MERIDIAN ENERGY GROUP - Key Persons


Aibek M. Uraimov

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Business Services
Mr. Uraimov has over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, due diligence, commercial and financial management of downstream and upstream sectors. Mr. Uraimov worked for Petrofac through most of his career in various capacities both internationally, and in the U.S., had been a key part in successful completion of major EPC projects, has helped build a U.S. branch from ground up to a multi-business hub to provide plant asset management, operations readiness, training and competency, and engineering and design services in Houston, TX. Mr. Uraimov joined Meridian in July 2018 and is responsible for establishing and running business services, refinery economics modeling, project controls, information management, IT and telecommunications infrastructure, design and implementation of ERP. Mr. Uraimov holds two Bachelor degrees majoring in Computer Science, and Computer Information Systems for Business, with minor in Math and a Master of Finance degree.

Brian Whitt

Job Titles:
  • Vice President of Accounting and Finance
Mr. Whitt began his career in public accounting with a focus on the financial services, venture capital, and manufacturing and distribution industries. He then spent four years working as a finance and accounting consultant. Mr. Whitt has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and is an active Certified Public Accountant in the state of California.

Chad M. Hope - CFO

Job Titles:
  • CFO

Charles E. Schwenck

Job Titles:
  • Executive Vice President Law and Chief Commercial Officer
Mr. Schwenck has more than 40 years of experience in the development, financing construction and operation of energy, infrastructure and natural resource projects and facilities and a broad range of commercial transactions relating to the energy and natural resource industries. He has served in executive positions and as a board member at Ultrasystems, Inc and LG&E Power and as General Counsel at Fluor Corporation and Division Counsel for one of the largest divisions of the Bechtel Group. Mr. Schwenck has also had a distinguished career in the private practice of law, including as a partner in international law firms K&L Gates, Morrison & Foerster and Greenberg Traurig, where he was Co-Chair of the firm's Energy and Natural Resources Practice. Mr. Schwenck earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley, and his Juris Doctor from Berkeley's School of Law (Boalt Hall). He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Claire Rauser

Mr. Rauser has been a lifelong resident of North Dakota. He grew up in Hillsboro, ND and graduated from North Dakota State University in 1979. With his agricultural and engineering expertise, he started Superior Manufacturing, LLC, a grain bin construction business manufacturing grain dryers, grain bins and all related accessories. Mr. Rauser has been intimately involved in many phases of the energy industry.

Dennis Pungitore - EVP

Job Titles:
  • Chief Revenue Officer
  • Executive Vice President
Mr. Pungitore brings extensive experience in the area of business development, having spearheaded power development projects under his own firm, as well as for ABB Power Generation, Alpine Energy Group, LLC, and MasTec Power Corp. Mr. Pungitore is responsible for securing the commercial supply and offtake arrangements for Davis and Meridian's future refineries.

Federico Baptista

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Houston General Manager
  • Vice President, International Markets & Projects
Mr. Baptista has held senior managerial positions at several energy companies including Industrias Venoco, C.A., Exxon Americas and Exxon Chemicals de Venezuela, the MEDIDO, C.A. Group, Phoenix Internacional, the Energy Capital Group, Star Chemical Development Company, and Centro Venezolano-Americano. Mr. Baptista is a Chemical Engineer, and a graduate of the Universidad Central de Venezuela and the Indiana campus of Purdue University-West Lafayette. Mr. Baptista has also attended several management and graduate level training programs in Venezuela and abroad.

Grant P. Downing - Chief Legal Officer

Job Titles:
  • Corporate Counsel

Greg Kessel

Job Titles:
  • Owner
  • Member of the Meridian Board of Directors
Mr. Kessel is owner and operator of Arrow K Farms, a family run business, in Belfield, ND. He started his working career on a drilling rig, and also as a heavy equipment operator. Mr. Kessel has also worked as a barley and wheat seed producer and cleaner. He has worked with many companies through the seed and chemical business, including Monsanto, Syngenta, and WestBred. Mr. Kessel is involved in a number of agricultural associations in North Dakota and has helped develop state and federal agricultural and pesticide policies. Mr. Kessel attended college at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, ND. Mr. Kessel was elected to the North Dakota State Senate in November 2022 and currently serves on the Energy & Natural Resources and the Business & Industry Committees.

James C. (Jay) Nocker

Job Titles:
  • Registered Professional Engineer
  • Vice President, Engineering Services
Mr. Nocker is a registered professional engineer with over 35 years' experience in oilfield upstream, midstream and downstream, Power, and Petrochemical Engineering and Construction projects. Jay has managed numerous successful multi-office Greenfield and Brownfield design/build programs and has led continuous improvements in project execution processes and procedures. Jay studied at Texas A&M University where he received a BS in Petroleum Engineering. Jay's diverse background has encompassed onshore drilling programs, brought refineries and power plants into environmental compliance, and most recently led design teams engineering and fabricating arctic environment process modules for North Slope use.

John Cloward

Job Titles:
  • Chief Risk Advisor
  • Senior Risk Management Advisor
Prior to joining Meridian Mr. Cloward was employed by ConocoPhillips as their Senior Project Risk Analyst and Risk Manager. He previously worked for several major energy firms, including Exxon, and with major energy consulting firms, providing quantitative assessment of uncertainty in project design, engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up, resulting in more realistic schedule and cost targets and avoidance of overruns. Mr. Cloward provided cost savings and more efficient utilization of resources through developing risk mitigation measures, monitoring uncertainties, controlling risks, and planning & allocating contingency. He is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and received an MBA from the Anderson School at UCLA.

John Kamps

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Meridian Advisory Board
  • Member of the Meridian Board of Directors
John Kamps has personal experience with energy sector startups having formed Kamps Propane in 1969 and growing the company to a sales volume of $207mm with 300 employees and locations across California, Nevada and Arizona. Mr. Kamps' current businesses include High Country Propane, PickUp Propane, Propane Construction and Meter Service and Kamps Propane. He also has KIVA Energy, a wholesale supply company in Sandy, Utah that serves the Western US with 5 rail terminals with its fleet of rail cars and transports. Mr. Kamps is a veteran of the US Army - thank you for your service - and a graduate of Southern Technical College.

Keira Rodriguez

Job Titles:
  • for Media Inquiries and Requests

Lance Medlin

Job Titles:
  • Executive Vice President, Projects

Mark Fonda

Job Titles:
  • Executive Vice President, Engineering and Chief Technical Officer
Mr. Fonda has over 40 years of experience in process engineering, plant operations and management, having worked for such firms as Mobil Oil Co., Amerada Hess Corp., and Sunoco, Inc. He currently directs the internal engineering process for all the facilities including technology selection, process design, EPC oversight and on-going technical support. Mr. Fonda is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering and a graduate of Duke University with a Masters in Business Administration.

Mark Hanes

Job Titles:
  • for Media Inquiries and Requests

Michael W. Smith

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board of Directors of Meridian Energy Group, Inc
Mr. Smith is a member of the Board of Directors of Meridian Energy Group, Inc., and has over thirty years of experience in the aerospace and defense industry and related fields, having worked for such companies as Northrop-Grumman Air Combat Systems, Boeing Space Systems, McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft, and Hughes Helicopters. Mr. Smith attended Orange Coast College and obtained his Certificate in Residential Building, followed by a Certificate in Financial Planning from University of California, Irvine. Mr. Smith also has a BS in Electrical Engineering from University of California in Los Angeles.

Mr. Heiser

Mr. Heiser has extensive roots in Billings County, having served on the City Council of Medora, the Billings County Zoning Board, and as the Fire Chief of Billings County for over 20 years. Mr. Heiser advises Meridian on its Emergency Action Plan and emergency preparedness. Mr. Heiser is a Master Electrician and currently owns and operates Don Heiser Electric, an electrical contracting company.

Norris E. Mitchell

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Meridian Board of Directors
Mr. Mitchell is a long-term investor and owner of commercial real estate. Mr. Mitchell was a founding director of Virginia Commerce Bank, and a director of United Bank. Previously, Mr. Mitchell worked for Douglas Aircraft Company and Research Analysis Corporation. Mr. Mitchell is a graduate of Virginia Technical Institute and was inducted into its Academy of Engineering Excellence.

Paul Coppola - Chief Investment Officer, President

Job Titles:
  • Chief Investment Officer
  • Member of the Board
  • President
  • Member of the Meridian Board of Directors
Mr. Coppola previously served as the Energy Equity Portfolio Manager for RCH Energy/RR Advisors, LLC. He graduated from Fordham University in 1992 as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Economics. From 1992-1995 he served as a Lieutenant in the United States Army and later began a 12-year career with Morgan Stanley starting as an analyst in investment banking covering energy and transportation. In 1997, he transitioned to Energy equity research covering the Integrated Oils, Independent Refiners and Exploration and Production companies along with responsibility for the crude oil, natural gas and refined products markets. From 2002 to 2007, Mr. Coppola lived in London and New York as the Energy Specialist for Morgan Stanley managing the day to day operations of the energy sales, trading and institutional client platform globally. In 2008, Paul was hired by Satellite Asset Management to run the energy fund and in 2010 transitioned to Houston to run the energy fund at Arrowhawk Capital Partners and in 2012 ran the energy equity business at Global Hunter Securities, a boutique investment bank focused on energy and infrastructure investment and his responsibilities included being the energy specialist along with managing many of the key asset management and client relationships for the Firm.

Richard Palaniuk

Job Titles:
  • Founding Member
  • Member of the Meridian Board of Directors
Mr. Palaniuk is a founding member of and the General Partner for the Davis Family Partners, which is the original founding entity behind Meridian Energy Group. Mr. Palaniuk has been involved in Meridian and the Davis Refinery project from its inception. For 38 years, Mr. Palaniuk has been a successful small business owner who resides in Beaverton, Oregon with his family. Mr. Palaniuk is a graduate of the University of Oregon.

Ron Biagi

Job Titles:
  • Director of Biagi Management Group
  • Member of the Meridian Advisory Board
Mr. Biagi is the director of Biagi Management Group, LLC, a financial and consulting services firm specializing in mid-market companies. Mr. Biagi previously served as Chairman and CEO of Bank of America Texas and New Mexico. Mr. Biagi joined Meridian's Advisory Board in May 2017 and serves as a financial advisor to the Company.

Stephen L. Gjolme

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Business Development
Mr. Gjolme has over 25 years of experience in capitalization of emerging growth firms. Mr. Gjolme served in executive positions at The Ibis Group and the Private Investors Equity Group. Mr. Gjolme maintains affiliations with several global financing groups including Venture Capital Private Equity Funding, European Private Equity, Global Private Equity Venture Capital, and Advanced Energy Economy.

Teo Risquez

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Project Development
Mr. Risquez brings over 40 years of experience in energy industry project execution, business development and strategic planning to the Meridian team. Mr. Risquez has worked in executive, management, and design engineering positions at CB&I, Fluor, Vepica, Tecnoconsult, Stearns Catalytic and Bechtel. Mr. Risquez has led power, oil & gas projects in the refining, petrochemical, nuclear power, fossil, gas and infrastructure industries from project development to completion, including conceptual design, technology selection, project finance, engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning for projects ranging from $250,000 to over $4 billion in the US and other countries around the world, primarily in Latin America. He holds a BS degree and MBA from California State University, Long Beach.

Thomas E. Skwarek

Job Titles:
  • Member of the Board
Mr. Skwarek brings over 30 years of project finance and risk management experience to the Meridian team, having worked in managing director positions at JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, UBS and Swiss Re. At these firms, Mr. Skwarek has led project and structured finance teams arranging over $50 billion in debt and equity for corporate clients world-wide. Tom holds an advanced degree in Economic Development from the University of Oxford's St. Catherine's College and BA in Political Science and Economics from California State University at Los Angeles.

Thomas Williams

Mr. Williams co-founded Meridian in 2012, and currently operates Land Plan Real Estate Consultants. Mr. Williams previously worked in private commercial law practice, and also held executive level positions at Solar Turbines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar Inc. and Joy Manufacturing. Mr. Williams holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California Los Angeles, a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School, and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University, both in Los Angeles.

Ty Solsbery

Job Titles:
  • Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. Solsbery began his career in natural gas trading and logistics at Tenneco before embarking on 25 years of employment in private wealth management and energy institutional equity sales across several investment banks including Morgan Stanley and UBS. Mr. Solsbery holds a BBA in Business from Texas A&M University and MBA from Southern Methodist University.

William C. Prentice - CEO, Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman
  • Chairman of the Board
  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Chairman and CEO of Meridian Energy Group, Inc
Mr. Prentice is the Chairman and CEO of Meridian Energy Group, Inc., and is directing its design, construction and operation of a high-conversion crude oil refinery in North Dakota. Mr. Prentice began his career as an engineer for Fluor Corporation, where he participated in major refinery, petrochemicals and other energy projects worldwide. Mr. Prentice has served in management positions at a range of firms including Askew, Kabala & Co., Competisys, Mesquite Lake, Western Power Group, Inc. and Ultrasystems, Inc., where he either headed up major divisions of firms designing, building, owning and/or operating major energy facilities or where he was the founder and CEO of such firms. He holds a Master's Degree from UC Irvine, Graduate School of Management, and two B.S. Degrees in engineering from Arizona State University….