Noel Ryan III, IRC
— Managing Partner
Noel Ryan has been recognized as one of the leading investor relations and financial communications executives in the United States. At Vallum, his client practice spans investor relations, transaction communications, crisis management and shareholder activist defense. He has more than 20 years of experience serving clients in the energy, basic materials, industrial sectors.
Previously, Noel served as VP and chief investor relations officer for a Blackstone Group-sponsored FORTUNE 1000 construction materials company, where he was named the #1 investor relations officer in the materials sector in 2018 and 2019, according to the annual Institutional Investor survey of more than 3,000 portfolio managers and sell-side analysts. Earlier, he served as VP and chief investor relations officer at a FORTUNE 500 specialty chemicals master limited partnership and at a FORTUNE 1000 independent petroleum refiner where he was ranked among the top investor relations officers in the energy sector.
Before becoming a corporate investor relations officer, Noel co-led the financial communications practice at a global financial communications agency where he served clients in the manufacturing, automotive and industrial sectors. He began his career in equity research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch (formerly Banc of America Securities), where he was a member of the Institutional Investor ranked team covering the semiconductor and enterprise hardware sectors in San Francisco.
Noel has been named one of the leading financial communications executives in the United States by PR Week. He has earned the Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential, as certified by the National Investor Relations Institute, and his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, where he was recognized for distinguished academic achievement as a California Alumni Association scholar.
Paul Bartolai, CFA
— Partner
Sector Focus: Industrials, Advanced Manufacturing, Materials, Business Services
Paul Bartolai is a leading authority on the global capital markets, having served as a former institutional investor and sell-side equity research analyst for more than 20 years. At Vallum, Paul serves clients within the Investor Relations and Transaction Communications practices.
Previously, Paul was a portfolio manager and research analyst at Rail-Splitter Capital Management. While at Rail-Splitter, Paul focused on small and mid-cap listed issuers in the industrial, business services, technology and advanced manufacturing sectors. Before joining Rail-Splitter, Paul was a senior research analyst at SG Capital Management.
Prior to his time on the buy-side, Paul served as a sell-side equity research analyst for more than a decade where he covered both capital goods and business services. Paul began his career corporate finance analyst at Banc of America securities.
Paul received his B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and is a CFA charter holder.
Stefan Neely
— Partner
Sector Focus: Industrials, Energy and Business Services
Stefan Neely is a leading authority on financial communications, capital markets and investor relations, having formerly served as a corporate head of investor relations and as a sell-side equity research analyst. At Vallum, Stefan’s client practice spans Investor Relations, Transaction Communications and Crisis Communications.
Previously, Stefan was the Senior Director of Investor Relations and FP&A at Quorum Health Corporation. While at Quorum, Stefan lead Corporate FP&A, Investor Relations, and Capital Markets efforts.
Prior to Quorum, Stefan was a sell-side equity research analyst at Avondale Partners where he covered small and mid-cap issuers in the Engineering & Construction, Agricultural Chemicals, Renewable Energy, Clean Tech and Industrials sectors.
Stefan received his B.S in business administration from Birmingham-Southern College.
James Masters
— Managing Director
Sector Focus: Upstream, Midstream, Downstream, Energy Transition, Advanced Technologies
James Masters is a leading authority on financial communications and investor relations within the energy and industrials sectors, with significant in-house corporate investor relations and capital markets expertise. At Vallum, James serves clients within the Investor Relations and Transaction Communications practices.
Previously, James supported the investor relations function for HighPoint Resources Corporation, an NYSE-listed energy company, while leading its finance, treasury and commercial marketing efforts. Prior to HighPoint, he guided the capital markets and finance activities for a private equity-sponsored energy company from its initial equity capital raise through to its monetization by merger to an industry peer. Before his transition to private equity, he led a standard registered IPO for a small-cap energy company where he led the investor relations function. He began his career as a multi-industry investment banking analyst.
James received his B.A. in Political Science from Pepperdine University and his M.B.A. from the University of Denver.
Carolyn Luther Trabuco
— Advisory Board Member
Carolyn has more than 20 years of investment, finance and capital markets experience. Her areas of specialty include growth equity, ESG, corporate, financial and investment strategy, investment management and business transformation. She is the founder of Thistledown Advisory Group LLC, an advisory firm that works with companies focused on high-growth, disruptive industry opportunities created by ESG and sustainability-driven investment demand.
Prior to founding Thistledown, Carolyn was a portfolio manager and senior advisor at Phibro Energy Trading LLC, with responsibility for investing in global resources, oil and energy equities. Prior to that, she served as a portfolio manager and senior equity research analyst at Pequot Capital Management where she established the firm’s investment presence in global metals, mining and steel and in Brazil. Carolyn began her investment career in Equity Research at Fidelity Investments, followed by roles at Lehman Brothers, Montgomery Securities and First Union Capital Markets. She is a graduate of Georgetown University (A.B.) and Sacred Heart University (MPA). Carolyn serves on the Board of Directors of Azul Brazilian Airlines (NYSE: AZUL), a company she co-founded in 2008.
Jeffrey S. Beyersdorfer
— Advisory Board Member
Jeff has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience within the energy and financial services industries. His areas of specialization include corporate development, investor relations, treasury, and strategic planning. Currently, Jeff is a managing director at Franklin Mountain Capital, a private equity firm focused on the energy supply chain. He currently serves on the board of directors at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), the largest refining complex on the U.S. east coast.
Previously, Jeff served as Senior Vice President of Western Refining, where he led the investor relations, corporate development and treasury functions prior to the company’s sale to Andeavor. Prior to Western, Jeff led the treasury function at FMC Technologies and the corporate development and treasury functions at Premcor, an independent refining company sponsored by the Blackstone Group. He began his career at Bankers Trust in New York and London, followed by a senior investment banking role at A. G. Edwards & Sons, where he was the head of the energy practice. Jeff received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and his M.B.A. from the London Business School.
A. Patrick Busby
— Advisory Board Member
Pat has more than 30 years of senior leadership experience within the energy, chemicals, manufacturing, financial services and technology industries. His areas of specialty include strategic planning, capital formation and corporate development. Between 1986 and 2018, Pat held numerous executive and board-level positions at Ergon, Inc. and its affiliates, one of the largest privately-held companies in the United States. During his career with Ergon, he helped to lead the strategic expansion of the organization into a global, multi-billion dollar enterprise, leading over $1.0 billion of merger, acquisition and divestiture activities.
From 1994 until his departure in 2018, Pat was the executive vice president and chief financial officer for Ergon, where he helped to lead oversight of the company’s oil and gas, refining and marketing, asphalt and emulsions, transportation, storage and real estate investments. Pat is a licensed CPA (inactive) and sits on the board of directors for numerous charitable organizations, while remaining actively engaged in global consulting assignments.
Chi Chow
— Advisory Board Member
Chi Chow is a leading authority on matters related to investor relations, capital formation, industry research and corporate finance, with extensive experience in the global energy markets.
Chi is a former energy executive and sell-side equity research analyst with more than 20 years of experience, mainly in the downstream and midstream energy markets. Previously, Chi was the vice president of strategy and business development at Andeavor, a $23 billion integrated oil company acquired by Marathon Petroleum in 2018. In this role, Chi managed teams accountable for competitive analysis, business development, strategic M&A and investments in organic growth across the company’s portfolio of refining and logistics assets. Prior to Andeavor, Chi was recognized as one of the leading sell-side equity research analysts in the energy sector, serving as a partner and managing director at Tudor, Pickering & Holt, the energy practice of Perella Weinberg Partners, in addition to Macquarie Capital, Tristone Capital, Merrill Lynch and Petrie Parkman. He began his financial career in the investment banking group of Houlihan Lokey, having also worked previously at ARCO and as a civil engineer.
Mark B. Cox
— Advisory Board Member
Mark has nearly 40 years of senior leadership experience within the energy industry. His areas of specialty include strategic planning, capital formation, investor relations, risk management and corporate development. Currently, Mark serves as chairman of the board of directors at Philadelphia Energy Solutions (PES), the largest refining complex on the U.S. east coast and on the board of directors at Southcross Holdings GP LLC, a midstream energy company.
During his career, Mark has served on the executive management teams of two FORTUNE 500 corporations and three NYSE-listed refining and marketing companies. Most recently, Mark was the Chief Financial Officer for Eco Energy, Inc., the largest diversified downstream biofuels company in the United States. Prior to Eco Energy, Mark was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Delek US Holdings, Inc, an independent refining and midstream company. Earlier, he served as senior vice president and treasurer and head of investor relations for Western Refining, Inc. and Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Giant Industries, Inc. Mark began his career in the finance department at ConocoPhillips, Inc. (formerly Conoco, Inc.). He received his B.S. and M.B.A degrees from the University of Missouri.
Paul L. Doran
— Advisory Board Member
Paul has more than 15 years of capital markets experience. His areas of specialty include institutional portfolio management, equity research and industry analysis, mainly within natural resources and energy sectors.
Since 2007, Paul has served as a senior portfolio manager at ELCO Management in New York where he manages ELCO Select Fund, ELCO Energy Fund,. ELCO MLP SMA Program and the ELCO Water Opportunities Fund. In this role, Paul is responsible for identifying investable themes within his coverage universe, while helping lead research and diligence activities on behalf of the firm. He received his B.A. from Providence College.
Blake Fernandez
— Advisory Board Member
Blake has more than 20 years of capital markets experience within the global energy markets. Currently, he serves as the SVP of Investor Relations and Market Intelligence at Delek US Holdings. In that capacity, he manages the Company’s investment thesis and stakeholder relationships.
Previously, Blake was a managing director and senior research analyst covering integrated oils and independent refiners at Simmons Energy, a division of Piper Jaffray. He joined from Scotia Howard Weil where he had more than 12 years of experience, with similar research coverage in addition to crude macro outlook responsibilities. Prior to Howard Weil, he worked as a financial analyst in the Client Advisory Services unit of Hibernia Bank in New Orleans. Fernandez also held various investment/financial positions at Banc One Securities, AXA Advisors and Merrill Lynch in London. He holds an undergraduate degree from Louisiana State University with a degree in Economics / International Trade & Finance and an MBA from the University of New Orleans with a concentration in Finance.
Scott Gutberlet
— Advisory Board Member
Scott has 30 years of senior leadership experience within the energy industry. His areas of specialty include strategic planning, asset management and reservoir development, midstream business development, capital formation, investor relations, risk management and corporate development. Most recently, Scott served as senior vice president and chief development officer for Hawkwood Energy, an independent oil and gas exploration and production company, where he was focused on development opportunities within the Eagle Ford oil window. He currently is an independent board member for Shot Hollow Resources, a private equity backed E&P focused on the Bakken.
Previously, Scott held management roles at SM Energy and at QEP Resources, where he was the vice president of commercial and technical services, while overseeing the investor relations function for the company. Prior to QEP, he spent more than 18 years in various planning, operating and corporate development roles for Unocal (acquired by Chevron). Scott has testified before Congress on matters related to energy policy and is currently a guest lecturer at Colorado School of Mines on petroleum economics. He received a B.S. in petroleum engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Bill Hatch
— Advisory Board Member
Bill has more than 40 years of senior leadership experience within the energy industry. His areas of specialty include executive leadership, operations oversight, strategic planning and change management. Most recently, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Calumet Specialty Products Partners LP, a master limited partnership in the fuels refining and chemicals manufacturing sector.
For more than 30 years, Bill served in a variety of positions at CITGO Petroleum Corporation, retiring in 2008 from the role of Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure, Bill led an executive team that engineered a successful transformation of one of the nation’s largest petroleum refining and marketing companies. The results were a streamlined operating group that produced record profitability in the light oils and lubes segment, together with record utilization and profitability in the refining segment. While at CITGO, he championed and implemented a complete restructuring of CITGO’s branded gasoline sales program. Under his leadership, CITGO had the best safety and environmental compliance record in the company’s history. Further, Bill directed CITGO’s annual capital expenditures programs, which included projects that totaled between $500 and $900 million each year. He received his B.S. in chemical engineering from Tulane University and an M.B.A from McNeese State University.
Dan Hyland
— Advisory Board Member
Dan has more than 20 years of senior leadership experience within the global capital markets. Currently, Dan is President of Ancora, a multi-strategy institutional investor with more than $6 billion of assets under management. In this role, Dan oversees the institutional business, including sales, investment products and overall strategy, together with the firm’s retirement plan services business.
Previously, Dan served as the Managing Director of Marketing & Client Services at Ancora, where he managed all aspects of business development and distribution. He joined the firm in 2012 as Director of Mutual Funds Distribution. Earlier, Dan led a leading consultancy that provided corporate access services to institutional investors focused mainly on small-cap issuers. He began his career at McDonald & Company (currently Keybanc Capital Markets) where he served as a senior member of the institutional sales team. Prior to starting his career, Dan served as a PGA Tour caddie where he worked full-time for PGA veteran D.A. Weibring. Dan received his B.S. from the University of Dayton.
William Kent
— Advisory Board Member
Will has more than 20 years of corporate investor relations and capital markets experience. His areas of specialty include strategic financial communications, shareholder and analyst relations, activism defense, corporate finance, capital formation and corporate governance. Currently, he leads the global investor relations function for QEP Resources, Inc., a company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas properties.
Prior to QEP, Will served as senior director of investor relations for Crocs, Inc., a national footwear and apparel company, and was director of investor relations for Intrepid Potash, Inc., a diversified minerals company. Will has earned his Investor Relations Charter (IRC) credential for the National Investor Relations Institute. He received his B.A. from Trinity College and his M.B.A. from the University of Denver.
Ray Mettetal III
— Advisory Board Member
Ray has nearly 20 years of management consulting and corporate finance experience. His areas of specialty include financial process and technology transformation, capital formation and operational improvement while serving as interim management. Currently, Ray is the Chief Financial Officer of BrightMark Partners LLC, a leading growth equity and management firm. At BrightMark, he leads the financial operations of the firm and serves as CFO or acting CFO at the portfolio companies. As CFO, Ray is actively engaged in evaluating investment opportunities, while serving as the lead interface when valuing and negotiating potential exit opportunities.
Prior to BrightMark, Ray led the Financial Advisory practice at Stancil & Co., a management consulting firm to the energy industry. While at Stancil, Ray served as interim CFO for clients engaged in business turnarounds. Prior to Stancil, Ray was the head of financial planning and analysis for CVR Energy, Inc., a diversified downstream energy company. Earlier in his career, he served as the director of strategic planning for Delek US Holdings, Inc., an independent refining and midstream company. He received his B.B.A. from Middle Tennessee State University and his Master of Accountancy from Belmont University, and is a licensed certified public accountant
Derrick Nueman
— Advisory Board Member
Derrick has more than 20 years of corporate investor relations, finance and capital markets experience. His areas of specialty include corporate and financial strategy, financial communications, investor relations, corporate finance, capital formation and business transformation. Currently, he leads the investor relations and strategic finance function for Opera Limited, a global internet and fintech platform with over 350 million monthly users.
Prior to Opera, Derrick served as vice president of investor relations at Pandora. During his tenure, Pandora’s market capitalization more than doubled, ultimately contributing to the ~$3 billion sale of the company to SiriusXM. Previously, Derrick spent more than 10 years at TiVo Inc. where he served as vice president of investor relations and strategic finance. During his tenure, he managed TiVo’s investor relations program and had a strategic role in the financial operations of the company. Prior to TiVo, Derrick was an equity research associate analyst at JP Morgan within the internet, digital media and advertising technology sector. He began his corporate investor relations career as the director of investor relations for Ask Jeeves, where he led the company through significant financial growth. He received his B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Will Russell
— Advisory Board Member
Will has nearly 20 years of experience providing corporate access to global institutional fund managers. His key corporate clients span the entire energy supply chain, ranging from independent E&P and refining companies to integrated oils and master limited partnerships.
For the last 12 years, Will has served as a senior member of the institutional equities team at Howard Weil, the U.S energy investment banking division of Scotiabank. While at Scotia Howard Weil, he planned and executed more than 75 non-deal roadshows for the senior leadership of global energy companies, including British Petroleum, TOTAL, HESS Corporation, Devon Energy, Murphy Oil, Matador Resources, Baker Hughes and Superior Energy, among others. Will has participated in placement of multiple energy sector IPOs and secondary offerings to his institutional clients, positioning him as a trusted advisor to portfolio managers in both the United States and Asia Pacific Region. Earlier in his career, Will served as a commissioned officer in the United States Marine Corps, rising to the rank of Major with service in multiple theaters. He received his B.S. from the University of Alabama where he was recognized for academic distinction.
Noel R. Ryan, Jr.
— Advisory Board Member
Noel has more than 40 years of global investment banking, corporate finance and capital markets experience. During his career, he has lent, arranged and raised billions of dollars for private and public companies, both as a principal and advisor. He specializes in capital raises that involve senior cash flow, asset-based debt, second lien, mezzanine and structured equity.
During the last 20 years, Noel served in a variety of senior roles at Houlihan Lokey, a global investment bank, most recently as managing director within the capital markets group. During his tenure, his clients included pre-IPO and private companies, together with global private equity sponsors such as KPS, Brazos, Platinum Equity, Charlesbank, Riverside, Century Park, Gores, Gryphon and Cerberus. Prior to Houlihan Lokey, Noel served in several senior commercial banking roles where he managed lending and placement groups at major global financial institutions. Noel was named investment banker of the year in 2006 by The M&A Advisor and was recognized as co-Humanitarian of the Year by National Jewish Hospital in 2017. He is a regular speaker on the state of the capital markets and corporate lending. He received his B.A. from Stanford University.
Justin Speer
— Advisory Board Member
Justin has 17 years of capital markets experience, including more than a decade as an institutional investor specializing in small/mid-cap companies within the industrials, materials and consumer durables sectors.
Currently, Justin is a managing director at Zelman & Associates, a leading research firm specializing in coverage of the building, housing finance, home improvement and non-residential construction verticals. In this role, Justin leads the firm’s building products sector practice where he provides research insights to a client list that includes global asset management firms and hedge funds. As part of his research responsibility, Justin helps maintain a proprietary network of industry contacts representing $100 billion of annualized building products revenues.
Prior to Zelman, Justin served as a portfolio manager and senior analyst at Invesco Advisors, an institutional advisor with more than $470 billion under management. He joined Invesco in 2010 following a strategic combination with Van Kampen Investments, where he was an analyst for the Van Kampen small-cap growth strategy. Before joining Van Kampen Investments in 2008, Justin served as an equity research analyst with Credit Suisse, where he focused on the enterprise software, electric utilities and homebuilding/building product industries. Justin graduated summa cum laude from Texas Christian University, where he earned a BS degree with an emphasis in finance and accounting.