Speakers

Chris Atherton is the Chief Executive Officer and President of EnergyNet, Inc. EnergyNet is a technology-enabled upstream oil and gas asset acquisition and divestiture platform specializing in auction sales, sealed bid transactions and government lease sales. Chris has been part of the EnergyNet team since 2002. He has been actively involved as the firm has completed over $8B in transactions including sell-side mandates from thousands of Exploration and Production clients. Chris leads a multi-disciplinary team of 50 professionals specializing in engineering, geology, land, technical, business development, marketing, IT and administration.

Chris has 20 years of experience in the energy industry. Chris graduated from Texas State in San Marcos with a business management and marketing degree. Prior to EnergyNet, Chris worked at the Enron Corporation in Houston, Texas

Chris currently serves on the board of directors of the Houston Producers Forum. Chris recently served as the Chairman of the Wildcatter’s Host Committee for the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers and served as the Chairman for the SPE-Gulf Coast Section Business Development Group. He is also an active member of the IPAA, Texas Energy Alliance, ADAM Houston, and ADAM Permian. Chris holds series 39, 22 and 63 SEC licenses.

Don's 33 year career in the oil patch has spanned a variety of technical and leadership roles. After an undergraduate degree in geology from Duke University and a master's degree in geology from the University of Oklahoma, Don began his first professional job in 1984 as an exploration geologist for Marathon Oil in Midland, Texas. After 10 years, he left Marathon to join Samson Resources in Tulsa, Oklahoma...and has stayed in Tulsa ever since. After 4 years at Samson, Don joined Vintage Petroleum in the global acquisitions group, where he worked on over 80 acquisition evaluations in 30 different basins, successfully deploying nearly $1 billion in capital during his 7 1/2 year career there. After the sale of Vintage to OXY in 2006, Don became the Geoscience Manager at Questar, directing the exploration efforts for the Tulsa office. He later became the Manager of A&D/New Ventures at Laredo Petroleum, where he helped in the $1 billion acquisition of Broad Oak Energy in 2011, and incidentally, founded the ADAM-Tulsa group. Don joined Panther Energy II in the summer of 2013 as a founding partner and VP of Geology/New Ventures. At Panther, he helped lead the effort to initiate and grow their position in the Delaware Basin eventually ending in an $863 million sale January of 2017. Don now serves as CEO of Olifant Energy, LLC, a private-equity backed start-up with a focus on the Permian, Mid-Continent and ArkLaTex areas. He also serves in various professional and community organizations, including the board of OIPA and the Tulsa Regional Chamber Energy Council. Don and his wife Marla have been married for 26 years.

Prior to joining EnCap in March 2007, Mr. Burroughs spent four years working in UBS Investment Bank’s Global Energy Group. While at UBS, Mr. Burroughs worked on over 20 capital markets transactions raising over $11 billion in capital and worked on several M&A advisory assignments. Prior to joining UBS Investment Bank, Mr. Burroughs spent three years at Sanders Morris Harris, Inc., an investment banking firm in Houston. He received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Jesse H. Jones School of Management at Rice University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from The University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Burroughs serves on the board of directors of several EnCap portfolio companies and is a member of the Houston Producers’ Forum and the Independent Petroleum Association of America. In addition, he serves on the board of directors of both the Broach Foundation For Brain Cancer Research and the Small Steps Nurturing Center.

Mark Castiglione is a partner at Meridian Energy LLC, a Houston-based energy advisory firm established in 2017.  He is currently on the board of directors of Chaparral Energy, Inc.  Mr. Castiglione is the former Chief Executive Officer of Alta Mesa Resources, Inc.  He joined Alta Mesa in January 2019 as a member of the executive team and was promoted to Chief Executive Officer in September 2019.  Previously, he was engaged as Senior Advisor to SandRidge Energy, Inc. in 2015 and 2016. Prior to that point, Mr. Castiglione served as Senior Vice President – Business Development of Quantum Resources Management, LLC and QR Energy, LP from 2010 to 2014.  Before joining Quantum Resources, he held the position of Vice President – Acquisitions of El Paso Corporation.  Mr. Castiglione’s prior background at Encana Corporation, Burlington Resources and Simmons & Company International includes positions of increasing responsibility in corporate development, corporate finance, asset management and engineering.  He began his career in 1994 as a reservoir engineer at Burlington Resources.  Mr. Castiglione received a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Texas Tech University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Neal Dingmann has over 12 years of equity research experience. At SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, he covers companies in the E&P and oilfield services sectors. He held similar positions at Wunderlich Securities, Dahlman Rose, RBC Capital and Bank of America Securities. Dingmann was recognized last year by the Wall Street Journal as "Best on the Street" and has been recognized as a "Home Run Hitter" by Institutional Investor magazine. He received his Masters of Business Administration from the University of Minnesota and his Bachelor of Arts degree in business from the University of Arkansas.

Prior to co-founding Selenite Energy Partners, Ms. Franks served as a Principal with The Carlyle Group from 2014-2019, where she focused on business development, origination and execution of structured capital investment opportunities in the upstream and midstream sectors. Previously, from 2006-2014, she spent eight years with EIG Global Energy Partners, formerly TCW Energy and Infrastructure Group, focusing on analysis and execution of debt and equity investments across the energy value chain as well as fundraising, valuation and portfolio management. Ms. Franks holds Bachelor of Business Administration and Bachelor of Arts degrees from The University of Texas at Austin, where she majored in finance, Business Honors and Plan II.

Mr. Hanson is Head of Houlihan Lokey’s Oil & Gas Group and Co-Head of the Energy Group. During his career, Mr. Hanson has worked on numerous financing, M&A, A&D, valuation, and financial recapitalization/restructuring engagements. In addition to domestic U.S. transactions, he has advised corporations, boards of directors, management teams, and stakeholders in multiple global and cross-border transactions regarding the structuring, negotiation, and implementation of a wide variety of corporate finance transactions in the upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of the oil and gas industry. Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Hanson was a Manager of Alternative Lending at Commonfund Mortgage Corp., where he structured whole loan and portfolio fundings, sales, and securitizations involving a variety of asset-backed lending transactions. Earlier in his career, he held a similar position at MoneyLine Lending. Mr. Hanson began his career in finance trading fixed income securities at NNJ, a private family wealth fund formerly based in San Francisco. Mr. Hanson has been an author, co-author, and speaker on various topics, including trends in E&P finance and valuation, and financing markets and valuation dynamics in a distressed environment, among others. He previously served on the board of directors of Bennu Oil & Gas, LLC, an entity established for the purpose of acquiring and operating oil and gas properties in the Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Hanson earned a dual B.A. degree, cum laude, in Italian and International Finance from Brigham Young University and an MBA with a concentration in Finance from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Steve W. Herod is our Chief Executive Officer and has served in such capacity since February of 2020. Mr. Herod was a co-founder and Executive Vice President – Corporate Development of Halcon Resources Corporation from 2012 to 2019. Additionally, he was a co-founder and Executive Vice President – Corporate Development of Petrohawk Energy Corporation from 2003 until Petrohawk’s sale to BHP Billiton in 2011. Mr. Herod served as Executive Vice President – Corporate Development for 3TEC Energy Corporation from 1999 to 2003 and served as President of Shore Oil Company from 1992 until the merger of Shore with 3TEC in 1997. From 1984 to 1991, he was with Conquest Exploration Company in various financial management positions. Mr. Herod began his career in 1981 as a financial analyst with Superior Oil Company and has a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance and Management from Oklahoma State University.

Chris Kalnin is the CEO & Founder, and a Board Member of BKV Corporation.  Prior to founding BKV, Chris was VP Strategic Business Operations and Planning at Level 3 Communications (now CenturyLink).  His previous roles also include executive at Thailand’s national oil and gas company (PTTEP), and prior to that, consultant with McKinsey & Company.  He started his career as a financial analyst with Credit Suisse First Boston. 

Chris has an MBA from Northwestern University at the Kellogg School of Management, where he graduated summa cum laude.  He has an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario at the Richard Ivey School of Business, where he graduated with distinction.

Art Krasny is Managing Director and Head of the Acquisitions and Divestitures (A&D) at Wells Fargo Securities, where he focuses on providing advisory services to clients in the oil and gas industry.

Art has spent most of his 20-year banking career with Wells Fargo, primarily with the bank’s oil and gas platform.  He started his career on the corporate banking side in Denver, where he ultimately ran a team handling a portfolio of over $1 billion in commitments to energy and power, midstream, and refining companies.

In 2012, Art moved to the investment banking side of the platform, where he continued to focus on the oil and gas industry, initially as a part of the Merger & Acquisitions group and currently leading the A&D team.

Over the years, Art has advised his clients on a variety of advisory assignments representing multiple deal structures and asset classes and totaling over 30 billion in deal value. 

Art earned a B.S. degree in physics from the St. Petersburg University in Russia.

Paul C. Lee, Jr. is the Entrepreneur-in-Residence heading up Upstream New Ventures for Tailwater Capital in Dallas.  He brings over 20 years of experience in oil and gas.  Prior to joining Tailwater, Paul served as Vice President for Rees-Jones Holdings, a family office with assets in the Permian Basin and an operating company, Chief Oil & Gas, in the Marcellus.  Earlier in his career, he was co-founder and CFO for Venado Oil & Gas and served as Vice President of Worldwide Business Development for Pioneer Natural Resources. Paul earned his MBA from SMU and his BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Jason has over 17 years of experience in finance and accounting within the energy industry. Jason has worked on over $100 billion of announced advisory and financing transactions for energy companies including mergers and acquisitions, public and private equity, equity-linked, high yield and investment grade bonds, senior debt, and structured finance. Previously, he led Nomura Securities International’s energy team and was at Deutsche Bank for over six years. He began his career on Wall Street in 2002, at J.P. Morgan. He joined BMO Capital Markets in 2013. Jason earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BA from Rice University in Houston.

Mr. Nelson joined Stephens in May 2009 as a Managing Director. Mr. Nelson most recently served as a Managing Director at Energy Capital Solutions where he was a founder and employed for the last seven years. Prior to joining ECS in 2001, Mr. Nelson was an Associate in Bear Stearns’ Energy Group, focusing primarily on E&P and oilfield services transactions. Prior to joining Bear Stearns, Mr. Nelson was an Associate with Koch Ventures, the private equity arm of Koch Industries. While at Koch, he focused on providing private capital to energy and technology-related companies. Mr. Nelson received his BS from Oklahoma State University and his MBA from the University of Oklahoma.

Heather Powell serves as co-founder, president, CEO and leader of acquisition efforts at Ventana E&P LLC in Oklahoma City. Ventana is focused on acquiring nonoperated interests and minerals in the Stack/Scoop/Merge plays of the eastern Anadarko Basin in Central Oklahoma. Under Heather’s leadership, Ventana launched its organic acquisition strategy in late 2016, building a portfolio of over 7,000 net acres and over 2,000 wells. In February 2019, the company closed a new round of equity capital and has raised over $150 million to date and has 11 full time employees.

Heather previously managed various functions across land, business development and regulatory for RKI E&P LLC, which merged with WPX Energy Inc. in 2015 for $2.35 billion. She began her career in 2004 as a landman at Chesapeake Energy Corp., where her passion for A&D began. As an avid user of energy, she is committed to playing a part in America’s energy independence and educating the public of the importance of producing oil and natural gas in our country.

Heather is a certified professional landman and is active with the Oklahoma City Association of Professional Landmen, the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, ADAM-OKC and Oklahoma Energy Explorers.

Vignesh focuses on asset management, evaluations and business development at Glendale.  Prior to co-founding Glendale, Vignesh was a Partner at Millennial Energy Partners where he led Millennial’s entry into the STACK play and helped secure significant private equity investments leading to direct participation in the acquisition and drilling across most major unconventional plays in the US.  Previously, he was Head of Reserves at Legend Natural Gas and a key member of the team involved in the merger of Legend and KKR Natural Resources.  Prior to Legend, Vignesh was the Manager of Reserves and Economics at Seneca Resources and was the Reservoir Engineering Manager at both Milagro Exploration and Sabco Oil and Gas.  He started his oil and gas career at Intertek Westport as a Petroleum Engineer performing special core analysis.  Vignesh earned a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Osmania University, an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from New Mexico Tech and a M.B.A. with specialization in Energy Investment and Finance from the University of Houston.  He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas and was named one of Oil & Gas Investor’s Top 30 Under 40 Leaders in 2015.

Doug Reynolds joined Simmons Energy, a Division of Piper Sandler® in 2020.

Previously, Reynolds was head of U.S. energy corporate and investment banking at Scotiabank. Prior to that, he was the head of U.S. upstream investment banking at a leading investment bank. He has led nearly $100 billion of merger, acquisition, divestiture and capital markets assignments in the energy industry across six continents and more than 30 countries during his career.

Reynolds earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Colgate University.

Marc Rose's practice focuses primarily on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other energy transactions, as well as private equity investments. His clients include private equity funds and their portfolio companies, as well as public companies and other private companies. He advises his clients on a wide variety of transactions in the energy industry, including acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures and investments in the upstream, midstream and services sectors. Marc has also represented clients in other industries, including manufacturing, metals, chemicals, technology and healthcare.

EnCore Permian cofounder J.D. Smith began his career in 2000 working in drilling and offshore completions. In 2007 he transitioned to leasing in the Permian Basin. In 2009 Mr. Smith was the exclusive landman for a $3 million, 42,000+ acre prospect. Petrohawk later purchased this asset for $42 million, a 5% overriding royalty interest and carried working interest considerations.

In this same capacity, Mr. Smith transacted and acquired over 150,000 acres of Permian leasehold between 2009 and 2012, generating a net profit of over $100 million.

Mr. Smith also founded a non-profit clean water initiative – the John 4:14 Foundation – which has completed over 250 clean water projects (www.j414.org), serving over 1 million people in Uganda. Mr. Smith lives in Big Spring, Texas with his wife and 3 children.

Mark Teshoian is a managing partner for Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ private energy income funds where he focuses on investment origination, deal analysis/structuring, financial due diligence and transaction negotiation.  

Prior to joining Kayne Anderson in 2008, Mr. Teshoian was a vice president in the energy investment banking group of Goldman Sachs. Mr. Teshoian began his career in the energy investment banking group of Credit Suisse. Mr. Teshoian has over twenty years of transactional experience in the oil and gas industry.

Mr. Teshoian earned a B.B.A. in Accounting and a M.S. in Finance from Texas A&M University in 1999.

Rahul Vashi is a corporate partner in the Houston office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. His practice focuses on acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic joint ventures involving upstream and midstream energy assets. Rahul’s practice includes advising clients with the formation of drilling partnerships, joint development arrangements, farmout and participation agreements, and other joint venture arrangements, the acquisition and divestiture of upstream and midstream oil and gas assets and companies, and oil and gas financing transactions.