February 2023, Vol. 250, No. 2
Business
People in the News February 2023
People
Tulsa-based pipeline operator Williams promoted Chad Zamarin to executive vice president of Corporate Strategic Development.
In his expanded role, Zamarin will assume responsibility for the company’s commodity marketing efforts, in addition to his current responsibilities that include corporate strategy, business development, project analysis, upstream joint ventures, new energy ventures, communications and corporate social responsibility. Prior to joining Williams, Zamarin served as senior vice president and president, Pipeline and Midstream at Cheniere Energy. He also served in various executive roles at NiSource/Columbia Pipeline Group, including chief operating officer at NiSource Midstream and NiSource Energy Ventures, as well as president of Pennant Midstream. Zamarin currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and is a member of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee.
Strike Construction, an established full-service provider of pipeline, facilities and energy infrastructure services in North America, announced the appointment of Matt McSorley as its new CEO.
McSorley has more than 30 years of international experience in project management, engineering, construction and sales in a range of capital projects focused on the oil, gas, chemicals and power sectors. He worked as an engineer and project manager on several petroleum and petrochemical projects globally and has sales experience pursuing work in operations & maintenance and large capital projects, including global responsibility for Sales and Strategy of Fluor’s Energy & Chemicals business. He served as vice president of Fluor’s Houston operations and corporate executive vice president responsible for the global functions of engineering, project controls, estimating, quality, safety and data governance. McSorley graduated from The Citadel with a bachelor’s of science degree in Civil Engineering.
Plains All American Pipeline and Plains GP Holdings announced the appointment of Blake Fernandez as vice president of Investor Relations. Roy Lamoreaux, who previously served as vice president, Investor Relations, Communications and Government Relations, has assumed the role of vice president, Communications, Sustainability and Public Affairs. Fernandez has more than 20 years of finance experience, predominately in the energy sector, most recently serving as senior vice president of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence for Delek U.S. Holdings. He previously worked in equity research at Piper Jaffray/Simmons Energy and Scotia Bank/Howard Weil. Fernandez holds a bachelor’s of science degree in Economics from Louisiana State University and an MBA from the University of New Orleans. Lamoreaux joined Plains in 2006 as Manager, Investor Relations and Equity Capital Markets and over time has assumed roles with increasing responsibility within Investor Relations, Business Development and Stakeholder Relations. He was responsible for starting and advancing Plains’ Communications, Sustainability and Government Relations practices, along with launching the Plains All American Political Action Committee. Lamoreaux holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from the Acton School of Business.
Tenaska has named Chris Leitner to lead the company as CEO, replacing Jerry Crouse, who served in that position since July 2010 and has been named as the company’s new Board Chairman. Leitner joined Tenaska in 2003, most recently serving as president of Tenaska Development and Tenaska Generation, where he was responsible for strategic planning, business development, asset management and project origination. Leitner also held the position of Managing Director of private equity fund manager, Tenaska Capital Management, where he was responsible for the investment in and optimization of power generation facilities. Before joining Tenaska, Leitner was Director of Asset Investments at Aquila, Inc., where he focused on transactions involving generation asset portfolios and related infrastructure. He also previously worked at Koch Industries, Inc., where he was responsible for natural gas midstream and crude oil industry transactions. Leitner holds a bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Boston-based Womble Bond Dickinson announced Paul G. Afonso joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate & Securities Group, bringing more than 30 years of experience to the firm’s global energy practice with the intersection of policy, politics, and the law. Afonso will also serve as chairman of Womble’s WBD Strategies lobbying affiliate. Afonso joins Womble after serving as senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary at the American Petroleum Institute. Before that, he was co-leader of the Energy and Government Law & Strategies groups at Brown Rudnick. Before entering private practice, Afonso served as both a state and municipal regulator. He was chairman of the Massachusetts Public Utilities Commission from 2003 to 2006 after serving as general counsel since 1999. He also served as chairman of the Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board and the Boston Water and Sewer Commission. Afonso received a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and bachelor’s degree in finance from the Boston College Carroll School of Management.
Takeuchi-US named Jeffrey Baldwin as its new Central Midwest regional product manager and Austin Wells as its new Southwest regional business manager. Baldwin is now responsible for supporting the company’s dealers and national rental accounts in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. He will also train the region’s salesforce on product features, benefits, applications and effective machine demonstrations. He previously served at Vacuworx Global as director of sales in the construction, utility and demolition markets. Wells will manage all sales activity in the Southwest region, which includes Texas, New Mexico and Colorado, with duties including dealer development and recruitment, inventory control, forecasting, promotions, sales planning and goal setting in region. Wells joins Takeuchi from Bank of the West, where he was a vice president and senior national account manager. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Mississippi.
McGuireWoods named Brian Franklin as a partner in the firm’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office. Franklin spent 15 years at Duke Energy, most recently as managing director of Regulatory Affairs for North Carolina. He previously was Duke’s associate general counsel, representing Duke Energy, Duke Energy Progress and Piedmont Natural Gas before public utility commissions in North Carolina and South Carolina. He also was a member of Duke Energy’s Investment Committee Before joining Duke Energy in 2008, he was a litigation associate at two Am Law 100 firms. McGuireWoods’ regulatory and compliance lawyers represent energy clients in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, state public utility commissions and various state agencies.
Investec Bank has recently promoted three senior team members to lead its Power and Infrastructure practice in North America. Fred Petit and Hans Beekmans will co-head North America Power and Infrastructure coverage, while Valeria Lombardi will spearhead the group’s distribution efforts as head of Loan Syndications. Petit, who joined Investec in 2019 from the energy and infrastructure group at Credit Agricole, will remain in charge of Power and Renewables, while Beekmans, who joined in 2019 from ING’s energy group, will continue to head up Investec’s Midstream Oil & Gas platform. Both will lead coverage of Investec’s Energy Transition activities. Lombardi, who joined in 2021 from Intesa Sanpaolo’s structured finance group, will be responsible for loan syndication across all sectors.
Dräger Marine & Offshore named Megan Hine as its UK Business Development Manager Clean Energy, with a focus on ensuring companies are aware of potential challenges and safety considerations as early in the process as possible. Hine previously served as account manager – Fixed Gas Detection Systems at the company. Her new role covers the entire Dräger safety portfolio including offshore fire, fixed gas, breathing apparatus and marine lifesaving equipment.
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