Latinos In Energy
By: Latino Leaders Staff
There’s no doubt that Energy is such an important industry. Everything from transportation to power generation, from connectivity to global warning. It all has to do with Energy. This is definitely an industry that moves the world. Every day, Latinos are reaching leadership positions within relevant sector. Scientists, Executives, Operation Gurus, Entrepreneurs and Marketers are gaining notoriety in this industry.
Based on our own re-search and supported by our advisors, we have compiled what could be the only list of the most relevant Latino leaders in the Energy sector.
These individuals are game-changers in this field and will keep advancing into it, opening the way for other Latinos to work and lead in Energy.
Arcilia Acosta
Carcon Industries and STL Engineers
CEO
Arcilia is the President and CEO of CARCON Industries & Construction, specializing in commercial, institutional and transportation construction, and is also the CEO and controlling principal of STL Engineers. Ms. Acosta serves on the Board of Directors of Legacy Texas Financial Group, Inc. where she serves on the Audit and the Compensation Committees. She also serves on the Board of Energy Future Holdings Corporation (9 yrs.) where she serves on the Audit and on the compensation committees. In March of 2016, Texas Governor Gregg Abbott appointed Ms. Acosta to the board of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. She has served for six years on the board of the Dallas Citizens Council and Ms. Acosta previously served on the national advisory board for BBVA Compass Bank and the Texas Tech National Alumni Association. Ms. Acosta received her undergraduate from Texas Tech University and Board Director Certification from Southern Methodist University - Southwest School of Banking and is a Graduate of the Harvard University Business School Corporate Governance Program.
David Hernandez
Liberty Power
CEO and Co-founder
Accomplished leader with a solid track record of performance in building an energy company after the implosion of Enron and subsequent layoffs. A well-respected businessman in the $300 Billion Retail Energy sector and in the Hispanic community, Hernandez founded Liberty Power in 2001. Liberty Power was ranked as the #1 Fastest Growing Hispanic 500 company by Hispanic Business magazine in 2007. The same publication recognized Mr. Hernandez as Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and Rising Star in 2005.
Victor G. Carrillo
Zion Oil & Gas
CEO
Effective June 15, 2015, Zion’s Board of Directors appointed Victor G. Carrillo as Zion’s CEO. Mr. Carrillo was appointed to Zion’s Board in September 2010 and appointed Executive Vice President in January 2011. In October of 2011 he was appointed as the Company President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Carrillo also currently serves as a director of Magnum Hunter Resources Corporation (an oil and gas company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of unconventional oil and gas resource plays in the US). He also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Texas-Israel Chamber of Commerce and the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University. Mr. Carrillo is a petroleum geologist and geophysicist, attorney, former city councilman, former county judge, and former statewide elected official.
Jose Bravo
Royal Dutch Shell Group
Chief Scientist Physics and Separations
Jose has been with Shell since 1995. As Chief Scientist Physics and Separations for Royal Dutch Shell Group, he advises on technology and R&D strategy and implementation. He leads a team of seven scientists and provides strategic level consulting in technology and R&D for Upstream and Downstream (chemicals and refining), gas, renewables, and hydrogen businesses. His experience includes commercial interactions, technology licensing and technical services. He has published over 50 technical papers and six patents in distillation and extraction areas. He has also instructed the Distillation in Practice and Extraction course for Continuing Education for The University of Texas and the Separations Research Program.
Dorene C. Dominguez
Vanir Group
Chairman
Dorene C. Dominguez is the Chairman of the Vanir Group of Companies. Ms. Dominguez succeeded her beloved late father, H. Frank Dominguez, overseeing 15 offices throughout the United States. The Vanir companies employ a growing staff of more than 300 talented executives, architects, engineers, construction managers, developers, contractors and support staff.
Mauricio Gutierrez
NRG
President and CEO
Mauricio Gutierrez is President and CEO of NRG. Mauricio joined NRG in 2004 and helped build it from a regional wholesale generation business to a national, Fortune 200 diversified energy company. NRG is the nation’s largest competitive power generator. The company is also a major competitive energy retailer that serves nearly 3 million recurring retail customers and is one of the country’s largest owners and operators of renewable power facilities.
Eduardo Assef
CITGO
VP Refining
Eduardo Assef started his career in the oil refining industry in Venezuela in 1985 with PDVSA
At PDVSA, Assef held several positions of increasing responsibility in the areas of project, maintenance, process engineering and operations. In 1999 he was transferred to CITGO’s Corpus Christi Refinery, where he held positions in the technical and operational areas. In October 2004, he was appointed general manager, operations and maintenance at the Corpus Christi Refinery. In April 2006, he became vice president and general manager, Corpus Christi Refinery. He was appointed vice president and general manager, Lake Charles Manufacturing Complex in November 2008. And in December 2011, he was appointed Vice President Refi ning.
Hugo Gutierrez
Marathon Oil Corporation
Manager Governmental Affairs
Hugo Gutierrez joined Marathon Oil Corporation in November,1999 after serving as Chief of Staff to two South Texas lawmakers in the Texas House of Representatives. He currently serves as Sr. Manager for Government and Community Relations and directs the company’s lobbying, political and community engagement in Texas, New Mexico and Washington D.C.. He is a McAllen, Tx native in the Rio Grande Valley and is a 1993 graduate of Texas State University in San Marcos. He resides in Houston, Tx.
Eugene Garcia
Hurd Enterprises, Ltd.
President
Eugene is a member of the executive team at Hurd Enterprises, Ltd., a fourth generation family business engaged in oil and gas, ranching, real estate, and investments. Eugene serves as President of the Hurd Fam-ily Entities with direct responsibility over the Oil and Gas exploration and production and Ranching businesses. Eugene graduated from Texas A&M University with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering and received his M.B.A. from the Florida State University. After spending several years in the co-op program at NASA and working at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Eugene changed career paths and joined the Intel Corporation in 1995 in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Eugene worked as a Business Analyst and Supervisor at Intel until moving to Austin, Texas to work for Dell Computers in 1999. Eugene was a Manager for Dell’s Product Development and Procurement organizations until 2004 when he joined Hurd Enterprises. Eugene currently serves as a Member of the Board of Directors for the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners Association and the Boy Scouts of America, Alamo Area Council. Additionally, Eugene currently holds the position of Committee Chairman with the Boy Scouts of America, Saint Mary’s Hall Troop 496 following two years as Scoutmaster. Previously, Eugene served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Habitat for Humanity of San Antonio, Board Member for Mission Road Ministries, and as a Member of the McDonald Observatory Board of Visitors. Eugene is also actively involved at his church, First Presbyterian Church in San Antonio, Texas.
Luis Sierra
BP Petrochemicals
President BP Aromatics
Luis Sierra currently runs BP’s aromatics chemicals business unit, a role he assumed in January 2016. This global business generates revenue of $4 billion and comprises manufacturing assets in Texas, South Carolina, Belgium, Indonesia and China serving the intermediate chemicals needs of packaging, beverage, textiles and films and industries around the world. Luis currently serves on the board of directors for a number of entities, including Junior Achievement of Chi-cago and BP’s top subsidiary in the U.S., BP America. He also serves on the board of directors for BP Energy Company and the American Fuels and Petrochemical Manufacturers.
Aleida Rios
BP Gulf of Mexico
Vice President of Operations
As vice president of BP’s operations in the Gulf of Mexico, Aleida Rios is one of the company’s top women leaders. She is responsible for the safe, reliable and compliant operations on BP’s four offshore platforms in the deepwater gulf, which collectively produce over 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Along with managing a $1 billion operating budget, she oversees a team of more than 1,000 employees and contractors. Aleida is based at BP’s U.S. headquarters in Houston, but she takes monthly trips offshore — via helicopter — to actively lead and personally engage with her staff. Aleida serves on BP’s global operations executive leadership team and sponsors the company’s Supplier Diversity Council and Gulf of Mexico Women’s Leadership Council, which supports gender diversity and promotes networking and career development opportunities. She is also a member of BP’s leadership council for the Million Women Mentors program, encouraging employees to mentor girls and young women who are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
Rafael Sanchez
Indianapolis Power & Light Co.
President and CEO
Rafael is a highly respected business and community leader and joined IPL in February as Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning. Prior to IPL, Rafael was a partner at Bingham Greenebaum Doll, LLP and he was also Vice President of Business Development & Legal Affairs for Fineline Printing Group. He has a good outlook of IPL as he served on the IPL Advisory Board for the past five years. He also serves as Secretary for the Indy Chamber, Co-Chair for Plan 2020, Chair for Cancer Support Community, Executive Committee member for the United Way of Central Indiana and a board member of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and Methodist Health Foundation.
Benjamin G. Bordelon
Bollinger Shipyards
President and CEO
Mr. Benjamin G. Bordelon, also known as Ben has been the Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc since December 2014. Mr. Bordelon served as the Chief Operating Officer of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. since August 30, 2013. Mr. Bordelon served as an Executive Vice President of Repair at Bollinger Shipyards, Inc. until August 30, 2013. Benjamin is part of the NOIA America’s Offshore Energy Industry board of directors.
Joseph E. Casabona
Halio Energy
CEO
Joseph E. Casabona has over 30 years of experience in the US oil and gas industry, with extensive background in strategic planning, capital structure, capital markets, business development, acquisitions and successful divestments. Casabona currently serves on the Board of Directors of PDCE Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ:PDCE) a $2.5 billion oil & gas exploration and production company operating in the United States. With extensive and respected first-hand experience in conventional energy (natural gas exploration, development, marketing, acquisitions and mid-stream operations) and renewable energy sources (wind, solar, combined heat and power, hydroelectric and biomass), Casabona served as a Director of the privately held oil giant Energy Corporation of America from 1993 to 2007, which owns and operates over 4600 producing wells and 5000 miles of pipeline as part of over a million acres of land holdings.
Patrick Apodaca
PNM Resources
Senior VP and General Counsel
Patrick Apodaca is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for PNM Resources, the parent company of PNM and TNMP. He joined PNM Resources in January 2010. Patrick has responsibility for assuring the provision of high quality, efficient and effective legal services to all areas of the company. He also oversees corporate governance, environmental services and human resources. Patrick previously served as University Counsel for the University of New Mexico. He also served as independent counsel to the City of Albuquerque and associate counsel to the President in the White House from 1977-1981.
Alfredo Trujillo
Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc.
President & COO
Al Trujillo is President of the Georgia Tech Foundation (GTF). GTF’s Al Trujillo became President and Chief Operating Officer of The Georgia Tech Foundation, Inc. on July 1, 2013. The mission of the Georgia Tech Foundation is to foster and manage gifts given in support of academic excellence in the spirit and traditions of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Prior to joining the Foundation, Al had a career in industry, both in executive and non-executive director roles. He currently serves as non-executive director of Havertys Corporation, a NYSE listed company (HVT) in the furniture retailing industry, and on the board of SCANA Corporation, a NYSE listed energy-based holding company (SCG). Until 2007, Al Trujillo served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Recall Corporation, a global document management organization with operations in 23 countries.
Dennis Arriola
SoCalGas
Chairman and CEO
Arriola has spent nearly two decades in a broad range of leader-ship roles for Sempra Energy. He was named chief operating officer of SoCalGas in 2012 and promoted to CEO in 2014. From 2008 to 2012, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of SunPower Corporation, a Silicon Valley-based solar panel manufacturer. Prior to this, Arriola served as senior vice president and chief financial officer for SoCalGas and San Diego Gas & Electric, vice president of communications and investor relations for Sempra Energy and regional vice president and general manager for Sempra’s South American operations. He first joined the company in 1994 as treasurer for Pacific Enterprises, SoCalGas’ former parent company. Arriola is chairman of the board of directors for the California Business Roundtable and on the boards of the American Gas Association, Latino Donor Collaborative and Southern California Leadership Council, as well as United Way of Greater Los Angeles, through which he is actively involved in efforts to implement Linked Learning at Los Angeles Unified School District schools.
Omar Garcia
STEER
President
As President of the South Texas Energy & Economic Roundtable (STEER), Omar Garcia facilitates communication, education and public advocacy surrounding the production of energy resources in South Texas. An experienced industry leader, Garcia is an expert on business opportunities associated with the Eagle Ford Shale. Garcia works directly with the oil and natural gas industry, local officials, community members, regional stakeholders, educational institutions and economic development organizations to ensure that the oil and natural gas industry in South Texas is advancing in a positive way that is mutually beneficial to both the community and the industry. Garcia is a former vice president of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation, and has over 12 years of Economic Development experience in working for the Texas Governor’s Office, TIP Strategies, Corpus Christi Regional Economic Development, the City of San Antonio Economic Development Department, and the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation. In addition to his economic development experience, Garcia spent two years working for Bank of America as Vice President of Business Development for their Treasury Management division.
Roberto de Hoyos
Tenaris
Public Affairs Director
He is currently the Vice-President of Public Affairs for Tenaris. Before Tenaris, he was a Principal at Ryan, where he specialized in providing economic development, government relations, site selection, and business incentives consulting services. He was also Director of Latin American Business Development and Director of Purchasing, International Trade and Government Affairs of AHMSA Steel. In the public sector, de Hoyos has extensive experience. He has been the Texas Enterprise Fund Designee and Director of Business Incentives Office of Governor Rick Perry. He’s also been highly involved with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development and Tourism with positions such as Deputy Executive Director, Director of Texas Business Development and Director of International Business and Recruitment. He has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Technological Institute in Mexico.
Rudy Garza
CPS Energy
Senior Vice President of Distribution Services and Operations
Rudy joined CPS Energy, the nation’s largest municipally-owned electric and gas utility, in 2012 and Vice President of External Relations. In 2016, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Distribution Services & Operations and is currently responsible for the largest operating division at CPS Energy, with three Service Districts responsible for our maintenance and construction activity as well as the Emergency Management Center which operates our distribution system on a daily basis. With more than 20 years of experience in the energy and utility sector, Rudy maintains a strong understanding of the issues that impact the utility industry. As a result, Rudy was named one of the 10 most influential Latinos in the energy industry by Latino Leaders magazine in 2014.
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