Veriten

Michael (Mike) Bradley is a founding member and Partner for Energy Market Strategy at Veriten, with over 25 years of experience across capital markets, equity investments, and sales & trading. He previously served as a Managing Director in Capital Solutions at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., and held portfolio management and equity research roles at energy-focused hedge funds including Dorado Partners, Catequil Asset Management, and Enron Capital & Trade, as well as research roles at First Union Bank and Southeast Banks. He holds a B.S. in Finance from Florida State University.

Rob West is the founder of Thunder Said Energy, a research consultancy focused on energy technologies across new energies, conventional energies, and industrial decarbonization, with interests in AI, solar, natural gas, power grids, power electronics, and advanced materials. He previously served as Head of Global Energy Research at Redburn, advising institutional investors on the major oil companies, and earlier worked on Sanford Bernstein's European Oil & Gas team. He holds a First Class degree in Experimental Psychology from University College, Oxford, and is a CFA Charterholder.

Ryan Moeller is the founder of Starting Cold, a venture partner at Veriten, and the US ecosystem partner at Startuplab. Before relocating to Oslo in 2021, he spent two years in Houston working on energy tech M&A at an investment bank. His work in the Nordics has included advising founders, organizing an energy and climate tech conference, and facilitating international investment into the Norwegian startup ecosystem.

Albert De La Portilla is a founding member of Veriten and its Creative Director, where he focuses on turning energy, power, and technology data into visual assets and manages brand consistency across graphic design, digital media, video, and audio. He has over 25 years of creative experience in the energy industry. He previously worked as Creative Director at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. and as a Desktop Publisher at Simmons & Company International.

Arjun Murti has worked for over 30 years covering the global energy sector as a sell-side equity research analyst, buy-side investor, advisor, and board member. He spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs, where he served as Co-Director of Americas Equity Research before retiring in 2014, and earlier worked at J.P. Morgan Investment Management and Petrie Parkman & Co. Since 2021 he has published Super-Spiked, a Substack newsletter and podcast on the energy transition, and holds a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of Denver.

Bill Flores represented the 17th Congressional District of Texas in the U.S. House from 2011 to 2021. He has held senior leadership and governance roles across public and private organizations, and serves on several corporate and non-profit boards, including as Vice-Chair and independent board member of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).

Bob Gwin serves as a NexTen Senior Advisor at Veriten. He previously held the roles of President and CFO at Anadarko Petroleum.

Brett Rampal is a nuclear energy and power generation specialist. He previously led nuclear energy policy advocacy and R&D work at the Clean Air Task Force, worked as a fuel engineer at NuScale supporting certification for a small modular reactor, and held roles at Westinghouse including lead core designer and engineering project manager for the Millstone, North Anna, and Surry nuclear power stations. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Florida and also provides consulting for organizations such as the American Nuclear Society.

Chanel Vanderzyde is a founding member of Veriten, where she manages the firm's communications, content, social media, and broader marketing efforts. Before joining Veriten, she spent five years at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. in marketing, communications, and event coordination. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Corporate Communications from the University of Texas at Austin.

Coco Wallace is an Associate at Veriten, where she helps the firm's investment fund identify and evaluate opportunities tied to emerging energy technologies and trends. She previously worked in corporate strategy and business development at an early-stage geothermal startup and in management consulting. She holds a degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University.

Deborah Byers spent 36 years at Ernst & Young LLP, retiring as a Partner in July 2022. She held senior leadership roles including Americas Industry Leader, Houston Office Managing Partner and U.S. Energy Leader, and Managing Partner of the Southwest Region Strategy & Transactions practice, advising corporations and investment funds on energy investments with a focus on U.S. shale and global LNG markets. She holds a BBA from Baylor University, is a retired CPA, and serves as a Senior Advisor to Veriten and Conquer AI.

Ellen Wilkirson is a Managing Director at Veriten, where she works on the firm's venture and growth equity investment platforms. She previously held a Managing Director role at Freestone, a Tailwater Capital platform investing in energy transition and circular economy companies, and was a Vice President at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors focused on midstream and utilities investments. Earlier in her career she worked in oil and gas coverage at Credit Suisse Securities and started at PricewaterhouseCoopers; she holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business and is a Texas CPA.

Greg Armstrong co-founded Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., where he served as Chairman and CEO. He currently holds board director roles at Plains, NOV, Inc., and Memorial Hermann Healthcare System. He previously spent eleven years as a director in the Federal Reserve System, retiring as Chair of the Dallas Fed in 2021, and was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 2015.

Gun Kim is a Director at Veriten. He previously worked at Quantum Energy Partners and at TPH&Co, a Houston-based investment bank. He holds a B.A. in Economics and a Master's in Accounting from Rice University.

Member of the Veriten Venture Funds Advisory Board.

Jeff Tillery is a founding member and Chief Operating Officer of Veriten. He was previously a founding partner of Pickering Energy Partners, the predecessor to the energy-focused investment bank Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co., where he spent over 17 years and held roles including senior equity research analyst, Head of Research, Head of Securities, and Head of Capital Solutions. Earlier in his career he worked in the Restructuring Group at Huron Consulting Group and as an equity research analyst at Simmons & Co. International, and he holds a BBA in Finance from Texas A&M University.

John Sommers is Partner, Investments at Veriten. He was previously Principal at Cockrell Investments, a Houston family-owned firm, where he handled private equity, venture capital, and oil & gas investments, and earlier worked at Quantum Energy Partners and its portfolio company Sentinel Peak Resources. He started his career in investment banking within the Global Natural Resources groups at RBC Capital Markets and Nomura Securities, and holds a BBA in Finance, Economics, and Business Fellows from Baylor University.

Jordi Carbajal is an Analyst at Veriten, where he supports the firm's strategic advisory partnerships. He previously spent two years in public finance investment banking at Piper Sandler and completed a corporate development internship at Sunnova Energy during his undergraduate studies. He holds a B.B.A in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Marc Davidson is a former technology and operations executive with over 30 years of experience in industrial R&D, manufacturing, and supply chain. He most recently served as Sr. Technology Director at Halliburton, leading technology development and commercialization across five of its business lines, and previously held CTO and technology/operations roles at Sandvik AB's super-hard materials subsidiary and at General Electric, along with earlier R&D work at GE and Amoco. He holds a B.S.E. in Chemical Engineering from Princeton and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from MIT.

Mark Castiglione is Partner, Oil & Gas Strategy at Veriten, with over 30 years of experience in the energy sector. He has led strategic work across oil and gas, including at public companies such as EOG and Burlington Resources, as well as private companies, private equity firms, and turnaround situations, and has provided energy advisory services through his firms MPC Resources, LLC and Meridian Energy LLC. He holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University and an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.

Marty Phillips is the founder of EnCap Investments and serves as a NexTen Senior Advisor at Veriten.

Melanie Gutierrez is an Executive Assistant at Veriten with over twenty years of experience supporting senior executives in corporate settings. Before joining Veriten, she worked as an Executive Assistant at Jefferies for seven years and previously at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. She holds a BBA in Management from the University of Houston.

Naomi Boness leads the Center for Fuels of the Future at Stanford University, where she works on low-carbon fuel solutions for domestic and emerging economies. She previously held technical and management roles at Chevron. She also serves as a director at public companies and advises energy startups and non-profit organizations.

Nick Lance is COBT Content Manager at Veriten, where he also supports programming for the firm's "Close of Business Tuesday" podcast. He previously spent two years as a Commercial NGL Analyst at Enterprise Products in Houston, working on daily arbitrage models and budget forecasting for the natural gas liquids marketing team. He holds a B.A. in Economics with a minor in Business from the University of Texas at Austin.

Nick Morriss is a Managing Director at Veriten, advising companies, investors, and policymakers on power and energy markets, with attention to electricity markets, large-scale load growth, and dispatchable and emerging generation technologies. He previously was Vice President of Business Development at Natura Resources, working on next-generation nuclear technologies, and spent nearly two decades at NOV Inc. in engineering, offshore project sales, and commercialization roles, where he founded NOV's nuclear venture, Shepherd Power. He holds an M.S. in Technology Commercialization from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Texas Tech University.

Paul Kamer is an Analyst at Veriten, where he conducts energy macro and policy research and supports advisory services for the firm's partners. He previously served as a Summer Analyst at Veriten in 2022 and 2023. He holds a B.S. in Financial Economics from Duke University.

Robert Kester is Partner, Technology & Innovation at Veriten. He previously spent five years as CTO for Emissions Solutions within Honeywell Process Solutions, and before that was CEO and co-founder of Rebellion Photonics, a hyperspectral gas imaging company for the oil and gas industry that Honeywell acquired in 2019. He holds a B.S. in Laser Optical Engineering Technology from Oregon Tech, an M.Sc. in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in Bioengineering from Rice University, and holds 25 patents.

Tammy Duong is a founding member of Veriten, where she works as Chief of Staff and Marketing Director supporting the CEO and executive team on operations, organization, and client engagement. She has over 15 years of experience across client service, operations, marketing, and administration, and previously served as Director of Operations and Marketing in Investment Banking at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Communications from the University of Houston.

Taylor Neal is a Director at Veriten who works on data analysis and investment evaluation. He previously spent five years in energy investment banking at Scotiabank in Houston, advising on corporate and cross-border strategy and upstream oil and gas transactions, and has since developed data science skills through graduate studies. He holds a BA in Statistics, Mathematical Economic Analysis, and Managerial Studies from Rice University and a Master's in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.