BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//CiviCRM//NONSGML CiviEvent iCal//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Chicago METHOD:PUBLISH BEGIN:VEVENT UID:CiviCRM_EventID_2680_d3319be4f90071e87b81b1178ed41494@www.hgs.org SUMMARY:HGS March General Lunch DESCRIPTION:Capital Structure and Execution in Energy and Subs urface Transactions\n \n Panelists: \n \n - Arete Amana\, CEO &\; Founder\, Africa Business Advis ors\n \n - Allen Bertagne\, \;Principal at BRT Energy Advisors\n \n - Zac Coplon\, \;Preside nt and Co-founder at 4cast\n \n - Diana Grauer\,&n bsp\;Principal\, Grauer Consulting \n \n - Amy Hen ry\, \;CEO Trident Energy Group and Co-founder of Eunike Ventures\n \n - Susan Nash\, \;Dire ctor of Emerging Science\, Innovation\, and Techno logy at AAPG\n \n - James C. Row\, \;Managing Partner and Founder and Entoro Capital\n \n - Kels ey Kearns\, \;Director\, Houston Greentown Lab s\n \n Date: Wednesday 18 March\n \n Time: 11:30 a m &ndash\; 1 pm\n \n Location: 2000 W Sam Houston Pkwy S #200\, Houston\, TX 77042 (Apache)\n \n Ins tructions: Park in visitor parking at One Briar La ke Plaza Garage. Register with the building recept ionist on the first floor and then proceed to the elevator to the \;Apache \;lobby on the se cond floor.\n \n Cost: $30 Members\, $35 Non-membe rs\, $25 Students\n \n  \;\n \n Join us for a practical\, real-world discussion designed for geo logists and subsurface professionals who want to u nderstand what happens after the geology is done. This session explores how capital providers evalua te projects once the technical case is established and why some geologically strong opportunities se cure funding while others never reach financial cl ose. Learn what investors actually look for\, how risk\, return\, and structure shape decisions\, an d how to position technically sound projects for c ommercial success.\n \n This luncheon is held in c onjunction with the FENG Energy &\; Natural Res ources Special Interest Group.\n \n  \;\n \n & nbsp\;\n \n Arete Mfon Amana\n \n \n \n CEO &\; Founder\, Africa Business Advisors\n \n Arete Mfo n Amana is the CEO and Founder of Africa Business Advisors\, an international strategy and business advisory firm specializing in designing bespoke so lutions\, initiatives\, and go-to-market strategie s that strengthen and expand trade\, investment\, and economic development between Africa&rsquo\;s e merging economies and businesses in the Americas. \n \n Some of her notable initiatives include Afri caEnergyFutures\, the Africa Energy Innovation Fun d\, Africa Energy Education Programs\, and EnergyX Africa. Through these\, she promotes energy innova tion\, education\, and sustainable business develo pment across the continent. Arete has consulted fo r several national and international organizations \, including the Commonwealth Secretariat\, the Co mmonwealth Foundation\, various European projects\ , and regional industry bodies such as the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO) and the A frican Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA ). \n \n A multi-creative professional\, Arete con tinues to champion initiatives that drive Africa&r squo\;s economic transformation through innovation \, strategic partnerships\, and sustainable develo pment.\n \n  \;\n \n Allen Bertagne\n \n \n \n Principal at BRT Energy Advisors\n \n Allen Berta gne\, is a hands-on explorationist with more than 40 years experience\, gained while working in nume rous basins around the world. \; After receivi ng a B.Sc. Degree in Geology from Imperial College \, London\, and an M.A. in Geology from the Univer sity of Texas at Austin\, he worked for Exxon. &nb sp\;Allen has worked for service companies includi ng CGG\, PGS\, CoreLab\, and Fusion Geophysical\, and also for Shell\, where he held leadership role s. Since January 2015\, Allen has been conducting high-end seismic interpretation projects for a ran ge of companies and has also been developing plans for new E&\;P and other startup ventures.\n \n Allen has served on The Leading Edge Editorial Bo ard\, as First Vice President of the SEG\, and was named as an Honorary Member of the Geophysical So ciety of Houston in recognition for his contributi ons to the profession and the industry. From 2017- 2021\, he created and led the new SEG EVOLVE\, a P rogram which developed &ldquo\;Fearless Explorers of the Future&rdquo\; and resulted in over 400 gra duates. \; Most recently\, he served on the 20 21-2024 SEG Board of Directors and chaired SEG&rsq uo\;s Global Council which serves as &ldquo\;The M embers&rsquo\; Voice&rdquo\; of the Society.\n \n  \;\n \n  \;\n \n Zac Coplon\n \n \n \n Pr esident and Co-founder at 4cast\n \n Zac Coplon is President and Co-founder of 4cast\, an all-in-one oil and gas economic/financial evaluation softwar e. He started 4cast in 2020 after identifying the need for a product that allows O&\;G profession als to evaluate deals more efficiently and effecti vely in one streamlined application. His intro to oil and gas began in 2017 when he co-founded a min eral and non-op company in Oklahoma City. Prior to officially entering the \;business\, he was f irst introduced to O&\;G analysis as a financia l/credit analyst at Bank7 in 2013. Zac holds a bac helor'\;s degree and an MBA in Finance from Okl ahoma City University\, where he also played colle ge baseball. \;In his limited free time\, he e njoys spending time in Montana'\;s great outdoo rs. He lives in Bozeman\, MT\, with his two kids a nd their new lab puppy\, Maddie\, who is the goode st girl ever!\n \n  \;\n \n  \;\n \n Diana K. Grauer\, Ph.D.\n \n \n \n Principal\, Grauer C onsulting \n \n Diana K. Grauer\, Ph.D. is a techn ical and management consultant for the oil &\; gas and energy technology industries. She currentl y supports her clients\, and acts as an Advisor to multiple startups through her firm\, Grauer Consu lting. Diana served formerly as Director of R&\ ;D of NOV and Chief Technology Officer of Ocean Ae ro\, a startup in the Blue Economy and offshore te chnology space. She has also held various technica l leadership roles at TechnipFMC\, Hoerbiger\, SLB \, Cameron\, and the U.S. Department of Energy. Di ana serves on the Subsea Systems Institute at Univ ersity of Houston\, the Center for Marine Robotics at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution\, and the Business Plan Competition at the Rice Alliance fo r Technology and Entrepreneurship. She is also pas t-Chair of the Industrial Advisory Committee for t he Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineerin g at Kansas State University. Diana holds a Master &rsquo\;s in Venture Capital from University of Ca lifornia at Berkeley\, and both a B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Kansas State Univer sity where she graduated with honors.\n \n  \; \n \n Amy R. Henry\, CPA\, JD\n \n \n \n Co-Founde r of Eunike Ventures and Trident Energy Group\n \n Amy R. Henry\, CPA\, JD is the Co-Founder of Euni ke Ventures and Trident Energy Group\, and a natio nally recognized leader in energy innovation\, ven ture commercialization\, and next-generation infra structure development. Based in Houston\, Amy brin gs more than 25+ years of international experience across North America\, Europe\, and Southeast Asi a spanning upstream\, integrated gas\, LNG\, and l arge-scale project development. \n \n Her career i ncludes senior commercial\, finance\, and strategy roles with PETRONAS\, Royal Dutch Shell (Shell Ga s &\; Power\, Shell Upstream International\, Sh ell E&\;P Technology &\; Research\, and Shel l Technology Ventures)\, Ernst &\; Young\, and Arthur Andersen.\n \n As CEO of Trident Energy Gro up\, Amy applies her commercial\, financial\, and strategic expertise to develop energy infrastructu re and power solutions\, building on her backgroun d in integrated gas and LNG\, power\, unconvention al resource development\, and complex project port folios. Her prior roles in senior commercial\, fin ance\, and strategy positions give her a broad per spective across the full upstream-to-market value chain.\n \n  \;\n \n Susan Nash\n \n \n \n Dir ector of Emerging Science\, Innovation\, and Techn ology at AAPG\n \n Susan Smith Nash is a geologist \, educator\, and innovation strategist who earned her BS\, MA\, and PhD at the University of Oklaho ma and has spent her career bridging petroleum geo logy\, humanities\, economic development\, and edu cational technology. She launched as a petroleum g eologist working across the U.S. and international ly &mdash\; including Azerbaijan\, Paraguay\, and countries throughout South America\, Central Asia\ , and Africa &mdash\; before expanding into academ ic leadership and her current role as Director of Innovation\, Emerging Science and Technology at AA PG. With 30 years of experience in online program development\, grant and contract management\, and instructional design\, she has led numerous webina r and podcast series and launched the "\;New T echnology Showcase"\; to connect new ventures with private capital. A widely published author an d regular contributor to World Literature Today\, Nash writes at the intersection of geology\, liter ature\, culture\, and contemporary global challeng es\, bringing a rare interdisciplinary sensibility to her commitment to human and economic developme nt\, innovation\, energy resilience\, and communit y well-being.\n \n  \;\n \n James C. Row\, CFA \n \n \n \n Managing Partner at Entoro Capital\, L LC\n \n James C. Row\, CFA (&ldquo\;Jim&rdquo\;) h as over 35 years of experience in various areas of finance and deal structuring\, including: project finance\, private placements\, M&\;A\, A&\; D\, securities\, and risk management. He has origi nated and arranged funding\, debt (senior and mezz anine) and equity on over $15 billion of projects/ offerings. Jim is specialized in structuring finan cing for energy\, water\, health care\, real estat e\, and technology projects worldwide. He is a Cha rtered Financial Analyst (CFA) and maintains Serie s 7\, 14\, 24\, 28\, 63\, 79 and 99 FINRA securiti es licenses. Jim is a member of 10+ financial and industry associations and is an Advisor to several private companies. He is an author on a number of energy\, blockchain\, and digital securities arti cles and a regular speaker at valuation and digita l asset conferences. Jim received his BS in Financ e at the University of Wyoming\, and an MBA from A rizona State University. \; \;Additionally \, he completed his CAS at the American Graduate S chool of International Management (Thunderbird).\n \n  \;\n \n  \;\n \n Kelsey Kearns\n \n \ n \n Director\, Houston Greentown Labs\n \n Kelsey Kearns serves as Director of Greentown Houston\, the Houston location of Greentown Labs\, the large st climatetech startup incubator in North America. Based in the world&rsquo\;s energy capital\, she leads the organization&rsquo\;s Houston operations \, cultivating partnerships between startups\, maj or energy companies\, investors\, universities\, a nd policymakers to accelerate the commercializatio n of emerging energy and climate technologies. Gre entown Labs supports more than 200 climatetech sta rtups developing solutions across power systems\, industrial decarbonization\, advanced materials\, carbon management\, and energy infrastructure. Com panies within the Greentown ecosystem have collect ively raised more than $3 billion in venture capit al and project financing\, representing one of the most productive innovation pipelines in the globa l energy-technology sector. \;\n \n Under Kear ns&rsquo\; leadership in Houston\, Greentown conti nues expanding its role as a bridge between the tr aditional energy industry and the rapidly growing climate-technology economy.\n \n Prior to joining Greentown Labs\, Kearns built a career spanning te chnology platforms\, media strategy\, partnerships \, and growth leadership. She previously held seni or roles in partnership development and client suc cess within digital media and technology companies \, where she worked closely with corporate clients \, startups\, and strategic partners to expand pla tform adoption and commercial relationships.\n \n Her background across both high-growth technology ventures and established organizations enables her to operate effectively at the intersection of ent repreneurs\, venture capital\, and global energy c ompanies. \;\n \n Kearns holds a Bachelor of S cience in Mass Communication and Media Studies fro m Texas State University and has become a respecte d connector within Houston&rsquo\;s innovation eco system\, helping founders translate breakthrough t echnologies into commercially viable businesses wh ile positioning the city as a leading global hub f or energy innovation. CATEGORIES:General Lunch CALSCALE:GREGORIAN DTSTAMP;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260318T113000 DTSTART;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260318T113000 DTEND;VALUE=DATE-TIME:20260318T130000 LOCATION:Apache Corporation\n 2000 W. Sam Houston Pkwy S\n Ste. 200\n Houston\, TX 77042\n United States\n URL:https://www.hgs.org/civicrm/event/info?reset=1&id=2680 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR