January 2021, Vol. 248, No. 1

People in the News

People

EPIC Midstream Holdings appointed Brian Freed as CEO and director. He succeeds Phil Mezey, who remains on the board of directors as non-executive chairman. Freed has served as EPIC’s president since July 2019. Prior to joining EPIC, he most recently served as the senior vice president, Midstream and Marketing, at Apache Corporation. 

PG&E Corporation announced the appointment of Patricia K. “Patti” Poppe as CEO and as director of both PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. She previously was president and CEO of CMS Energy Corporation and its principal subsidiary, Consumers Energy Company, an investor-owned utility that provides electricity and natural gas to 6.7 million Michigan residents. Poppe took over from interim PG&E CEO William “Bill” Smith on Jan. 4. 

Evergy appointed David A. Campbell as president, CEO and director, succeeding Terry Bassham, who retired, effective Jan. 4. Most recently, Campbell was executive vice president and chief financial officer of Vistra Corporation in Dallas.

Ring Energy promoted Stephen D. Brooks to executive vice president of Land, Legal, Human Resources and Marketing, assuming responsibilities previously held by Matt Garner, who left the company after serving as general counsel and vice president of Land. 

Christopher Franklin, chairman and CEO of Essential Utilities, was appointed to the Allegheny Conference on Community Development’s Board of Directors.

The nonprofit, private-sector leadership organization is dedicated to economic development in a 10-county region of southwestern Pennsylvania. In March 2020, Essential Utilities purchased Peoples, the largest natural gas distribution company in Pennsylvania, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pa. 

Essential Utilities named Erin O’Donnell as its communications director, with responsibility for external and internal communications. She previously served as manager of Communications and Community Relations at Essential’s Peoples Natural Gas division. 

Corrosion Resistant Alloys appointed Tom W. Slaughter to a business development and advisory role. Based in Houston, Slaughter will be responsible for building relationships with strategic partners, including customers and suppliers. 

LLOG Exploration Company promoted Mike Vercher to senior vice president of Engineering. Jon Wood was promoted to Vercher’s previous position as vice president of Deepwater Projects. Vercher joined LLOG in 2008 after serving as general manager of Deepwater Projects for Dominion Exploration & Production Company. Wood joined LLOG in 2013 as a reservoir engineer. 

Mayer Brown announced that Larry Murphy has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate & Securities practice in Houston. His arrival bolsters Mayer Brown’s capabilities in the oil and gas sector, particularly in private equity transactions. Murphy joins from Fullstream Energy Holdings, a private equity-backed midstream company that he founded in 2015. 

Neptune Energy announced that Mohamed Mounes Shahat has joined the company as Egypt managing director, based in Cairo. Mounes joined Neptune from Egypt’s Ministry of Petroleum, where he most recently held the position of minister’s advisor for Gas Affairs. With almost 40 years’ experience, Mounes has a technical and commercial background, starting his career with the Gulf of Suez Petroleum Company in Egypt as a petroleum engineer. Gamal Kassem, Neptune’s current Egypt managing director, will continue with the company until the end of the year, supporting Mounes’ transition into the role. 

Logan Industries has named Jan M. Contreras as its new manager of sales - Pressure Vessels and Heat Exchangers (PVHEX). Based in Houston, Contreras will be responsible for PVHEX sales and business development, showcasing Logan’s new state-of-the-art PVHEX facility in Hempstead, Texas, and growing business for Dutch sister companies Verolme and Schelde Exotech, across North America.