Beta OFFSHORE Executive Bios!
Brian James Jennings President and Chief Executive Officer, Rise EnergyMr. Jennings serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Rise Energy, Beta Offshore’s parent company. Mr. Jennings’ energy career spans three decades. He began his professional career in 1984 joining The Atlantic Richfield Company (“ARCO”) in Los Angeles, California as Petroleum Reservoir Engineer in ARCO’s international exploration company. Mr. Jennings worked with ARCO subsidiaries in China, Indonesia, the United Kingdom and Turkey focusing on reservoir evaluation and new project development. Following the completion of ARCO supported graduates studies at The University of Chicago, Mr. Jennings began a decade long investment banking career focused on the natural resource and energy industry. Mr. Jennings held positions in the investment banking groups of Kidder, Peabody, Lehman Brothers and UBS PaineWebber. During this period, he completed in excess of $20 billion of capital market financings and merger & acquisition advisory transactions.
Mr. Jennings returned to the energy sector in 2000 joining Oklahoma City-based Devon Energy Corporation (“Devon”) serving as Senior Vice President - Corporate Finance & Development and Chief Financial Officer. During his seven year tenure, Devon consummated in excess of $25 billion in acquisition and divestiture transactions transforming Devon from a regional natural gas producer into one of the nation’s largest and most respected independent energy companies. These transactions included the $3.5 billion acquisition of Santa Fe Snyder, the $3.5 billion acquisition of Mitchell Energy, the $4.6 billion acquisition of Anderson Exploration, the $5.3 billion acquisition of Ocean Energy and the $2.5 billion acquisition of Chief Exploration.
Mr. Jennings stepped down from his position at Devon in February 2007 to join Dallas, Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners (“Energy Transfer”). Energy Transfer is one of the nation’s largest natural gas pipelines companies. Mr. Jennings served as Chief Financial Officer where he led, in his 16 month tenure, a $4.5 billion financial restructuring of the partnership.
Mr. Jennings received his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1984. In addition, Mr. Jennings completed his graduate studies at The University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business receiving his Masters of Business Administration degree in 1989.
Dickie Hunter
Chief Financial Officer, Rise Energy
Mr. Hunter serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Rise Energy, Beta Offshore’s parent company. Mr. Hunter brings to Rise Energy a thirty year energy focused career. Mr. Hunter began his professional career in 1980 joining Diamond Shamrock Corporation where he spent seven years primarily as an analyst working in all segments of the multinational corporation including oil and gas, refining, chemical, coal and agriculture. In 1987, following the emergence of the small and mid-cap oil and natural gas sector, Mr. Hunter joined a private equity firm specializing in the acquisition and development of existing oil and gas properties. After achieving a three-fold growth in just 20 months, the private entity was sold to an Australian concern, Bridge Oil Ltd., which retained Mr. Hunter as its US corporate controller.
In 1995, following the acquisition of Bridge Oil by Parker & Parsley, Mr. Hunter again joined a start-up private equity venture, Wynn-Crosby (“Wynn”), as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. During his thirteen year tenure, Wynn emerged as one of the nation’s most prolific and successful private oil and gas companies. Wynn accumulated interests in over 6,000 wells in nineteen states and twenty-four offshore blocks. Mr. Hunter elected to leave Wynn January 2009 to found Rise Energy.
Mr. Hunter received his Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from West Texas A&M University in 1978 and his Masters of Business Administration from the same university in 1980. Following graduate school, Mr. Hunter expanded his formal education to the field of accounting obtaining his CPA license in 1990.
Steve Liles Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Steve has spent the past 27 years in various
engineering and operation positions for local Southern California oil
and gas companies including Thums Long Beach Company, BreitBurn
Energy, Warren E&P, Pacific Energy Resources, and currently with BETA
Offshore. Responsibilities
have included facility, drilling, and production operations and
engineering, budgeting, reserves evaluations, operations and
engineering supervision, project management, City, State and Federal
approval processes, regulatory compliance, public and community
relations, and business development.
Since November of 2006, Steve has been responsible for the
Federal Offshore Platforms Ellen, Elly, and Eureka located 10 miles
south of Long Beach. Steve
has a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the
David J. Cosgrove
Director of Finance
Mr. Cosgrove has 15 years of experience in finance with specific expertise in financial planning, strategic planning and M&A advisory. In 1996, Mr. Cosgrove joined the Boeing Company where he worked in the company’s Financial Planning & Analysis group preparing budgets and financial forecasts for various aerospace businesses. In 2003, he was hired by Janas Associates, a middle-market investment banking firm with expertise in the oil and gas industry, where he performed due diligence and financial analysis for sell-side M&A transactions. In 2004, Mr. Cosgrove left Janas to join the Los Angeles office of KPMG’s Corporate Finance practice where he executed sell-side and buy-side M&A transactions and developed long-term strategic plans and financial models. In 2006, Mr. Cosgrove joined Pacific Energy Partners, a $2 billion publicly-traded operator of petroleum pipeline and storage facilities, as Manager of Planning and Analysis, where he led the company’s budgeting, forecasting, long-range planning, and analysis functions. In 2007, Mr. Cosgrove joined DLC Consulting where he provided financial and strategic planning services to oil and gas industry clients. Mr. Cosgrove earned a MBA from the University of Southern California in 2004.