Management Team
James Perry (“J.P.”) Bryan, Jr., Chairman and CEO
Mr. Bryan is the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Torch. Mr. Bryan directs the overall strategic vision of Torch. During his 40-year career in the energy industry, Mr. Bryan has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of various independent exploration and production companies, including Bellwether Exploration Company, Nuevo Energy Company and Gulf Canada Resources Limited. In addition to his positions at Torch, Mr. Bryan serves as Chairman of the Board of Resaca Exploitation, Inc., an oil and gas development company with operations in the Permian Basin. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of AutoNation, Inc., a seller of new and used automobiles. Mr. Bryan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a law degree from the University of Texas. He also received a degree in international business from the American Institute of Foreign Trade (Thunderbird).
John J. (“Jay”) Lendrum III, President and Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Lendrum re-joined Torch as its President and Chief Operating Officer in 2005, having previously served the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer from 1986 to 1993. In this capacity, he was integrally involved in the management of Nuevo Energy Company, Bellwether Exploration Company and Energy Assets International Corporation. Mr. Lendrum is also the founder and President of Rockport Resources Capital Corporation, a firm that specialized in providing capital to the energy industry, and has been a principal in a private midstream gas company. He was also Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of a private oil & gas exploration company for four years and worked with KPMG Peat Marwick for seven years prior to that time. Mr. Lendrum graduated from the University of Texas in 1973 with an undergraduate degree in Finance and completed his graduate studies in Accounting Theory. In addition to his positions at Torch, Mr. Lendrum serves on the Board of Directors of BPZ Energy, a company with oil and gas activities in South America and serves as a director and Chief Executive Officer of Resaca Exploitation, Inc. Mr. Lendrum is responsible for the overall management and operation of Torch.
lendrumj@teai.com
Randy Ziebarth, Vice President – Operations
Mr. Ziebarth joined Torch in 1993 and assumed the position of Vice President of Midstream Assets in 1995. Randy has served Torch in a variety of capacities and currently oversees all aspects of the company’s midstream business. Mr. Ziebarth began his professional oil and gas career in 1976 in various operational capacities that included production and drilling engineering positions in addition to reservoir engineering work. He has a broad and diverse experience base with mid-sized independent companies (Maxus, Devon Energy, and Plains Resources) in both upstream and midstream operations as well as in commercial management, including business and project development, product marketing, acquisitions and divestitures, analysis and negotiation of agreements and deal structures. Mr. Ziebarth is a graduate of West Texas A&M University.
ziebarthr@teai.com
Chris Work, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Work joined Torch in February 2007. In addition to his finance and accounting responsibilities, Mr. Work is also responsible for Torch’s information technology functions. Prior to joining Torch, Mr. Work served for three years as Chief Financial Officer of a privately held residential mortgage bank. Mr. Work held senior level management positions with El Paso Corporation and Belco Oil and Gas, two publicly held energy companies. In addition, Mr. Work has nearly eight years of public accounting experience with Arthur Andersen LLP and Ernst & Young LLP, where he primarily served oil and gas clients. Mr. Work is a certified public accountant and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Texas A&M University, graduating with honors.
workc@teai.com
Mary Lou Fry, Vice President and General Counsel
Ms. Fry joined Torch in 1992 as Assistant General Counsel. She became Vice President and General Counsel for Torch in January 2004. She is responsible for Torch’s legal and land departments. Ms. Fry began her career with the Houston office of Mayer, Brown & Platt, LLP (now Mayer, Brown) in 1983 where she was a member of the Natural Resources and Finance practice groups. Ms. Fry then worked in the exploration and production area of the Shell Oil Company legal department from 1990 until 1992 when she joined Torch. She is admitted to practice law in the State of Texas. She is a 1983 graduate of Vanderbilt University School of Law and a 1980 graduate of the University of Kentucky Business School with an honors degree in Economics.
frym@teai.com
Lisa C. Cohen, Vice President and Treasurer
Ms. Cohen began her career in the financial services industry as an analyst in the natural resources group of the investment banking division of Kidder, Peabody & Co. in New York in 1986. She then spent six years in the lease finance business in New York and San Francisco, structuring tax oriented leverage lease investments. Ms. Cohen worked for Gulf South Pipeline in Houston before joining Torch in 2004. At Torch, Ms. Cohen is responsible for the Treasury, Credit, and Risk Management functions and oversees Human Resources. Ms. Cohen also contributes to Torch’s overall business and corporate development efforts. She earned her Master of Business Administration in Finance from New York University in 1992 and graduated from the University of Virginia in 1986 with a B.A. in English.
cohenl@teai.com
Ralph Carthrae, Vice President – Marketing
Mr. Carthrae joined Torch in 1996. His career began at Conoco, Inc., where he achieved the position of Director of North American Refinery Supply. He moved on to gain a wide range of skills and knowledge through various executive positions with refining, exploration and productions, pipeline and reserves. His experience includes managing, trading, marketing and transportation of crude oil, natural gas and liquids for large integrated energy companies as well as independent producers. At Torch, Ralph is primarily responsible for the company’s midstream commercial and new business efforts and manages Torch’s investment in Escondido. Mr. Carthrae is an engineering graduate from Kansas State University.
carthraer@teai.com
Gulf Coast Office Contact
Kenneth Fuselier, District Manager Gulf Coast Office
Mr. Fuselier has worked in oil and gas field operations for over 40 years with a variety of energy companies, including Tenneco, Transco, Amerada Hess and others. He joined Torch in 1994 as a Measurement Tech and advanced over the years to Production Foreman and now District Manager. Mr. Fuselier is responsible for field management of all Torch operated assets in the East Texas Field, as well as the Torch Midstream assets. Mr. Fuselier served four years in the United States Air Force.
fuselierk@teai.com
Resaca Exploitation, Inc. Corporate Office
Dennis Hammond, President and Chief Operating Officer of Resaca Exploitation, Inc.
Mr. Hammond joined Resaca as President and Chief Operating Officer in August 2007. He has over twenty-nine years of progressive experience in petroleum engineering. Mr. Hammond began his career with Chevron in 1978 and worked with both major and independent oil companies over the course of his career. Mr. Hammond was formerly a Vice President of Torch and subsequently became Vice President of Nuevo Energy Company when it was formed in 1990. While at Nuevo, he managed all of the company’s operations and engineering efforts. In 2002, he co-founded Everlast Energy and subsequently co-founded Five Point Energy, both of which were successful acquisition and exploitation firms. Mr. Hammond holds a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas.
hammond@resacaexploitation.com
Robert Porter, Vice President of Engineering of Resaca Exploitation, Inc.
Mr. Porter joined Torch as the Vice President of Engineering for Resaca in September 2008. He has thirty years of experience in reservoir engineering, oil and gas operations and economic evaluations. Mr. Porter began his career with Chevron in 1978 and subsequently worked with a variety of mid-sized independent oil and gas companies. He has extensive experience in both the evaluation of exploratory and development projects and in asset management. Most recently and prior to joining Resaca, Mr. Porter managed drilling, well completion and production operations for a coal-bed methane project in the Black Warrior Basin of Alabama. At Resaca, Mr. Porter oversees the operations and engineering staff. Mr. Porter holds a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering from Texas A&M University.
bob.porter@resacaexploitation.com
Resaca Odessa Office Contact
Marc Neatherlin, District Manager, Odessa Office
Mr. Neatherlin joined Resaca in April of 2006 and has operated the Resaca assets since May of 2003. He has six years of experience in the operation of oil and gas production assets, having held similar positions with SDG Resources, LLC and Torch Energy Services, Inc. Prior to his tenure with SDG Resources, Mr. Neatherlin spent twenty years in the well servicing business, working on and supervising work on rigs. Mr. Neatherlin founded and ran his own well servicing company in Midland, Texas in 1998, which he managed until 2003.Mr. Neatherlin is responsible for all field operations for Resaca.
marc.neatherlin@resacaexploitation.com
Torch Renewable Energy Team
Jonathan Kilberg, President, Torch Renewable Energy
Mr. Kilberg joined Torch Renewable Energy, LLC as President in 2007. Prior to joining Torch, Mr. Kilberg was a Principal at Akkadian Private Ventures LLC, a boutique investment bank, where he concentrated on power and water desalinization project finance in the Middle East and North Africa. He had previously worked for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) as Director of Technology Investments. Mr. Kilberg also worked for Verisign Inc. (NASDAQ:VRSN), where he concentrated on small company mergers and acquisitions. In 1999, he started an information search and retrieval company funded by Draper Fisher Jurvetson’s, Draper Atlantic, and Lazard Frere’s Lazard Technology Partners, which was later acquired in 2001.
kilbergj@teai.com
Anish Parikh, Vice President for Forecasting, Torch Renewable Energy
Mr. Parikh joined Torch in 2009 to develop the company’s wind forecasting business. Anish is a technology entrepreneur who has been in the wind industry since 2005, and has been developing aerodynamics-related technology for almost 10 years. Mr. Parikh has been involved in developing several complex technologies: the GOES N-Q satellites at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory; the wireless reading device now known as the Kindle at Cambridge, Massachusetts startup E-Ink Corporation; a peer-to-peer based distributed storage system at Ann Arbor, Michigan startup Antigone; an actively controlled helicopter blade system at the University of Michigan’s Active Aeroelasticity and Structures Research Laboratory; the Scramjet Engine Demonstrator (SED-Waverider) at the Boeing Corporation; and the counter-rotating wind turbine at Appa Renewable Energy Systems. Mr. Parikh received a B.S. in Aeronautics and Astronautics from MIT, and an M.S. in Aerospace Engineering (with a focus on turbulence modeling) from the University of Michigan.
anish@onsemble.ws