June 2021, Vol. 248, No. 6
Business
People in the News June 2021
Jeff Gabrielse has been named managing director at HammerHead Trenchless and assumed leadership of the Hammerhead brand within the newly formed Rehabilitation and Replacement (R&R) division of The Toro Company. He replaces Kevin Smith, who was named general manager of the Ditch Witch Division of The Toro Company in January. Gabrielse will be overseeing the HammerHead R&R business, which offers trenchless equipment and solutions for the water, wastewater and natural gas markets. Gabrielse joined HammerHead in 2008 as a regional sales manager and has since held leadership positions at The Charles Machine Works (CMW), including director of Customer Services for both Subsite Electronics and HammerHead Trenchless. The Toro Company acquired CMW, the parent company of Ditch Witch, American Augers and others, in 2019.
Barbco, Inc, the Ohio-based equipment manufacturer for the trenchless excavation, HDD and underground manufacturing industries, announced that Thomas W. Schmidt has been promoted to the newly created position of vice president, Business Development. Schmidt, a manufacturing veteran who held leadership positions at Harrison Paint, Heinemann Saw Company and Georgia Pacific, holds a bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and an MBA from the University of Akron.
Clariant announced that Nihal Obeyesekere, head of Global Innovation Integrity Management for Business Unit Oil and Mining Services, has won the 2021 NACE Fellow Honor from the Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). This honor recognizes the field’s most distinguished contributors to the understanding and prevention of corrosion. Nihal will now join the forum of technical and professional leaders that serve as AMPP advisers.
Entergy Corporation has appointed David Ellis to the newly created position of chief customer officer. In his new role, the industry veteran will lead strategic efforts to improve customer experiences and deliver market solutions to keep pace with their evolving needs and expectations.
Deanna Rodriguez has been promoted to replace as president and CEO of to lead Entergy New Orleans, an electric and gas utility subsidiary serving 207,000 electric and 108,000 natural gas customers. Rodriguez most recently was vice president of Regulatory and Public Affairs at Entergy Texas and previously served as vice president of Regulatory Affairs for Entergy New Orleans and director of External Affairs for Entergy Corporation. Ellis has worked for nearly three decades in the energy industry. Before joining Entergy, he was president and CEO of New Jersey-based Global Power Technologies.
Schlumberger announced the appointment of Katharina Beumelburg to the position of chief strategy and sustainability officer, Schlumberger Limited, reporting to CEO Olivier Le Peuch. As a member of the executive team, Beumelburg will oversee corporate strategy, sustainability, marketing and communications activities across the company. She joins Schlumberger from global technology company Siemens, where she held various leadership positions, most recently overseeing its Transmission Services business.
KP Engineering has promoted DeLome Fair to principal process engineer and tasked her with expanding KPE’s leadership role in syngas and hydrogen plant design and execution. Fair, who will be based in KPE’s Houston office, has been responsible for more than 30 syngas, hydrogen and gasification projects over her nearly 30-year career. She has led design and start-up teams and has performed technical services for several of these.
Scott Drury, CEO of Southern California Gas Company was elected to serve as a member of GTI’s Board of Directors. Through his role as head of SoCalGas and previously as president of San Diego Gas & Electric, GTI said, Drury has gained extensive experience in modernizing the energy grid to enhance safety and reliability while providing customers with more sustainable energy choices. Additionally, GTI said, Drury’s service on the American Gas Association’s board of directors makes him “uniquely poised to drive industry collaboration.”
Xcel Energy announced that Ben Fowke, chairman and CEO, will retire as CEO in August but continue to serve on its board of directors as executive chairman. He has served as chair and CEO since 2011. Bob Frenzel, president and chief operating officer, will become the company’s next CEO and president.
Frenzel joined Xcel Energy as chief financial officer in 2016, leading the company’s finance, tax, accounting and corporate development functions, as well as its subsidiary companies. He was named president and chief operating officer in March 2020, and currently oversees Xcel Energy’s four operating companies, along with its transmission, distribution and natural gas operations. Before joining Xcel, Frenzel was chief financial officer for a subsidiary of Luminant after serving in the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs and in the strategy, finance and economics practice at Arthur Andersen.
Matthew P. Sullivan has joined Flotek Industries as vice president of Professional Chemistries to oversee business development and implementation of Flotek’s cleaning, disinfecting and sanitizing product line. He joins Flotek from Georgia-Pacific.
Ecopetrol S.A. announced that Elsa Jeanneth Jaimes has been appointed vice president of Exploration, replacing Jorge Arturo Calvache, who retired. Jaimes has more than 29 years of experience in national and international companies that are part of the Ecopetrol Business Group, such as Ecopetrol S.A. and Hocol S.A., a company in which she had been serving as Vice President of Exploration since 2015.
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