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Our people are the difference. Learn more about the Eavor Technologies team, area representatives, advisory board, subject matter experts, and its board of directors. Transitioning from traditional energy is a highly complex challenge that requires the best and brightest minds in energy.
Chairman of the Board
The First Truly Scalable Form
Of Clean Baseload Power
Douglas Beach brings three decades of international energy, commodity and financial market experience to EavorTM. His career at Koch Industries included leadership of various trading, supply, and oil asset operations in England, Switzerland, U.S., Canada, Russia, and Singapore. Executive leadership of international commodity supply and trading businesses capped a career that includes successful business development, acquisitions, trading, directorship contributions, and innovations in infrastructure, trading, and analytical approach. His experiences include responding to counterparty bankruptcies, ship groundings, spills, pirates, and nearby terrorist attacks, creations of financial derivative products, business opening thrills, business closing sadness, a disgruntled oligarch, a successful public offering, failed trades, and the lists of smaller mistakes that add up to formative experience. Mr. Beach has a B.Sc. in Business from Emporia State University and is a graduate of the Directors Education Program at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.
Chad Bown is a Managing Partner on the bp Ventures team which has invested over $750m in disruptive technology companies across more than 40 entities with the backing of more than 250 co-investors. Chad’s investment focus for bp is in support of delivering efficient hydrocarbon operations in addition to advancing low carbon energy solutions. Chad brings financial leadership and commercial expertise alongside energy operational and business development roles with prior managerial work experience at Shell and Jacobs Engineering. Chad was a Captain in the United States Air Force and holds a degree in business from Texas A&M University as well as an MBA from Loyola Marymount University. Chad currently sits on the boards of Belmont Technology Incorporated (US), Fotech Solutions Limited (US), BiSN Limited (UK), Stryde Incorporated (US) and Silicon Microgravity Limited (UK). Chad was recognized as a Global Corporate Venturing Top Emerging Leader in 2020.
Cheri Corbett is Director, Cleantech Practice, at BDC. With over 15 years of experience in corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and financing transactions, Cheri is dedicated to helping early-stage, high-potential, growth-oriented Canadian cleantech companies scale and expand. In her role as Director, Cheri is involved in the full investment cycle, from deal origination, structuring and risk analysis to governance and portfolio management.
Cheri’s previous role at BDC was Director, Growth & Transition Capital (GTC). Working with businesses in a wide range of industries, Cheri offered customized equity and debt solutions for Canadian companies looking to develop a new product or market, acquire a competitor’s business or make an ownership transition. Prior to joining BDC, Cheri spent two years at Ernst & Young Orenda Corporate Finance, where she advised private companies on acquisition, divestiture and financing transactions. Cheri began her career in Brisbane, Australia, in business development and investment banking roles at InterFinancial and Deloitte Australia.
Cheri holds a Bachelor of Business Management and a Master of Commerce from the University of Queensland, Australia. She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand and CPA Alberta. A committed leader, Cheri is passionate about taking Canada’s cleantech industry to the next level in the global marketplace.
Chris Ho is a venture capitalist focused on early-stage deep technologies. Prior to his career in VC, he worked at ZS Associates, a sales and marketing consulting firm, where he specialized in sales transformation projects, across a broad spectrum of industries including high-tech, travel and transportation, and agri-chemicals. Chris is based in New York and holds a BA in Political Science and an MS in Electrical Engineering, both from Columbia University.
Yuta Kano has been with Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., for more than three decades joining upon graduation from Aoyama Gakuin University. Yuta also earned MBA at International University of Japan combining international exchange experience at University of Washington, Seattle. Yuta has been in Chubu’s international business for more than twenty years managing and/or heading Fuels Department groups, including Nuclear Fuels and Upstream Equity for LNG/natural gas projects. He was Director and Chief Operating Officer of the Chubu Electric Power Australia Pty Ltd., representing CHUBU group at the Operating Committee of Gorgon LNG project and at the board of directors meeting of Ichthys LNG project . He was then seconded into JERA, returning to CHUBU, Global Business Division, Clean Energy Solution Unit.
Dr. Finian Tan founded Vickers Venture Partners in 2005 with four partners. He is currently based in Singapore. Before starting Vickers, Finian was a Managing Director at Draper Fisher Jurvetson, acting also as the founding partner of its Asia Pacific Operations, he discovered Baidu and led all the investment rounds into Baidu, and remained its largest backer until IPO. Prior to DFJ, Finian was Deputy Secretary of Trade and Industry for the Singapore Government where he oversaw the creation of the billion-dollar TIF fund and was subsequently appointed as chairman of the fund. As part of his earlier career path, Finian ran Goldman Sachs Asian trading arm. Finian received his Doctor of Philosophy and Master of Philosophy in Engineering from Cambridge University. He received his B.Sc. in Engineering from the University of Glasgow.
John Redfern is an expert investor, advisor and serial entrepreneur in the data analytics, oil service and energy tech verticals. John spent his career in executive roles at multiple international oil co’s and oil service co’s including as a Director at Hess in London, President of Accumap in Calgary and President of IHS Energy in Denver. Prior to Eavor, John spent 13 years in China co-founding a series of start-ups, the most recent of which is LocalGravity, a leading retail data analytics platform in China. John holds a degree in Engineering Physics from Queen’s University in Kingston, Law degrees from McGill University in Montreal, and an MBA degree from INSEAD in France.
Paul Cairns has spent close to 20 years in the energy and technology verticals with a focus on development and incubation of new ventures. He has been on the executive team that has spanned the entire start-up life-cycle and brought firms from initial inception to IPO. After years with Acumen Capital Partners and Stephen Avenue Securities, Paul Founded Cairns Capital Corporation to provide capital solutions to the energy and technology sectors. Paul is a well-known incubator and developer of new and IP-grounded ventures. Paul is based in Calgary and holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary.
Senior Finance Executive with more than 15 years of global international leadership in finance and operations management with public companies to drive growth and strategic partnerships across functional leaders to effectively bridge the gap between operational decisions and financial targets.
Most recently served as Senior Vice President, Finance with Consolidated Communications Inc; an American broadband and business communications provider serving customers across the US. During a transformational time for the company from a telecommunication company to one of the top 10 broadband providers in the country, oversaw and supported Financial Planning & Analysis, Strategic Finance leadership, Long range business strategic planning and reporting.
Prior to that served as Vice President, Finance, and several Senior Finance leadership positions within the energy industry at SLB (Schlumberger), Halliburton and C&J energy across the globe in North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.
Senior positions included Corporate Reporting, Treasurer (Financing, Capital allocation and Liquidity management), Financial Planning & Analysis, International Tax Management, Mergers and Acquisitions, Divestitures, Post-Merger Integration, leading Finance, and digital transformations operating model.
Graduated from the University of Mumbai degree in accounting and finance, along with
Chartered Management Accountant (CMA), and General Management from Harvard Business School.
Currently also serving as a board member of a (Healthcare) non-profit organization.
Matt Toews is a professional engineer with over a decade of experience in production and operations with a focus on management and technology development. Fueled by a passion for new ventures and developing projects from the ground up, Toews has produced an extensive portfolio of pilot projects with a successful track record of creating value through technology commercialization. During his tenure at Cenovus Energy, Toews led a team accountable for wellbore design and optimization at Cenovus’ thermal assets – which produce an aggregate 370,000 bbl/d. Toews graduated with Distinction from the University of Calgary Oil and Gas Engineering.
Daniel Mölk has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Iceland. He has dedicated his career to geothermal development with a focus on operations and drilling management for nearly 15 years. Mr. Mölk worked as VP Geothermal Development and Country Manager for one of Germany’s largest power companies and has held the position of President of their subsidiary in Indonesia for six years. Prior to that he held executive operations management positions for drilling companies in Iceland and Germany and supported Iceland’s major power companies as part of the owner’s engineering team. Mr. Mölk has global expertise in operations and project management, negotiations and closing of multi-million-dollar contracts, staff development and corporate governance.
Bailey Schwarz is a professional engineer with a decade of hands on engineering experience that focused on data analytics and process optimization. Ms. Schwarz has a passion for innovation, actively seeking opportunities to trial new technologies and push boundaries. During her tenure at Cenovus Energy, Ms. Schwarz led a multi-disciplinary team of engineers to commission and operate industry leading, large scale steam assisted gravity drainage facilities spanning cogeneration, steam generation, processing and water treatment. Bailey graduated with a Degree in Chemical Engineering from McGill University and recently passed her CFA Level I exam.
Jeanine Vany is an APEGA registered professional geologist with a career spanning over 15 years in the oil and gas industry. Her experience ranges from reservoir characterization, drilling and operations to full field delineation strategies, asset management, and acquisition. Ms. Vany has spent her career at foremost E&P companies such as EnCana, Devon and Total. She joined GLJ Petroleum Consultants in 2012, where she led the geoscience aspects of in-situ reserves and resource evaluations in addition to working deep basin unconventional plays. With a passion for people, projects and technology development, Ms. Vany led GLJ’s first oil sands technology panel, created and taught GLJ’s In-Situ Resource and Reserves course for industry professionals and spearheaded new business initiatives for the firm in unconventional resource plays. Jeanine holds an Honours B.Sc degree in Geology and Environmental Studies from Saint Mary’s University and a Business Essentials Certificate from the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.
Robert Winsloe comes to Eavor with nearly 40 years international business development, sales, marketing and management experience in the energy industry. Graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, he spent the first 7 years living and working in Indonesia, Australia and India for Schlumberger. Returning to Europe he joined IBM as a salesman, before going on to build and manage international sales and marketing organisations for Halliburton and IHS, as well as personally closing multi-million dollar contracts across Europe, Asia and Africa and North and South America. He has been a frequent consultant to the World Bank on projects ranging from energy planning in Angola to infrastructure development and capacity building in Mauritania. In Iraq he worked under the United Nations “oil for food programme” and in China advised state companies on strategic gas development.
Mo Abouelhassan is a Professional Engineer with more than twenty five years of experience in the energy industry. Mo’s speciality is process design, specifically for surface facilities conceptual design and optimization. His unique mix of experience in upstream and downstream facilities, deep analytical and business knowledge, and global exposure allowed him to find innovative and highly economical solutions for many companies. His tenure at MEG Energy, Fluor and Aspentech left lasting impacts in the form of unique solutions, improved work processes, new offerings and in many cases improved ways in approaching problems. Mo holds a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering from Cairo University, Egypt and an MBA from Ivey Business School, Western University, Ontario.
With a passion for life, humanity, technology and innovation, Mo is committed to expanding knowledge, pushing beyond common practices and disrupting the status quo.
Miranda Baker has over 15 years of progressive accounting, audit and legal experience from numerous different industries, in both public and private companies. She has previously been a module facilitator for the CPA Western School of Business. She holds a Chartered Accountant – Chartered Professional Accountant designation and an Honors Degree in Business Operations. She is currently working on a Certificate in Human Resources Management from the University of Calgary.
Peter Bauman is a Professional Geologist registered with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA). For more than 20 years, he has held various technical and managerial roles at major, intermediate and junior energy companies with a successful track record of growth and value addition. His passion and strengths lie in new country entry, exploration and development. His geographic experience includes North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Western Asia, North Africa and Middle East. Peter holds a B.Sc and M.Sc from the University of Calgary in Geology and Geophysics.
Peter is a Director of the Canadian Global Energy Forum, the Past-President of the AAPG Canada Region and is an active member of the CSPG. He has authored numerous presentations at domestic and international energy conferences.
Christian is a BSc. honours graduate from the University of Toronto – Faculty of Chemical Engineering. Prior to joining Eavor, Christian was a Business Analyst within the Deloitte Toronto Risk Advisory Practice where he specialized in technology and digital transformation projects across the banking, insurance and O&G sectors. He also was the co-founder of a small business in Calgary. Christian is interested in developing technology to drive down the cost of carbon-free energy and advance the global transition from hydrocarbons towards alternative renewable sources.
Neil Bothwell specializes in building and overseeing finance teams and processes. Neil is the founder and owner of Risk Oversight, a firm specializing in internal control and compliance programs. Risk Oversight has worked with over fifty (50) organizations, from start-ups to large public companies. Neil is an entrepreneur at heart and has been the CFO of several energy services companies including WISE Intervention Services, Sabre Well Servicing, and GASFRAC Energy Services. Neil has also worked with several start-ups in the tech sector to establish their finance functions. Neil holds a Bachelor of Commerce from Queen’s University and a Chartered Accountant-Certified Professional Accountant designation.
Colin Brown is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta and is also an APEGA licensed Professional Engineer. Prior to joining Eavor, Colin was involved in the in-situ development, exploitation and production of Canada’s oil sands resource working on Cenovus Energy’s Christina Lake and Foster Creek assets – specializing in development planning, optimization, and data analytics. Colin’s passion for, and application of engineering first principles, numerical methods, and statistical models to solve unique and complex technical challenges is at the core of his ability to design and implement bespoke, game-changing, impactful solutions.
Christopher Cheng is a graduate of Mechanical Engineering with a Petroleum Engineering minor from the University of Calgary (2009). Mr. Cheng is a professional engineer with 10+ years of experience in the upstream oil and gas sector working in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin with his last 5 years specializing in new technology development. While working on the Heavy Oil Technology team at Devon Canada, Mr. Cheng led a multi-disciplinary team from conception to execution of an Experimental Scheme to test conductive heating of a heavy oil reservoir in Northeast Alberta.
In 2012, Mr. Cheng co-founded Holiday Rejects Apparel Inc., and appeared on Canadian reality TV show Dragons’ Den where he and his partners pitched and executed a deal with three investors. In 2018, Mr. Cheng’s most recent venture, Full Circle Energy, was amalgamated with Canuc Resources Corporation (TSX-V: CDA), where he is currently a member of the board as an independent director.
Neil Ethier is an APEGA registered Professional Geophysicist, and Chartered Financial Analyst level 3 candidate with over 20 years of international experience in the oil and gas sector. Neil has global expertise in strategic business development, with a technical focus. He brings an enhanced intercultural perspective, honed from living on three continents and analyzing and evaluating assets in over 50 countries and 100 basins. Neil holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours Geophysics) degree from the University of Alberta, where he was awarded the APEGA Gold Medal for the highest academic standing in the Geophysics program.
Erin, a Sexton Scholar from Dalhousie University, holds a B. Eng in Mechanical Engineering. She brings experience from a variety of industries, including aerospace, biomedical, and carbon capture in addition to her most recent experience with renewable energy performance optimization. She offers a unique perspective and a diverse skill set. Erin is passionate about overcoming the technical challenges related to decarbonizing the economy.
After his PhD on Jurassic rocks from the Central Moroccan Atlas Mountains in early 1990 Manfred Hauptmann acted as independent consulting geologist for international oil companies and energy suppliers for over 30 years. Until 2010 he has been mainly involved in projects in North Africa / Mediterranean and Central Asia (Algeria, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Malta, Morocco, Tunisia) on behalf of Maxus, Amoco, Preussag, GDF, RWEDea. From about 2005 onwards his focus increasingly shifted to Germany, where Manfred supports the Berlin subsurface gas storage as geological advisor for GASAG/BES. Besides he contributed to exploration and field redevelopment projects in SW and NE Germany on behalf of GDF, CEP, Wintershall and in Romania on behalf of OMV-Petrom. Several geological studies deal with the feasibility of geothermal projects in the N German Basin (Sylt, Berlin) and the S German Molasse Basin (Mauerstetten).
James Heatherington brings over 25 years of international energy experience in engineering, sales and entrepreneurship. Starting with a B.Sc. in Petroleum Engineering, he has excelled in consulting and field operations first onshore with the Evaluators in Alberta and then offshore with the Japan Drilling Company. With IHS Energy in Tokyo, he drove sales and consulting to clients across APAC; managing teams and leading projects to help international oil/gas and energy companies and government with their daily workflows and to solve intractable issues. Project types included country entry, LNG, exploration, development, M&A, geopolitical and energy economics. James is a long-term Yokohama resident.
Mark Hodder is an expert in well design, modelling and efficient execution of drilling operations with global expertise bringing more than a decade of experience to Eavor. This experience encompasses a variety of well types and basins including heavy oil sands (SAGD, CSS), tight shale and sandstone reservoirs, under-balanced and managed-pressure drilling techniques, carbon capture and storage (CCS) and geothermal wells. Most recently Mr. Hodder worked for Royal Dutch Shell as a Senior Well Engineer and Subject Matter Expert to provide technical guidance to challenging and complex well designs in Shell’s global onshore portfolio. Mr. Hodder is a professional engineer and registered member of both the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) as well as the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE). Mark lives in Calgary, Alberta and graduated with degrees in Chemistry from the University of King’s College and Mechanical Engineering from Dalhousie University.
Michael Holmes is a professional engineer with nearly a decade of varied experience, including research & development, process optimization, development planning, and corporate strategy. Michael is passionate about taking on big challenges and finding innovative solutions. During his tenure at Cenovus Energy, Michael tackled projects ranging from rethinking thermal wellbore design to portfolio-level strategic analysis and advisement. Michael graduated with First Class Honours from Queen’s University, where he was awarded the E.T. Sterne prize for the student with the highest aggregate standing in Chemical Engineering. In his spare time, Michael is pursuing his CFA designation, having already completed his Level 1 exam and currently preparing for Level 2.
Willem Jordaan is a consulting professional engineer with over 10 years of data analytics, business development applied to drilling operations with a focus on benchmarking of performance and optimization through data analytics. Passionate about leveraging technology to solve complex challenges. With a Bsc. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Alberta and experience in onshore Western Canada and offshore East Coast Canada. Working to optimize drilling projects, implementing machine-learning models in combination with statistical models to drive downhole efficiency.
Hans Kol brings 35 years of experience with international oil and gas operations, engineering and projects. He holds a Msc in petroleum engineering degree from Delft University in the Netherlands. He started out in drilling and moved via production operations to reservoir engineering, before becoming leader of multi-discipline project teams for many significant development projects ranging from; the Moxa Arch deep tight gas development for Amoco in Wyoming, redevelopment of the Valhall field for Amoco in Norway, to the development of gas storage fields in The Netherlands for BP and TAQA. Prior to saying good-bye to the oil and gas industry he was technical and operational director for TAQA Energy in the Netherlands. Since then he has shifted his interest to renewable energy and the energy transition.
Wouter Kool spent over 30 years in the oil & gas service industry in technical, consulting and Business Development roles working in highly varied environments, in small teams, his own company and with large companies like Halliburton mainly working in the Middle East, Magreb region and European markets. During his term with ION Geophysical Inc. Wouter gained considerable experience through organizing multi-client seismic programs in politically complex areas (Black Sea, Eastern Mediterranean, Iraq). Collaborating with oil industry top executives, governments and scientific institutions resulted in a significant number of multimillion-dollar contracts providing game changing solutions that improved the regional exploration success rates of the customers. Through his role with Eavor he now contributes a wealth of business development expertise to the team. Wouter is passionate about the global energy transition away from hydrocarbons which is reflected by his lifestyle, maintaining a small holding using sustainable methods and renewable energy in Umbria, Italy where he is based. He speaks six languages and holds a degree in Geology and Hydrology from the University of Amsterdam.
Roman Kuzyk, a Professional Engineer with a decade of hands on international drilling experience in technically challenging fields, has planned and executed a variety of wells, including unconventional shale and high temperature, high pressure (HPHT) wells in Canada, exploratory HTHP wells in Turkey, and complex offshore wells in Qatar. Roman holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering with distinction from the University of Calgary, where he invented a new type of omni-directional wheel and published multiple papers in international journals. Driven by curiosity and interest in technical subjects, in his spare time, Roman enjoys taking courses on topics ranging from machine learning, IoT and blockchain technologies to finance and economics, and has completed all 3 levels of the CFA program.
Lynette Liston is an APEGA registered professional geologist with over 15 years experience in the energy industry. She has a breadth of skill from working technical geology roles, leadership roles, and cross discipline roles with commercial and strategy teams. Her previous work experience in the E&P Industry involved exploration of plays including domestic and international, on and off-shore, conventional and unconventional. Her passion for exploration data analysis, collaboration, problem solving, and finding efficient solutions have brought her success in a portfolio of projects including global play ranking and strategy development. Lynette holds a B.Sc degree in Geology and Applied Environmental Geology from University of Calgary.
Ryan is a graduate from the University of Calgary with a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering. He brings several years of project management experience to the Eavor team, being previously involved in the development of various O&G and industrial manufacturing facilities across Western Canada. Ryan is passionate about enhancing and expanding innovative technologies, as well as implementing creative, outside-of-the-box ideas to solve problems.
Sophorn Moeun is a Chartered Professional Accountant with over 10 years of progressive accounting experience. He brings experience from multiple industries and holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration. His expertise includes centralizing and streamlining accounting processes.
Cole Narfason is a B.Sc. graduate of the University of Calgary with distinction in both Geology and Geophysics. Prior to joining Eavor, Cole worked in the energy industry on a diverse range of assets and companies, including Pipestone Energy Corp. and Suncor Energy. At Suncor, he worked in the Water and Closure Technology Development team where he supported the development of industry-disruptive technologies that aimed to reduce emissions and the impact of operations on local wildlife. Cole is interested in using data science in combination with his geoscience knowledge to progress innovative technologies.
Anna Rogers holds a Physics Major, Geology Minor B.Sc (Honours) from Queen’s University and a Geophysics M.Sc from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). At MIT, her research focused on the coupled modelling of fluid flow and geomechanics to assess fault stability in groundwater aquifers.
Anna has a diverse background in the energy industry and has worked in several locations across North America. Her field-based work experience at ESG Solutions involved data collection and processing for microseismic monitoring on unconventional assets. More recently, she supported Deepwater Gulf of Mexico Mature Assets at Shell Oil Company (New Orleans, LA), where her responsibilities spanned well planning, drilling operations, opportunity identification and reservoir characterization. Her deepwater fieldwork included a seismic OBN vessel assignment and drilling support on an offshore rig.
Matthew Seager is a professional engineer with nearly a decade of experience, primarily focused on production, operations, completions, and development engineering in the upstream oil and gas industry. Matthew has extensive experience building resource development plans and technoeconomic models and has led numerous multidisciplinary development teams. His expertise also includes production management, wellbore and facility design and optimization, and commercial agreement origination and evaluation. Matthew graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in Geological Engineering and is a member in good standing with APEGA.
Todd Stuebing is an APEGA professional geophysicist with 28+ years of experience characterizing the subsurface through remote sensing techniques. He has held various positions applying innovation through technical skills to large and small organizations’ strategic leadership and growth. Mr. Stuebing has served as the geosciences group leader for the Canadian subsidiary of the Korean National Oil Company. Previously, he acted as a technical authority for Geophysics with Shell Canada Ltd and performed geophysical interpretation and exploitation with several small to mid-sized E&P and service companies, such as Petro-Canada Oil and Gas and Schlumberger. Todd holds a B.Sc. Geophysics Specialization from the University of Alberta is currently pursuing his MBA designation through the Australian Institute of Business.
Neal Sutherland joins Eavor after a 15 year career in the oil and gas sector managing geoscience projects and data for a diverse project portfolio throughout Canada and Europe. Projects include both exploration and development of conventional and unconventional plays, including tight oil formations and SAGD operations in the WCSB, to a high-volume drilling program and EOR of Europe’s largest on-shore oil field. Throughout his career Mr. Sutherland developed a reputation for adding value by streamlining business processes though the development of visualization and reporting tools using GIS, geoscience, drilling and financial data. Mr. Sutherland has a Bachelor of Applied Technology Geographic Information Systems degree and an Exploration Information Technology diploma both from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology.
Ariel Torre brings over twenty years of global experience in the upstream oil and gas service sector with focus on directional drilling and rig optimization. Mr. Torre has held various technical and leadership roles at major services companies with a successful track record of value addition. His passion lies with innovation and the pursuit of new technologies to push boundaries. His geographic experience includes South America, Middle East, and North America. Mr. Torre holds a maximum degree in engineering from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina.
Alex’s career in the energy industry began with a single well drilling operation, his intrepid dedication in various roles earned him the opportunity to advance his career growth to strategy and capital management for a multi-billion dollar energy company. Recipient of an M.Sc degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Heriot-Watt University of Edinburgh, and a M.Sc degree in Computer Science from the Tomsk Polytechnic University, he continues to let his passion for the energy industry drive his work in emerging market opportunities, commercialization and innovative applications. In the last decade, he has facilitated corporate investments into new field development in Western Siberia and paved the way for drilling services into new markets in Western Canada.
Vlad Zatonski is a Professional Engineer, with 10+ years of experience in diverse upstream oil and gas roles including thermal, unconventional, offshore and new ventures Vlad is passionate about risk and uncertainty analysis, data analytics, and application of engineering principles to solve complex problems. Vlad’s geographic experience includes WCSB, Offshore East Coast Canada, GOM, South America, North Sea, Western Africa and the Mediterranean Vlad holds a BSc. in Mechanical Engineering with a Petroleum minor and a Master’s in Chemical and Petroleum Engineering from the University of Calgary. Vlad is registered as a P.Eng with the Association of Professional Engineers and Geologists of Alberta (APEGA) and holds a membership with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).
Michael Liebreich is Chairman and CEO of Liebreich Associates, but he is perhaps best known as Founder and Senior Contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance – the world’s leading provider of information and research on clean energy and transport. He is a Visiting Professor at Imperial College, a member of the UK Department for International Trade’s Capital Investment Advisory Board and the Policy Committee for the UK Climate Change Committee’s 6th Carbon Budget, a member of Equinor’s International Advisory Group, and recently joined Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL) as a Senior Adviser. In June 2019 Michael joined the IEA’s Global Commission for Urgent Action on Energy Efficiency. Until recently he was a long-standing board member of Transport for London and a member of the high-level group for the UN’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative. Michael is an angel investor and philanthropist and skied for Great Britain at the 1992 Albertville Olympics
Dr. Malcolm I. Ross is an innovation-focused geoscientist. Now a consultant, he recently worked for the New Energies Research & Technology Team at Shell, focusing on pre-strategic opportunities in the New Energies space, especially geothermal energy. He continues to teach a GIS class at Rice University. While in the Shell GameChanger team, he discovered, funded, and mentored numerous startups, including those focused on geothermal topics, and helped lead the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE as a science advisor and judge. He holds degrees from Rice University (Ph.D.), the University of Texas (M.S.), and Colgate University (B.A.). He is currently focused on building networks of people and companies focused on accelerating commercial geothermal opportunities and R&D to meet the rising tide of expectation for a sustainable low-carbon world.
Dr. Eric van Oort became Professor in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin in 2012, after a 20-year industry career with Shell Oil Company. He holds a PhD degree in Chemical Physics from the University of Amsterdam. He has (co-)authored more than 200 technical papers, holds 14 patents, is a former SPE Distinguished Lecturer, an SPE Distinguished Member, and the 2017 winner of the prestigious international SPE Drilling Engineering Award. At UT Austin, he directs drilling-related R&D in two industry consortia (RAPID and CODA) with over 25 industry company sponsors, covering drilling automation & control, sensor design, big data analytics, complex well construction challenges, and well abandonment & decommissioning. Recently, he has become involved in deep closed-loop geothermal drilling through UT’s new GEO initiative, for which he is the technical lead. In addition, he is the co-founder of 3 start-up companies and is the CEO of his own consulting company.