John B. Billingsley Jr.

Chief Executive Officer & Board Chairman

One of the founders of Tri Global Energy, Mr. Billingsley was born and raised on his family’s cotton farm south of Lubbock, Texas, where he developed a strong sense of responsibility and stewardship for the land and an enduring empathy for the plight of small farmers and ranchers. For economic reasons, he left the farm and attended college and has since led a life of entrepreneurialism with a background in building businesses across a wide range of industries, including professional services, banking, real estate development, and manufacturing.

Formerly, Mr. Billingsley was a co-founder and Managing Partner of Billingsley, Johnson Kubica & Co., a large regional Texas CPA firm that was merged into Arthur Young, one of the nation’s major CPA firms. Following that, he acquired controlling interest in the Western State Bank of Midland, where he served as Chairman of the Board and President for six years. His diverse experience also includes stints as owner/president of an oil and gas exploration company, owner/president of a sulfur recovery plant, owner/president of a commercial real estate development company, owner/operator of two commercial cattle ranches, and the owner/President/CEO of two middle market manufacturing companies, each with over 250 employees.

Mr. Billingsley owns farmland in Dawson, Borden and Lynn Counties in West Texas, with a portion of this land devoted to growing organic cotton. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting.

Tom Carbone

President

Mr. Carbone serves as Tri Global Energy's President focusing on originating renewable energy projects; securing development and project financing; as well as supporting the CEO in executing the company's vision and strategies. He has spent most of his 29 year career leading and managing OEM companies involved in the engineering, sales and service of fossil based and renewable energy generation technologies. His career also includes project development and project financing of power generation facilities in the USA, Central America and Asia.

Prior to joining the Company, he was CEO of Nordic Windpower, a US company that designs, manufactures and sells innovative, two-bladed utility-scale wind turbines to municipalities and private enterprises in the growing community wind market. Using patented, flexible teeter hub technology, Nordic's 1 MW wind turbines offer lower maintenance and installed costs and high reliability. As CEO, he led the raising of over $60 million in equity and debt financing, delivered the first release of wind turbines to customers and initiated a new product development program.

Mr. Carbone was a past CEO of the Americas division of Vestas Wind Systems A/S, the world's leading provider of onshore and offshore wind power solutions. He led the company's sales, project installation, and service business areas, tripling their annual order-intake from $300 million to over $1 billion by recognizing and forming relationships with new and emerging customers and segments in the US and Canadian wind power sector.

Prior to Vestas, Mr. Carbone was CEO of Wartsila North America Inc, a division of Wartsila Corporation a leading global company involved in total ship power and distributed power generation solutions from 5 to 200 MW. During his tenure, the regional business grew to an installed base of 8,000 MW on land and at sea and became market leader for medium speed combustion engine power systems. His eleven years at Wartsila included a two and half year assignment at their European headquarters as Corporate Vice President of Human Resources.

Earlier in his career he was involved in business development and general management of a manufacturing plant at Bombardier Corporation, the world's leading provider of commercial regional jets and rail transit vehicles.

Mr. Carbone is a graduate of Cornell University College of Engineering, School of Operations Research and Industrial Engineering.

William H. Golove

Chief Development Officer

Mr. Golove serves as Tri Global Energy's Chief Development Officer focusing on our Texas and New Mexico projects and the implementation of the Wind Force Plan.

Prior to joining the company, he was Senior Project Development Manager for Chevron Energy Solutions, responsible for all wholesale wind generation projects and sale of EPC services, including: development of wind market service offerings, management of wind development organization partners, oversight of site control, permitting and regulatory approval activities, management of transmission analysis, and oversight for wind project interconnection processes. As Senior Project Development Manager, he executed eight exclusive teaming agreements for provision of development and construction service for 300 MW of wind generation. He also executed an EPC contract for a 20 MW wind farm and created large-scale wind business plans.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Golove acted as the principal developer of the U.S. Postal Service regional clean energy program, with management responsibility for more than $100 million in energy projects. His negotiations led to a record-setting purchase of green power as well as development of the then-largest federal agency stock of grid-tied solar PV. He was also technical advisor to the U.S. Department of Energy, VA, Air Force, and EPA clean energy programs.

Mr. Golove received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Master of Business Administration, Master of Arts in Energy and Resources, and a PhD in Energy and Resources from the University of California at Berkley. Among the many professional and academic awards he’s received: 2008 Chevron President's Award, 2006 U.S. Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management, 2004 LBNL Outstanding Performance Award, and 2003 U.S. Presidential Award for Leadership in Federal Energy Management. Mr. Golove has also been published in over 40 professional and academic publications and has spoken at over 100 professional and academic conferences.

Aaron C. Gathmann

Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Gathmann is one of the founders of Tri Global Energy, LLC. His diverse experience includes auditing complex multi-billion dollar real estate investment funds, analyzing a multi-billion dollar mortgage portfolio, and financing individual real estate projects. This background has helped him develop a breadth of knowledge and expertise critical for dealing with the challenges present in renewable energy developments and power purchase agreements, including financing, tax and accounting, real estate, and cash flow valuations.

Mr. Gathmann’s professional career started as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Financial Services Audit Group. Next, he secured a position as a Trading Analyst for Bear Stearns’ mortgage trading desk where he was involved with portfolio management and trading support for secondary market transactions, including whole loan portfolio sales and securitizations. Following his time at Bear Stearns, Mr. Gathmann entered the field of commercial banking with BBVA Compass Bank as the lead commercial real estate underwriter for the bank’s Lubbock market. He has a working knowledge of the importance of balancing specialized financial modeling with relationship financing.

Mr. Gathmann received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting and Finance, and a Masters degree in Accounting, from Trinity University in San Antonio, TX.

Stephen M. Johns

Chief Legal Officer

For nearly 15 years, Mr. Johns has provided legal and business advice to all sizes of companies in numerous industries. Prior to joining Tri Global Energy, he was a partner with Leggett & Clemons, PLLC, where he focused on assisting start-up and established companies with their private equity capital-raising and ongoing business development activities. Among others, these companies included research and development biomedical firms, and hardware and software technology development groups.

Before Leggett & Clemons, Mr. Johns was Associate General Counsel with Dell Computer, providing support to high-end enterprise hardware business units and handling large international transactional matters. He also had a stint with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison, LLP, where he focused particularly on private equity financings, both venture capital-based and otherwise. Early in his career, he worked at Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP, where he formed a part of numerous initial public offerings, along with project finance and structured finance transactions, both domestic and international.

Mr. Johns received a Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Houston, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

Rodney M. Nesbit

Chief Accounting Officer

Mr. Nesbit serves as Tri Global Energy's Chief Accounting Officer, where he brings extensive international finance, accounting, information technology, auditing, and manufacturing operations experience to the role. Much of his 25+ year career was spent in senior executive management positions with Dresser Industries and Halliburton Company, two Fortune 50 companies with broad portfolios of operating companies where he gained valuable exposure to energy-related industries.

Mr. Nesbit has worked in the U.S., United Kingdom, Europe, Latin America, South Africa and the Far East, including roles as Group Controller, Division Controller and Plant Controller of multi-national units of Dresser and Halliburton. He also served as an Officer and Director of joint venture operations in Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Japan, as well as a subsidiary in Mexico engaged in the energy and oil field services industries.

The diverse background of Mr. Nesbit also includes mergers and acquisitions, dispositions, restructurings and turnarounds, financial planning, consolidations, budgeting, forecasting, strategic planning, SEC reporting, SOX compliance, taxation, and operational and financial auditing. His extensive experience even extends to managing information technology organizations, where he oversaw multiple system deployments, as well as engineer-to-order manufacturing operations. While at Dresser, he played a key role in domestic and foreign merger and acquisition transactions, including the "merger of equals," between Dresser and Halliburton, and the $2.4 billion spin-off of Dresser, where he managed the valuation, accounting treatment and auditing for the acquiring company.

Mr. Nesbit received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and minor in Business Law from Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh.

Curtis T. King

Corporate Director of Shareholder Relations

Mr. King serves as Tri Global Energy’s Corporate Director of Shareholder Relations working out of the Lubbock, Texas, regional office.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. King maintained a sole practice for 20 years as a CPA, CFP, and CLU, advising wealthy individuals and small companies on tax planning, estate planning, and investment services coupled with the implementation of those plans. He entered the banking industry in early 1991 as a trust officer implementing personal trust, investment, and employee benefit plans for a wide range of bank clientele in the Permian Basin and High Plains of West Texas. His banking career also included managing brokerage and capital markets operations ending as a Senior Vice President and Senior Trust Officer for a large community bank system.

Mr. King received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a major in Accounting from West Texas State University in Canyon. He’s a Vietnam veteran, having served four years in the United States Marine Corps, with an Honorable Discharge.

Damon Bowman

Chief Relationship Officer, Associate General Counsel

Mr. Bowman serves as Tri Global Energy's Chief Relationship Officer and Associate General Counsel, working out of the corporate headquarters in Dallas.  He takes pride in developing sincere relationships and actively looks for ways to facilitate mutually beneficial opportunities.  As an attorney, Mr. Bowman strives to assist each client and transaction by taking the "leagelese" out of the traditional practice of law.

Prior to joining the company, Mr. Bowman was a Real Estate and Corporate Associate with the law firm of Leggett & Clemons, PLLC, in Plano, Texas. Mr. Bowman's focus was in real estate, business, and corporate law, including development, leasing, acquisition, disposition, financing and commercial lending, mergers and acquisitions, entity formation, and contractual matters. Mr. Bowman also has experience in representing clients in various commercial litigation matters. In addition to legal experience, Mr. Bowman also has significant hands-on experience in real estate construction as well as management of a business unit within a multi-million dollar international consulting company.

Mr. Bowman received his Juris Doctorate from South Texas College of Law, and his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Corporate Communication from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bob Brunson

Senior Vice President, Texas Region

Mr. Brunson serves as Tri Global Energy’s Senior Vice President, Texas Region, working out of the Lubbock regional office.

He has extensive experience in land acquisition for many different types of energy-related projects, including wind energy and transmission, as well as farm, ranch, and residential sales. A licensed real estate broker in both Texas and Kansas, Mr. Brunson has 10 years' experience in the construction business as a residential builder and developer, along with 30 years of farming and ranching experience in the Texas Panhandle.

Mr. Brunson has spent a lifetime working with land and has a strong belief in stewardship of the land while protecting and improving our heritage for future generations. His experience in agriculture and construction provide a well-rounded knowledge of the land and landowners’ concerns for their property, as well as the negotiating skills required to get all sides of a transaction to the table in order to make a plan become reality.

Shannon Adkins

Vice President, Regional Sales Director, Commercial Wind Division, Texas Region

Mr. Adkins serves as Tri Global Energy’s Sales Director for commercial wind farm projects in the Texas region. He’s a native West Texan, and in addition to his duties with the company, he currently oversees farming operations for approximately 2,200 acres in and around Crosby County, Texas. 

Prior to coming to Tri Global Energy, Mr. Adkins sold center pivot irrigation systems for 13 years throughout the West Texas farming area. Growing up on a farm and raising his two sons to follow in the family farming business, he has gained a deep sense of gratitude for the help and support his neighbors, church, and community have extended to him and his family.

As a small way of giving back to his community, Mr. Adkins has served as a member of the board of directors for the following organizations: Crosby County Fuel Association, Pleasant Hill Coop Gin, Crosby County Appraisal Review Board, High Plains Underground Water District, and the Crosby County Stock Show. 

Ron McClendon

Project Manager, Land Leasing, Texas Region

Mr. McClendon serves as Project Manager and Land Leasing Agent for Tri Global Energy’s Texas region. He developed a strong relationship with the land and farm living early in life on his family’s farm in southern Oklahoma, before moving to Lubbock, Texas, to attend Texas Tech. 

Mr. McClendon has resided in Lubbock ever since college, co-founding WestMark Realtors, one of the largest commercial-residential real estate companies in the area. He holds a Texas real estate broker license and was sole owner of McClendon Construction which was active in both commercial and residential construction. He was Sales Manager for 21 years for a major local property and casualty insurance agency. Mr. McClendon has also served on numerous Lubbock boards including the Community Development and Zoning Board of Adjustment. He maintains real estate investments throughout the state and oversees family land, oil, and gas investments in Texas and Oklahoma.

Mr. McClendon graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Science degree.

Brad C. Blake

Leasing Manager, Texas Region

Mr. Blake serves as Leasing Manager for Tri Global Energy’s Texas region. He’s a native West Texan who’s been involved for much of his life in ranching and farming.

For seven years, he and his wife lived on and operated Blake Vineyards, a commercial vineyard located in Lubbock County, Texas, that produced award-winning and extremely popular wine. His interest in agriculture and the environment led into sales of native grasses and eco-friendly, engineered turf grasses. In addition to his involvement in farming, ranching and his vineyard, Mr. Blake has a diverse business background. In the course of 17 years as president of Plains Electro-Plating he bought and sold multiple companies. His business experience includes manufacturing, remanufacturing, business development, and sales.

Mr. Blake became involved with renewable energy while performing land acquisition services for major players in the industry. His experience includes acquisition of leases for wind turbines and all related infrastructure as well as easements for wind energy generation transmission lines.

Mr. Blake graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration and a minor in Geo-Sciences.

Cyd C. Seideman

Regional Controller, Texas Region

Ms. Seideman is a Certified Public Accountant who oversees the federal compliance, record-keeping and financial reporting activities of Tri Global Energy, primarily in the Texas region.

From 1985 until 2009, Ms. Seideman worked in the public accounting sector. Her experience includes tax compliance, financial statement compilation, review, and audit; pension and profit sharing administration and reporting; business structure planning and implementation; as well as non-profit accounting and administration. She has a working knowledge of various business configurations, including corporate, partnership, limited liability, and tax exempt entities. She has served or currently serves on the board or finance committees of several non-profit organizations, including church, school district, neighborhood, and community groups, and actively maintains her personal investments in real estate.

Ms. Seideman has a full educational background, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from Texas Tech University in 1976, where she developed her deep appreciation of land and water conservation efforts. She then obtained her Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Texas Tech University in 1982 and learned how to mesh conservation needs with financial practicality. She was certified by the Texas State Board of Public Accountancy in 1985, and continues to live in and support the West Texas area.

Richard Fry

Project Manager, Texas Region

Mr. Fry serves as Leasing Manager for Tri Global Energy’s Commercial Wind Division, Texas Region. Richard has extensive experience in land acquisition.

Prior to joining the company he worked for developers on wind and transmission projects throughout Texas. He previously taught real estate classes at Amarillo College and holds both Texas real estate broker and mortgage broker licenses. He has owned and managed his own real estate and mortgage brokerage, as well as being involved in residential development and construction in the Texas panhandle. He also has years of experience in all phases of the stocker and commercial cattle feeding business, and is no stranger to the concerns of rural America.

Mr. Fry's background gives him the experience needed to solve problems and answer landowner concerns in order to put together a successful project.

David H. Oden

Advisor

Mr. Oden is a partner with the law firm of Haynes and Boone, LLP, a Dallas-based law firm consisting of approximately 550 lawyers in 12 offices.  Mr. Oden is a corporate and securities lawyer.  His practice consists primarily of public and private financings, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate matters.  Mr. Oden has been named by Chambers USA as one of the most distinguished corporate lawyers in Texas.  He is a graduate of the University of Texas Law School (with honors).

Rory McMinn

Advisor

Mr. McMinn is the President and Managing Director of Read & Stevens, Inc., an oil and gas exploration and production company founded in 1964.  In addition to his business experience, from 2000 to 2002, Mr. McMinn served as a New Mexico Public Regulation Commissioner, where he was one of the authors of the New Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, which is now a New Mexico state statute.  From 1993 to 2000, Mr. McMinn was also a county commissioner of Chaves County (Roswell).  He has testified before the New Mexico Legislature and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and has lobbied the U.S. Congress on behalf of electricity issues.  Mr. McMinn has spent the past two years working with various renewable energy landowner coalition associations in promoting development of renewable energy in New Mexico.  During that time he was also a member of the New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority ("RETA").  From 2008 to 2009, Mr. McMinn has served as chairman of the RETA Corridor Committee which identified and listed by resource New Mexico's in-State Renewable Energy Zones and identified the needed Electric Transmission Corridors to serve these zones.  In addition, Mr. McMinn has also held executive management positions in downstream and midstream oil and gas entities.  He created and managed a pipeline service company, an energy consulting company and has owned, drilled and operated oil and gas wells.