RIDGEWOOD ENERGY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Land Administration Supervisor
Ann Hebert has more than 28 years of Land Administration, Business Development and Division Order experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2013, Ms. Hebert has supported the Onshore, Shelf and Deepwater Land activities at various companies including Woodside Energy, Unocal, Arena Energy, Basin Exploration and EOTT Energy.
Ms. Hebert received her B.A. in Organizational Communication from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Job Titles:
- Member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists
Bob Klein has more than 20 years of experience in the oil and gas industry focused on evaluating petroleum systems to determine the technical merits of oil and gas projects. In the Gulf of Mexico Basin, his area of concentration has spanned the southern margin along the Sigsbee Escarpment to the northern onshore rim in the East Texas and North Louisiana Salt Basins. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2015, Mr. Klein spent six years as a basin modeler at Samson Energy, where he was involved in the company's entry into unconventional resource plays in the Permian Basin, as well as in conventional deepwater discoveries in both the Wilcox and Miocene trends. Previously, Mr. Klein also worked for Amoco, BP, Dynamic Graphics Inc., and Paradigm (formerly Earth Decision Sciences).
Mr. Klein is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Houston Geological Society. He received dual B.S. degrees in Geology and Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, a M.S. degree in Geochemistry and a Ph.D. in Geology both from the University of Michigan. He is also currently a member of Michigan's Alumni Advisory Board of the Earth and Environmental Sciences Department.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President - Business Development
Chad Knips has more than a decade of finance experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2016, Mr. Knips was Director of Finance, Hedging and Investor Relations at Eagle Rock Energy Partners, where he assisted in the divestment of its $1 billion midstream and $600 million upstream divisions. Previously, as Manager of Finance, Acquisitions and Investor Relations for EPL Oil & Gas, Mr. Knips completed seven Gulf of Mexico acquisitions and divestitures totaling approximately $1 billion and was a key member of the team that sold EPL to Energy XXI for approximately $2.3 billion. Mr. Knips began his career at FBR Capital Markets in investment banking and executed M&A transactions and capital markets financings across the energy sector.
Job Titles:
- Member of the New Jersey State Bar
- Senior Vice President - Legal
Dan Gulino has more than 30 years of experience as a corporate and commercial attorney, including 25 years in the oil and gas and electric utility industries. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2000, he served as in-house counsel for several large electric utilities including GPU, Inc. (now part of First Energy) and PPL Resources, Inc., where Mr. Gulino specialized in non-utility generation projects, as well as independent power and marketing transactions. Previously, Mr. Gulino was in-house counsel for Alumax, Inc. (now part of Alcoa), where he was responsible for the company's electric and natural gas purchasing programs.
Mr. Gulino is a member of the New Jersey State Bar and the Pennsylvania State Bar. He is a graduate of Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers University School of Law, Newark.
Job Titles:
- Midstream Business Development Manager
Dave Jaben has nearly 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry focused on a variety of areas including midstream, marketing, and refining. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2014, Mr. Jaben worked at Amoco (now BP), where he managed midstream and marketing activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Jaben earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Georgia Tech and received an M.B.A. from University of Houston.
Job Titles:
- Technical Assistant & Offshore Scout
As an Engineer Tech / Oil Scout, Debra Massey provides technical support to the Engineering and Geoscience Staff. Ms. Massey represents Ridgewood Energy as a member of OOSA (Offshore Oil Scout Association).
Ms. Massey has over 30 years of experience in various roles within the oil and gas industry and has been a Ridgewood Energy team member since 2015.
Job Titles:
- Chief Information Officer
Domenic Salvemini has more than 20 years of experience as an information technology professional. He joined Ridgewood Energy as a System Administrator in 1999 and became Chief Information Officer in 2007. In that capacity, Mr. Salvemini builds on his technical expertise and extensive understanding of business operations to shape overall technology strategy and manage implementation of information systems, software development, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and cybersecurity, where he is responsible for coordinating cybersecurity standards, safeguarding, and policies and procedures.
Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy, Mr. Salvemini worked at EIZO Corporation, where he was responsible for information technology systems and infrastructure.
Job Titles:
- Manager - Contract Administration & JV Audit
Ed Viterbo joined Ridgewood Energy's Houston office in January 2006. Mr. Viterbo has over 33 years of experience in the domestic U.S. oil and gas exploration and production business. He is responsible for administering Ridgewood's JV audit program, contractual compliance, and handling special projects. He also a steering committee member of HWCG representing Ridgewood's interest in the oil spill response consortium.
Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy, Mr. Viterbo was employed in various supervisory capacities by several independent oil & gas exploration and production companies including Texas Oil & Gas Corporation, Sonat Exploration Company, Apache Corporation, and El Paso Production Company. His oil & gas accounting experience includes revenue / production accounting, asset acquisition & divestiture, joint-venture audit / contract compliance, and operational accounting support.
Mr. Viterbo is a 1986 graduate of Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting.
Job Titles:
- Controller - Fund Operations
Fran Garcia has 20+ years of general accounting, internal audit, reporting and budget experience. She previously served as a Financial System Manager for Ridgewood Energy. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2005, Ms. Garcia held various positions at Sony Electronics Inc.
Ms. Garcia received her B.S. in Accounting from Fordham University, and an MBA in Finance from Long Island University.
Fritz Spencer, III has more than 35 years of experience managing land in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2013, Mr. Spencer was a Land Manager at Energy Resource Technology GOM, Inc. (ERT). Previously, he held several senior level positions in land at Noble Energy, Inc. and Unocal.
Mr. Spencer received a B.S. from Louisiana State University.
Heather Corey is responsible for managing Ridgewood Energy's Treasury and Accounts Payable Departments. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2005, she held various treasury positions at State Street Bank and Trust Company, Bestfoods, and Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings.
Ms. Corey received her B.A from Lincoln University and is a member of the Association for Financial Professionals.
Jeff Byrd has over 16 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry in various land, finance, business development, and strategic planning roles covering US Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, and Mexico. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2019, Mr. Byrd worked at BP where he managed midstream, marketing, and commercial contract negotiations in support of the US Gulf of Mexico business.
Mr. Byrd earned a B.B.A. in Economics from McMurry University.
Kathy McSherry has more than 25 years of corporate finance and investment experience in energy-focused private equity. As Ridgewood Energy's Chief Financial Officer, she is responsible for all finance operations, including accounting and reporting, tax, and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Ms. McSherry also leads financial due diligence activities and analysis related to Ridgewood Energy's investments and strategic partnerships. Throughout her career at Ridgewood, Ms. McSherry has been an instrumental member of the management team contributing to the growth of the firm. She joined Ridgewood Energy in 1987 from Midlantic National Bank, where she worked in the Trust Department. She also spent two years as Vice President of Finance for BBDO Worldwide's internet division.
Ms. McSherry earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Kean University.
Kenny Lang is the President of Ridgewood Energy. He joined the firm in 2009 and re-focused Ridgewood Energy's Gulf of Mexico investing on opportunities in the deep water region. Mr. Lang has played a central role in building a highly experienced, world-class investment and technical team; forming key partnerships including with Riverstone Holdings; and raising over $3 billion for Ridgewood Energy's dedicated private equity funds. Under Mr. Lang's leadership, Ridgewood Energy's exploration track record in the Gulf of Mexico is among the very best in the industry.
Prior to joining Ridgewood, Mr. Lang enjoyed a 24-year career at BP where he ultimately served as Senior Vice President of BP's Gulf of Mexico business and a member of the Board for BP America. In that position, Mr. Lang led the creation of BP's deepwater Gulf of Mexico strategy and built the business into one of the company's largest revenue-generating units. He was responsible for managing 2,000 professionals in the Gulf of Mexico region and was accountable for all aspects of exploration, development, and production. In addition to his work in the Gulf of Mexico, Mr. Lang also previously held leadership roles on BP teams based in London, Aberdeen, and Alaska.
Mr. Lang is a former Member of the Board of the National Ocean Industry Association (NOIA), the nation's leading association of companies dedicated to the development of offshore energy for the continued growth and security of the United States. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Mr. Lang received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston.
Leah Bramlett-Kneitz is responsible for managing Ridgewood Energy's Land/Business Development activities related to leases, contracts and other land administration obligations. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2015, she was a Senior Land Analyst for ConocoPhillips. While at ConocoPhillips she supported the Gulf of Mexico Exploration Land/Business Development team and was a member of the Land Analyst Advisory Board.
Mrs. Bramlett-Kneitz is certified in Petroleum Land Management (PLM) from the University of Houston and has also earned her B.A. in Sociology/Psychology from the University of Oklahoma.
Job Titles:
- Chief Compliance Officer & Vice President - Legal
- Member of the New York
Maria E. Haggerty joined Ridgewood Energy's legal department in 2005 and has served as Chief Compliance Officer since 2008. She has more than 20 years of legal experience during which time she has focused on private placements, debt structuring, derivative transactions, and other business matters. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy, Ms. Haggerty was Counsel with the New York office of Bryan Cave LLP. Previously, she was an associate with Kirsch, Gartenberg & Howard.
Ms. Haggerty is a member of the New York and New Jersey state bars. She received her J.D. from Pace University School of Law and her B.A. from Marist College.
Job Titles:
- Reservoir Engineering Manager
Mark Pearce is responsible for reservoir engineering evaluation of exploration and development opportunities including reserve analysis, surveillance and optimization, and performance prediction. He has more than 16 years of engineering experience in the oil and gas industry, primarily focused on technical oversight of exploration, appraisal, and development activities in the Gulf of Mexico. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2018, Mr. Pearce worked at BP, during which time he was involved with multiple large projects in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. Mr. Pearce is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Chairman
- Senior Managing Director
Matthew E. Swanson, Executive Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Ridgewood Energy, first joined the Ridgewood Companies in 2002 and returned to Ridgewood Energy full time in 2007, upon graduating from Harvard Law School.
Mr. Swanson received his A.B., magna cum laude, from Harvard University, where he concentrated in economics and was admitted to Phi Beta Kappa. While working towards his J.D., he also earned a Master's Degree (LL.M.) in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge, England. Mr. Swanson received his J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he focused on corporate, securities, and tax law.
In addition to Executive Chairman and Senior Managing Director of Ridgewood Energy, Mr. Swanson is also Founding Partner of Ridgewood Infrastructure. He is admitted to practice law in New York and New Jersey.
Niloy Shah oversees commercial aspects of Ridgewood Energy's offshore oil and gas activities including land management, oil and gas marketing, and strategic planning. He began his career with BP (Amoco) in 1985 and spent 32 years with the company before joining Ridgewood Energy in 2017. His most recent positions included Head of Planning & Commercial Operations for the Americas, Global Head of Commercial Operations, CFO for the Gulf of Mexico Business, and CFO for the Asia Pacific Business. He has had central functional roles and a number of commercial roles for BP businesses in Alaska, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Vietnam, and the US Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Shah has a B.S. and M.S. from the University of Tulsa and an MBA from the University of Houston.
Samantha Lachenauer supports the legal and compliance department in compliance and corporate governance matters, and commercial contract management. Before joining the legal department, Ms. Lachenauer was a member of Ridgewood's investor relations team. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2019, Ms. Lachenauer held strategic communications and business analyst roles with Cysco Systems and Merrill Lynch.
Ms. Lachenauer earned her B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Rutgers College of Engineering.
Sam Lissner is a Managing Director of Ridgewood Energy. Prior to joining Ridgewood in 2013, Sam focused on investing in and building several successful energy-focused businesses at Kohl Partners. During his graduate studies, Sam worked on the Environmental Protection Agency's Mobile Sources Team and in the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration.
Sam received his A.B. from Harvard University, where he concentrated in Middle East Studies. He earned a M.S. from New York University focused on energy and environmental policy, and he received an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. Sam is a member of the Board of Advisors of NYU's Center for Global Affairs.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Director of Financial Reporting & Technical Accounting
Sheryl Dipad is responsible for managing Ridgewood Energy's financial reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2016, she was the Director of Financial Reporting for The Great Atlantic Pacific Tea and Company. Previously, Ms. Dipad was an audit manager in Ernst & Young LLP's Assurance Services.
Ms. Dipad is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New York and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She earned her B.S. in Accounting in the Philippines.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President - Exploration
Spencer Howe leads Ridgewood Energy's geoscience team. He has 33 years of experience as an exploration geoscience leader with BP. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy, in his most recent role as BP's VP of Exploration for Gulf of Mexico and Mexico, Mr. Howe led the discovery of several large fields in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico, aggregating to more than 450 million barrels (gross). He also previously held senior leadership roles at BP for exploration in Asia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, the onshore U.S., Trinidad, the North Sea, and Venezuela. Mr. Howe is an industry authority on leading major exploration and appraisal programs, and on managing integrated commercial and strategic assessments around the globe. He has been recognized for significant success in identifying, uncovering and delivering a number of major hydrocarbon discoveries. He also possesses a passion for safety, process improvement and integrity in all aspects of business. Mr. Howe received a Bachelor's Degree in Applied Physics and Chemistry and a Master's degree in geophysics from the University of Durham, UK.
Job Titles:
- Certified Public Accountant
- Director of Financial Planning & Analysis
Stefania Sztybel has more than 15 years of energy-focused corporate finance and accounting experience. As Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Stefania is responsible for managing the firm's quarterly budget and cash flow forecast processes, as well as providing financial analysis and strategic support to senior management. She previously served as Assistant Controller of Ridgewood Energy and prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2009, she was an Audit Senior in Deloitte's Audit & Assurance group, where she specialized in energy, utilities, and capital markets.
Stefania is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in New Jersey and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She received a B.S. in Accounting and a B.A. in Italian, Phi Beta Kappa, from Rutgers University - New Brunswick.
Job Titles:
- Communications & Compliance Associate
Susan McDonough has more than 20 years of accounting, financial reporting, and client service experience. She is a key member of Ridgewood Energy's investor relations team and also supports the legal department on matters of corporate governance and compliance. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2003, Ms. McDonough was the Branch Manager of Peapack Gladstone Bank (formerly Chatham Savings & Loan), where she was responsible for various front-office operations, as well as the bank's accounting functions.
Tanner Hutt is responsible for the economic evaluation of Ridgewood Energy's offshore oil and gas opportunities and providing financial analysis and strategic support to senior management. Before joining Ridgewood in 2021, Mr. Hutt worked at Societe Generale as an associate in the Energy Finance Group, where he assisted in building its market-leading offshore development finance portfolio. Mr. Hutt completed five Gulf of Mexico integrated energy project financings totaling approximately $2 billion and was a vital member of the team that led the $1 billion financing for the Shenandoah deepwater development in the US Gulf of Mexico.
Mr. Hutt holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University and an M.S. in Finance from the University of Texas.
Kent Webb joined the firm in 2008 and is part of the team that successfully transitioned Ridgewood Energy's Gulf of Mexico investing focus from the shelf to deep water. Now managing a $4 billion portfolio of high-quality assets, Mr. Webb is responsible for engineering and commercial aspects of over 50 projects including flagship projects Delta House and King's Quay. Mr. Webb is also responsible for corporate planning, reserves reporting, insurance for energy package and asset retirement obligations for BOEM financial assurance.
Prior to joining Ridgewood, Mr. Webb performed various engineering and commercial responsibilities for Kerr-McGee, Dominion, Forcenergy, W&T Offshore and Woodside Energy. His last assignment prior to joining Ridgewood was as Engineering & Operations Manager of Gulf of Mexico for Woodside.
Mr. Webb has 35 years of upstream oil & gas experience and is a registered Professional Engineer with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering and an M.B.A. from Louisiana State University.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers
- Operations Engineering Manager
Wayne Sutton is responsible for evaluating and optimizing project performance, overseeing drilling, completion, production, and facility operations.
Prior to joining Ridgewood, Mr. Sutton's career of more than 32 years has been focused on delivery of deepwater and onshore projects, engineering, and operations at BP, Standard Oil (Sohio), and PG&E Resources. He was the lead completion engineer on several Gulf of Mexico deepwater projects. He built the BP Gulf of Mexico intervention engineering team of engineers and wellsite leaders that completed hundreds of well operations. He also worked as a Completions and Intervention Operations Subsea Advisor supporting BP's Gulf of Mexico and other deepwater regions.
Mr. Sutton is a lifetime member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He received a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University.
Yan Quist is responsible for geophysical evaluation informing Ridgewood Energy's exploration, appraisal, and production decisions. She has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining Ridgewood Energy in 2018, Ms. Quist was a Sr. Geophysical Advisor evaluating exploration opportunities in deepwater Gulf of Mexico for Ecopetrol America. Previously, she worked with BP on key geophysical aspects of BP's Thunder Horse appraisal and development, as well as the Na Kika area exploration. Ms. Quist also worked on Amoco's exploration and production in offshore China. During her early career with BP, Ms. Quist was the geophysicist in BP's seismic technology group with a concentration on the area of subsalt seismic imaging and subsalt velocity estimation. She received a Bachelor's Degree in Geophysics from Beijing University and a Master's of Geophysics from the University of New Orleans.