It is our pleasure to introduce the world's most experienced team of energy-specialist executive search consultants.
Our clients know firsthand that having the very best people in the most critical positions is a prerequisite for success. That is why Preng & Associates has assembled a world-class team of highly experienced executive search consultants who bring relationships, know-how and market insight to our clients across every sector of the global energy industry.
We are proud to introduce our team. These are the people who can give your company an important competitive edge to leadership recruiting.
- David E. Preng, Founder and President
David E. Preng has been President and CEO of Preng & Associates since its inception in 1980. Previously, he spent six years in the executive search industry with two international and one national search firm. He has worked on over 1500 energy-related searches throughout the world ranging from board and senior executive to managerial and senior technical positions. His industry experience includes financial, managerial and executive positions with Shell Oil, Litton Industries and Southwest Industries. Mr. Preng was a Director of Remington Oil and Gas (Chairman of the Compensation Committee) from 1997-2006. He currently serves as a Board Member of the National Association of Corporate Directors-Houston Chapter, a Director of Community National Bank, a Fellow of the Institute of Directors in London, and a Director of Cal Dive International. He is a member of several international technical and business organizations and has served three three-year terms as a Director of the British American Business Council and was its President in 1999 and 2000.
Mr. Preng holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Marquette University and a Master of Business Administration from DePaul University.
Contact David:
Email: dpreng@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2601
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 Houston
- Charles L. Carpenter, Practice Leader
Charles L. Carpenter directs the global Energy Services and Supply practice for Preng & Associates. He has over 25 years of management experience in engineering, manufacturing, drilling, marine services, and operating and maintenance contracting. He has lived and worked overseas and has recruited personnel at all levels in every continent.
Prior to joining Preng & Associates, he was President of Axsia Serck Baker and a Director of Axsia Group, a fluids processing technology group of companies engaged in the design and construction of oil, gas, and water treatment systems. His industry experience also includes senior financial and managerial positions with Enserch Corporation, Baker Hughes, Inc. and Ensco International Inc. Mr. Carpenter holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Management and Finance from the University of Houston and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Contact Charlie:
Email: ccarpenter@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2610
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 - George M. Rickus, Practice Leader
George M. Rickus directs Preng & Associates' Power and Utilities practices. In 1994, he initiated the firm's focus in the Americas' power industry; and, in 1998, he initiated the firm's focus into the newly emerging global water management marketplace. For the last fourteen years, he has managed critical executive level assignments in these two market segments.
Preng & Associates' primary focus in these two dynamic market segments has been senior leadership positions that drive strategic success in the ever-increasing competitive global marketplace. Mr. Rickus has successfully recruited positions with global and regional profit and loss responsibility, business development, sales and marketing, operations, contract management and EPC accountability, as well as financial, human resources, and information technology leaders throughout the Americas and Europe.
Mr. Rickus holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Villanova University and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Detroit.
Contact George:
Email: grickus@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 256 3159
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 - Ralph W. Stevens, Practice Leader
Ralph W. Stevens has been a consultant of Preng & Associates since 1997. He has managed both domestic and international searches spanning multiple functions in the exploration & production, refining & marketing, gas processing & transmission and petrochemical sectors of the energy industry.
Prior to joining Preng & Associates, he was Senior Vice President of Human Resources for BHP Petroleum in Melbourne, Australia. Until its acquisition by BHPP, Mr. Stevens held the position of Vice President Human Resources for Hamilton Oil Corporation. He began his career with GE where he held increasingly responsible human resource positions for several business units, the final assignment being Manager, Human Resources for GE's oil & gas subsidiary, Ladd Petroleum Corporation. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York.
Contact Ralph:
Email: rstevens@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2613
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 - Mark D. Preng, Consultant
Mark D. Preng began his career with Preng & Associates in 1990 working as a researcher in both the Houston and London offices. He re-joined the firm in 2002 as an associate involved in search assignments in the upstream, downstream, LNG, power, utilities, and services and equipment sectors. Prior to joining Preng & Associates, he spent seven years in equities trading for a Wall Street brokerage. He also played a key role in the creation of Energy Careers, a web-based recruiting platform. Mr. Preng holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics from Dartmouth College.
Contact Mark:
Email: mpreng@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2681
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 - Stephen M. Preng, Consultant
Stephen M. Preng began his recruiting career with Preng & Associates and one of its affiliates in 2002. Over the past eight years he has had a broad focus in the upstream and oilfield services and equipment sectors. Prior to joining Preng & Associates, Mr. Preng spent one year in securities trading after earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Texas.
Contact Stephen:
Email: spreng@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2655
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 - Leslie Sharp, Consultant
Leslie Sharp manages executive search assignments in the global energy and utilities industries. With a decade of executive search experience, she has successfully recruited leadership talent encompassing general management, operations, finance, sales and marketing, as well as key research and development expertise for both established and emerging organizations. Prior to entering executive search, Ms. Sharp led the customer development team for the California Power Exchange, the first of its kind electricity electronic trading platform. Previous experience includes energy consulting work with PricewaterhouseCoopers as well as marketing leadership with Felmont Oil Corporation (now Torch Energy Advisors), a mid-cap exploration and production company active in the Gulf of Mexico. She began her career as an engineer with Columbia Gas of New York.
Ms. Sharp holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from The University of Toledo.
Contact Leslie:
Email: lsharp@preng.com
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Direct: +1 713 243 2669
Fax: +1 713 266 3070 London
- David Lloyd, Managing Director, EAME
David Lloyd is a Partner in the firm and manages Preng & Associate's London Office. He has over 25 years in human resources management and consulting which has been gained primarily in oil & gas, energy and the regulated utilities.
He was previously a Board Director with Macmillan Davies Hodes, the major UK recruitment and advertising business where he was responsible for consultancy operations and also led the company's Energy and Utilities Practice. Key areas of involvement have been in upstream exploration & production, downstream refining & marketing, power provision, asset management and trading, offshore engineering, and health, safety and environmental engineering.
Mr. Lloyd commenced his executive search and selection career in 1983 and has successfully completed assignments across all technical, business support and management and executive disciplines and functions.
Prior to search, Mr. Lloyd's early career was in HR Management with Texaco, Gulf Oil and General Electric. He has a Master of Science in Industrial Relations and a Diploma in Advanced Management Studies.
Contact David:
Email: dlloyd@preng.com
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Direct: +44 (0) 207 958 9445
Fax: +44 (0) 207 958 9090 -
Michael Heslop, Consultant
Michael Heslop is a Director of the London office and has over 30 years experience in the energy industry. His 15 year career with Gulf Oil Corporation culminated in his appointment as CFO of Gulf's International Exploration and Production activities based in Houston. Previous appointments were based in London, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Denver and covered Gulf's upstream, downstream and mineral resources activities.
Following Gulf's merger with Chevron, he then became CFO and subsequently CEO of a worldwide trading company based in Houston. A period as Managing Director of a European based international lubricants manufacturing and marketing company preceded his last appointment as CEO of an independent European upstream and downstream oil company involved in refining, trading and marketing.
He holds an M.A. in Medieval History from Cambridge University and is a qualified F.C.A.
Contact Michael:
Email: mheslop@preng.com
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Direct: +44 (0) 207 958 9445
Fax: +44 (0) 207 958 9090
We are likewise delighted to introduce the members of our Preng & Associates Advisory Board. This small, talented panel of exceptional leaders gives us a depth of outside expertise across the full spectrum of the global energy industry. Our Advisory Board members give us further perspective into client issues, leadership needs and requirements as well as up to date intelligence on candidate qualifications. These energy industry leaders help us add value to the search process.
- Bob Hart, Advisory Board
Bob Hart is the Managing Partner of Hart Energy Partners, a privately held company formed to advise both public and private participants in the development, financing, regulation, and operation of energy infrastructure in emerging markets.
His energy career began in the early 1970's when he developed and operated three coalmines and a preparation plant in West Virginia. Mr. Hart built his first power plant in 1984 and has since then been the CEO of three international power companies, with power generation and distribution businesses in more than 30 countries throughout Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States. He has led the development, financing, construction, acquisition, management, and operation of investments in 57 power projects, which have total generating capacity of more than 16,000 megawatts and were built or acquired at a total cost of more than $15 billion. Most of these electric power businesses are located in the world's poorest countries, where they supply the annual electricity needs of more than 80 million people.
Most recently, Mr. Hart was the CEO and Founding Partner of Globeleq, an operating power company solely focused on the emerging markets. In 2002, the UK's CDC Group joined Mr. Hart and his management team in officially launching Globeleq. The CDC Group ultimately contributed new equity of almost $500 million, along with a portfolio of minority holdings in power assets in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. Under Mr. Hart's management, Globeleq's net income grew from virtually nothing in 2002 to more than $142 million in 2006. On the strength of this strong foundation, Globeleq completed a major liquidity event in 2007, confirming Mr. Hart's vision and validating the CDC Group investment thesis.
Mr. Hart holds an AB degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Chairman of the Houston Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of the World Affairs Council of Houston.
hide bio - Stephen D. Chesebro, Advisory Board
Stephen Chesebro' is Chairman of the Board of Harvest Natural Resources, Inc., an international independent oil and gas exploration company with principal operations in Venezuela and Russia. Mr. Chesebro' is also Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees.
Prior to joining the board at Harvest, Mr. Chesebro' was President and Chief Operating Officer of Pennzoil Company during 1997 and 1998, providing management oversight for all of the company's businesses including motor oil, refining, Jiffy Lube fast oil change centers, exploration and production. Mr. Chesebro' has also served as President and Chief Executive Officer of PennzEnergy, the upstream portion of Pennzoil that was split into upstream and downstream companies at the beginning of 1998, and then sold to Devon Energy late that year.
Mr. Chesebro' served over 32 years with Tenneco, where he retired in 1996 as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Tenneco Energy, a $4 billion global energy company with 3,000 employees. During his tenure with Tenneco, Mr. Chesebro' held a broad range of executive positions, including Manager of Gulf of Mexico operations; Vice President of Corporate Development at Tenneco Inc.; Tenneco Oil Company Senior Vice President in charge of International and Gulf Coast exploration and production, business development, and marketing; President of Tenneco Gas Marketing; and then Chairman and CEO of Tenneco Energy. In 1988, Chesebro' managed one of the energy industry's largest divestitures with the $7.5 billion sale of Tenneco Oil Company, the corporation's exploration, production, refining, and marketing units.
Mr. Chesebro' has served on the executive committees of API, AGA, INGAA, Mid Continent Oil and Gas Association and IPAA. As a founding member of the Natural Gas Council and its Reliability Council, Mr. Chesebro led a successful industry effort that in 1994 led to the formation of the Gas Industry Standards Board, where he served as Chairman for the next three years. He is a registered Petroleum Engineer and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
A 1964 graduate of the Colorado School of Mines, Mr. Chesebro' was awarded the school's Distinguished Achievement Medal in 1991, and received his Honorary Doctorate from the institution in 1998. He currently serves on the school's Petroleum Engineering visiting committee. In 1994, Mr. Chesebro' was the first American awarded the H. E. Jones London Medal by the Institution of Gas Engineers, a British professional association.
hide bio - Raj K. Gupta, Advisory Board
Raj K. Gupta directs an independent management consulting practice and, since July 2007, has served as Chairman of Quetzal Energy, Inc., an independent Canadian oil and gas company. Also, Mr. Gupta is a Director of the Boards of Consol Energy and CNX Gas Corporation, both NYSE companies. From 2000 to December 2004, he served as a Member of the Board of Yukos Oil Company in Moscow, Russia. Mr. Gupta worked for 35 years and has held various management positions with Phillips Petroleum Company, an international integrated oil and gas company, now part of ConocoPhillips. While at Phillips, he served as Vice President of Strategic Planning managing the company's strategic planning, growth, and globalization efforts in South America, China, the Middle East, and the former Soviet Union. Mr. Gupta also served as a Board Director of Phillips Petroleum Resources Ltd., a Canadian subsidiary, and as Vice President of Phillips Petroleum International Ventures Corporation. He also held numerous executive and managerial positions throughout the company in information technology and financial management, as well as headed up the North America Partnership Operations and Worldwide Development for the company's Exploration and Production Group.
Mr. Gupta earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with Honors from Birla Engineering College in India and a Master degree in Industrial Engineering and Management Science from Kansas State University. He holds the distinction of being named a 1958-1961 Prime Minister Nehru and Industrial & Scientific Research Scholar.
hide bio - Arthur L. Smith, Advisory Board
Art has directed his attention to Triple Double Advisors, LLC, an investment advisory firm focusing on the energy sector. A member of IPAA, API, TIPRO, AIPN, IAEE and the CFA Society of Houston., Art currently serves on the Board of Directors of two public energy companies: Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., Pioneer Southwest Energy Partners, L.P and one non-profit board, Dress for Success® Houston. Art also serves on the Board of Visitors of Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences.
CFA (President, Triple Double Advisors, LLC) BA Duke University and MBA New York University Stern School of Business. After nine years on Wall Street in security research and corporate finance, Art acquired control of John S. Herold, Inc. in 1984. He remained active with Herold for more than twenty years until he divested his interest to IHS in August, 2007.
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