum associations across America. He is a member of the board of directors of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, the North Dakota Petroleum Council, the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and the National Stripper Well Association. He co-founded the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, the nation's first oil check-off program. Continental Resources, based in Oklahoma City, is the largest producer of oil in the Williston Basin and is developing key oil and natural gas resources in the Woodford resource play in Oklahoma and the Bakken resource play in North Dakota and Montana.

GlassPoint appoints Dreessen as CFO

GlassPoint Solar has appointed David Dreessen as chief financial officer. Dreessen will oversee the financial and administrative functions of GlassPoint, a provider of solar steam generators for solar enhanced oil recovery. Dreessen joins GlassPoint from Battery Ventures, a venture capital firm. A partner at Battery Ventures since 2006 and previously with Nth Power, Dreessen has completed more than 19 energy technology investments including Evergreen Solar, Northern Power Systems, Modular Wind Energy, AllConnect, Spectrasensors and Synapsense. He holds a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering and economics from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley. GlassPoint Solar is headquartered in Fremont, California with offices in Bakersfield, California, Muscat, Oman and Shenzhen, China.

Gregory joins J&S Oil & Gas

Jonathan Gregory has joined the management team at J&S Oil & Gas LLC, a privately owned independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company focused primarily in South Louisiana. The Houston-based company's management team has extensive experience operating, developing and acquiring properties along the Texas and Louisiana coast. Previously, Gregory served as an executive vice president in the energy group at Texas Capital Bank.

TexCom chairman retires, Barth and May appointed

Louis Ross, chairman, president and chief executive officer of TexCom, Inc., has announced his retirement. He will remain with the company as an independent consultant to assist in the recruitment of and transition to a new executive leadership team. The company's board of directors has appointed Stephen Barth, who has been an independent member of TexCom's board since March 2011, to serve as chairman. Robert S. May has been named interim CEO. TexCom is an environmental services company headquartered in Houston, Texas, whose primary focus is the disposal of nonhazardous wastes generated by the oil & gas industry.

Aqua-Chem names 2 execs to management team

Aqua-Chem, Inc. has named Thomas Gillcrist as CFO and Ron Shook as pharmaceutical applications engineer. They will report directly to David Gensterblum, president and CEO. Gillcrist came to Aqua-Chem from CUSTOMatrix, Inc., where he served as a principal in strategic services for five years. Prior to that, he held upper-level management positions at AXEON Water Technologies, Tech M3, Ionics, Microbar Inc., and U.S. Filter. He earned his MBA from the University of Virginia. Shook joined Aqua-Chem in 2011 as business development manager for the Pharmaceutical / Biotech and Beverage Divisions. Since graduating from North Carolina State University in 1996 with a bachelor's in mechanical engineering, Shook has held technical and management positions within the semi-conductor, pharmaceutical and biotech industries, specializing in the design, operation and maintenance of high purity water and critical utility systems. Based in Knoxville, Tenn., Aqua-Chem specializes in a multitude of industries with a range of thermal and membrane water treatment technologies. These include vapor compression distillation, flash evaporation, reverse osmosis, membrane filtration and ion exchange. The company has worked with the US government since 1943 to ensure deployed troops have drinking water that is safe.

Occidental Petroleum names Ale VP, general counsel

Los Angeles-based Occidental Petroleum Corp. announced that John C. Ale will be named vice president and general counsel. Donald P. de Brier will remain as corporate executive vice president and corporate secretary with continuing responsibility for legal; health, safety and environment; public affairs and corporate communications; and security. Previously, Ale led the Houston office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Prior to joining Skadden in 2002, he was a partner with Vinson & Elkins LLP in Houston and later was managing partner of the firm's London office. Ale, 57, holds a bachelor's degree with highest honors in economics from the University of Virginia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law, where he was executive editor of the Virginia Law Review. He served as law clerk to the Hon. Warren E. Burger, 15th chief justice of the United States.

First Reserve names Krueger president

First Reserve Corp., a global investment firm dedicated to the energy industry, has appointed Alex T. Krueger as president. Krueger has been with First Reserve for 13 years, most recently serving as a managing director in London. He was previously appointed as co-head of First Reserve's buyout funds and has particular expertise in natural resources. From the late 1990s, Krueger was responsible for leading the firm's mining strategy, initially in the US and subsequently globally, including investments in coal assets in the US, the Czech Republic, China and Australia. As well as holding positions on the boards of a number of First Reserve's mining industry investments, he is also a director of DOF Subsea, a provider of subsea services to the oil and gas industry, Calibre Global, an engineering services group for the resources and infrastructure sectors, and Midstates Petroleum and Mountaineer Keystone, exploration and production companies in the US. Prior to joining First Reserve, Krueger worked in the Energy Group at Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette. He holds two BS degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, one in chemical engineering and one in finance and statistics from the Wharton School.

Brady named president of Multi Products Co.

Kevin Brady has been named president of Multi Products Co., based in Millersburg, Ohio. He will be responsible for the firm's sales, marketing and operations, new products, services and geographic expansion. Previously, Brady was vice president of sales and marketing for Verdande Technology in Houston and he was also employed by Halliburton, Knowledge Systems and Precision Drilling. Brady holds an undergraduate degree in geology from Louisiana State University and a MBA from the University of Houston. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Gulf Coast chapter. Founded in 1966, Multi Products Co. delivers well optimization solutions to the oil and gas industry.

Weil's Roberts named `Dealmaker of the Year'

Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP partner Thomas A. Roberts has been named a 2012 "Dealmaker of the Year" by The American Lawyer magazine. Roberts was recognized for his role in advising Kinder Morgan Inc. in its agreement to acquire El Paso Corp. for approximately $38 billion, among the largest energy deals in history. Roberts was previously recognized as a "Dealmaker" by the magazine in 2001. The American Lawyer's Dealmakers of the Year feature appears in the magazine's April 2012 issue. Criteria to select this year's dealmakers include the size, significance and/or industry impact of a deal, the complexity of a transaction, and the lawyer's added value. According to Mergermarket and Bloomberg, Weil advised on more than 140 announced or completed M&A deals with a total transaction value in excess of $150 billion in 2011.

Moorman nominated to Chevron board of directors

Charles W. "Wick" Moorman has been nominated for election to the board of directors at Chevron Corp. Moorman will be part of the slate of board nominees to be considered for election to the board at the company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders on May 30. Moorman, 60, is chairman, CEO and president of Norfolk Southern Corp., a transportation company. A 23-year veteran of Norfolk Southern, Moorman has served in numerous executive capacities, including senior vice president of Corporate Planning and Services, senior vice president of Corporate Services, and president of Thoroughbred Technology and Telecommunications, Inc., a subsidiary of Norfolk Southern. Moorman serves on the board of directors of WHRO Public Broadcasting and the University of Virginia Medical Center operating board. He also serves as a trustee of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the Chrysler Museum of Art and the Nature Conservancy of Virginia. Moorman earned his bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

REISA elects Brian Conlon to board

Brian Conlon, chief executive officer of Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., has joined the REISA board of directors. Conlon has worked in the securities industry since 1983 and has been with Inland since 1999. He has been a member of REISA since February 2010. Conlon replaced Michael Weil, who was elected president-elect. Weil is chief executive officer for Realty Capital Securities. He serves as executive vice president for American Realty Capital and has been a member of REISA since March 2010. REISA elects its board members each fall. New officers and directors will be announced at the organization's 2012 Annual Conference Oct. 7-9 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. Based in Indianapolis, In., REISA is a national, alternative investments trade association that provides education, networking and advocacy for its members.

Harris now senior advisor to Quantum Energy Partners

Quantum Energy Partners has announced that Jeffrey Harris has become a senior advisor to the firm. Additionally, Quantum and Global Reserve Group LLC, an advisory and investment firm founded by Harris, have entered into a co-investment relationship to jointly pursue selected domestic and international investment opportunities. Global Reserve Group was established by Harris following a 29-year career at Warburg Pincus, where he created and built the firm's global energy practice and directly oversaw several billion dollars of equity investment in numerous oil- and gas-related ventures such as Antero Resources, Bill Barrett Corp., Electromagnetic GeoServices A/S, Kosmos Energy, Laredo Petroleum, OSUM Oil Sands, and Spinnaker Exploration.

Ferguson now Zilift chair

Zilift, innovators of artificial lift solutions for the oil and gas industry, has announced the appointment of Stuart Ferguson as chairman of its board. Ferguson is an independent consultant who specializes in advising oil industry clients on the development, commercialisation, acquisition and sale of technology. He is also a respected industry leader and sits on the board of several companies around the world. Previously, Ferguson was with Weatherford International Ltd., Expro International Group PLC, Petroline Wellsystems Ltd and BP PLC, where he began his career as a petroleum engineer.
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