Stronghold was founded by Ryan Turner and Billy
Fennebresque as an investment manager with a team focused
on generating attractive risk-adjusted returns in various
real-asset sectors.
Senior Director of Grid Modeling & Renewable Analysis
Andrew Kock
Vice President – Geoinformatics
Reid Swanson
General Counsel
Jordan Spencer
Senior Legal & Data Analyst
Dr. Jason Vertrees
Chief Technology Officer
Zack Antebi
Managing Director - IT
Ryan Turner Managing Partner
Ryan Turner was Chief Investment Officer and Chief Financial Officer - Institutional Investments, of American Energy Partners, LP (AELP), a company formed in 2013 by Aubrey K. McClendon. Prior to AELP, Mr. Turner served in financial and strategic capacities at private-equity backed E&P companies. He was Vice President - Finance & Strategy at Caelus Energy, a Dallas-based international E&P company with assets in Southeast Asia and Alaska. He was Vice President - Strategy & Business Development for Kosmos Energy, a Dallas-based international E&P company, now public, with assets offshore West Africa and on the Atlantic Margin. Mr. Turner also worked as an investment banker at Citigroup with its New York and Houston energy groups. He has been involved in over $51 billion of M&A transactions, public equity and debt offerings and private financings. He earned a B.A. from Duke University.
Billy FennebresqueManaging Partner
Billy Fennebresque was Founder & CEO of A2 Access, a New York-based financial technology firm that sold its product to equity-focused hedge and mutual funds. After four years, he sold the business in 2016 to Dealogic, LLC, a Carlyle & Co portfolio company. Prior to that, he was at Hound Partners, a multi-billion dollar long-short equity Tiger Cub hedge fund. Mr. Fennebresque also worked for Greenhill & Co as an M&A and restructuring analyst. He earned a B.A. from Duke University.
Matthew BeardainVice President of Title Management
Matt oversees the title attorneys and title landmen at Stronghold. He is responsible for the creation of real property title data, oversight of the firm’s internal land functions, and facilitating the acquisition and disposition of real property interests in oil and gas projects, solar projects, water management projects, and wind projects. Before joining Stronghold, Matt spent a number of years with title brokerages specializing in large-scale due diligence for acquisitions of oil and gas assets. He was the title lead, or an instrumental part, in a number of due diligence projects totaling over $2000mm in assets acquired.
Dr. Jason VertreesChief Technology Officer
Dr. Jason Vertrees is an experienced technology leader focused on growing companies by building collaborative, cross-functional teams to deliver great software products. For more than a decade, he has held technical executive positions in a variety of early- and mid-stage companies. He has led Technology, Technical Product Management, Engineering, and Data Science. Jason remains very technical, though, enjoying the chance to dive deep into the weeds of modern software development when needed. Jason has developed software for desktop, mobile, and cloud, spanning a variety of industries including pharma, commercial real estate, e-commerce, and supply chain. Dr. Vertrees graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with two Bachelor's degrees, one in Computer Science and the other in Japanese. He received his Ph.D. in Theoretical Biophysics from the University of Texas Medical Branch. Dr. Vertrees spent a year as a postdoctoral researcher, shared between Dartmouth College and Boston University, researching machine learning applications for the prediction of protein function annotation. Jason lives in Austin, TX, with his wife and daughter. He can often be seen running around Town Lake for fun.
Anne Buchanan, CIMA®Partner & Managing Director, Head of Investor Relations
Anne Buchanan, CIMA®, based in Austin, is a Partner and Managing Director at Stronghold. Prior to Stronghold, Ms. Buchanan was Senior Managing Director and Head of Investor Relations at Vida Capital, a $4.5 billion opportunistic credit alternative asset manager. At Vida Capital, Ms. Buchanan was responsible for managing all aspects of the firm’s capital raising activities and investor communication. Prior to Vida, Ms. Buchanan worked at Capital Research and Management, where she focused on raising capital in multiple investment vehicles both in equity and fixed income markets. She holds a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation from the Wharton University of Pennsylvania Aresty Institute of Executive Education and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Tech University.
Dylan CollinsPetrotechnical Director
Dylan Collins is the Petrotechnical Director at Stronghold. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Collins was a Geologist for Pioneer Natural Resources where he was responsible for strategic development in the Permian Basin including mapping, modeling, seismic interpretation and technical research contributing to the development of over 1,200 horizontal wells in the Midland Basin. Prior to Pioneer, Mr. Collins served in the U.S. Marine Corps Infantry for 10 years. Mr. Collins earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Geology with distinction from San Diego State University and a Master of Science in Geosciences from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Wes BrownVice President of Land Operations
Wes Brown, Vice President of Land Operations, is based in Oklahoma City. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Brown was a Financial Analyst for IAP where he concentrated on the Aviation and Engineering Solutions segment of the company, on US Government programs, ranging from aircraft repair with the US Forest Service to helicopter overhaul with the Afghan National Army in Afghanistan. Mr. Brown earned a B.B.A in Finance from the University of Central Oklahoma.
Jordan SpencerSenior Legal & Data Analyst
Jordan Spencer, Senior Legal & Data Analyst, is based in Dallas. Mr. Spencer previously worked as a corporate paralegal at Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison LLP in their private funds group. He graduated magna cum laude from Boston College with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics.
Dr. Hongming ZhangSenior Director of Grid Modeling & Renewable Analysis
Dr. Hongming Zhang is Senior Director of Grid Modeling & Renewable Analysis with Stronghold. He leads the development of Stronghold’s grid modeling and analytics platform, which integrates ISO/RTO’s planning models & Locational Marginal Pricing (LMP) data with renewable energy project data in Interconnection Queues (IQ) onto ArcGIS to enable predictive generation mix impact study and future LMP trend analysis. Dr. Zhang received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, and got his BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China, respectively. He is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the areas of software development and implementation on utility control room applications, voltage stability analysis and transient stability analysis, Synchrophasor technology innovations, power system economics and mid-term and long-term grid planning models and renewable asset risk assessment using statistics and machine learning methods. Prior to joining SRP, Dr. Zhang was Chief Energy Systems Operation Modeling Engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) where he was responsible for Bulk Electric System (BES) modeling, next-generation control room capability development and real-time grid operation simulator implementation. He served as Principle Investor or Team Lead for several large-scale grid modeling & high renewable penetration impact analysis projects funded by the Department of Energy (DOE). Before his assignment in NREL, Dr. Zhang was the Engineering Group Manager in WECC and Peak Reliability consecutively, where he played a critical role in building and maintaining the first West wide System Model (WSM) and advanced control room tools for Western Interconnection Reliability Coordination function. He had worked in ERCOT for EMS and Market System Applications support and ABB Automaton Inc for advanced EMS/DTS software development, respectively. Dr. Zhang is a Senior IEEE Member and a recognized Speaker/Panelist in many IEEE meetings and Industry conferences/forums. He has published more than 100 papers/technical reports in his domain areas. He served as Chair of WECC Joint Synchronized Information Subcommittee (JSIS), Taskforce Lead in NERC Synchronized Measurement Subcommittee (SMS), and a member of the North American SynchroPhasor Initiative (NASPI) leadership team.
Greg Hill, CPA, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, is based in Dallas. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Hill was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer of Revelstoke Capital Management where he was responsible for all operational and administrative aspects of the firm, which raised approximately $1 billion equity through two funds and related co-investment vehicles. Prior to joining Revelstoke, Mr. Hill was the Controller and Chief Compliance Officer of Saybrook Capital and a senior accountant at the Baupost Group. Mr. Hill began his career in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Hill earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Saint Joseph’s University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Adam MilliganChief Technology Officer
Adam Milligan, Chief Technology Officer, is based in Austin. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Milligan founded Groundwork Software Inc., a software consultancy in New York, where he worked with Billy Fennebresque (SRP Managing Partner) and Quin Cogdell (SRP Director of Investment Operations) as the lead technologist for A2 Access, LLC. Prior to Groundwork, Mr. Milligan worked at Pivotal Labs where he became the firm’s first Director of Technology. Mr. Milligan’s work at Pivotal ranged from modeling signal generation processes for large global banks, to complex custom ordering system integrations across major brands and publications, to some of the most popular consumer apps on the market today. Mr. Milligan previously served as the CTO of DaisyBill and spent several years in Cambridge, UK, as part of Microsoft’s Research Lab. Mr. Milligan earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Biochemistry from Dartmouth University.
Nhu JonesDirector – Tax
Prior to joining Stronghold, Nhu was at HBK Capital Management where she was responsible for U.S. and foreign tax planning and reporting. Nhu began her career in public accounting with Ernst & Young and is a Certified Public Accountant. She earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Master in Professional Accounting from The University of Texas at Austin.
Reid SwansonGeneral Counsel
Reid Swanson, JD, General Counsel, is based in Dallas. Mr. Swanson previously served as an Associate within Latham & Watkins’s industry-leading renewable energy project finance and development practice. Prior to joining Latham, he represented lenders, equity investors, sponsors and developers with the development, financing, acquisition and divestment of a variety of wind and solar generation projects with an aggregate nameplate capacity of approximately 4,000 MW. He earned his Juris Doctor from New York Law School and his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University.
Jack ReillyManaging Director
Jack Reilly, CFA, CPA, Managing Director, is based in Dallas. Mr. Reilly was a Director at EnCap Investments L.P., a $37 billion energy-focused private equity fund. At EnCap, Mr. Reilly served on the boards of twelve portfolio companies and was actively involved in all aspects of management, origination, evaluations, acquisition/dispositions, capital allocation, structuring, negotiations and risk management of EnCap’s investments. Prior to joining EnCap, he worked for Evercore Partners, where he focused on M&A advisory work and restructuring within the energy industry. He also worked at Ernst & Young, LLP in its Transaction Advisory Services group focused on energy M&A. Mr. Reilly graduated Magna Cum Laude from the Honors Program at Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, where he received an M.S. in Finance and a B.B.A. in Accounting. He is a CFA charterholder, a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of several industry groups
Quin CogdellManaging Director
Quin Cogdell V, CPA, Managing Director, is based in Dallas. Mr. Cogdell previously served as the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Chief Product Officer at A2 Access, a New York-based financial technology firm. Prior to joining A2 Access, he worked as an Associate at PwC in New York where he provided tax, valuation and advisory services to global real estate private equity firms. Mr. Cogdell is a licensed CPA in New York.
Isaac AntebiManaging Director – IT
Isaac Antebi, Managing Director – IT, is based in Dallas. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Antebi worked for a local Managed Service Provider responsible for the support, security and infrastructure on numerous accounts. Mr. Antebi also spent over 5 years working as a Senior Systems Engineer for The Howard Hughes Corporation. Mr. Antebi earned a Bachelor’s degree in Criminology from the University of Texas at Dallas as well as earning multiple information technology certifications. He is also a veteran of the Israeli Defense Forces.
Josh DardickVice President
Josh Dardick, Vice President, is based in Dallas. Prior to Stronghold, Mr. Dardick was an Investment Banking Analyst at Petrie Partners covering Upstream, Midstream and Oilfield Services, working on a variety of mergers, divestitures, acquisitions and financings. Mr. Dardick earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the Ohio State University.
Scott StegerVice President
Scott Steger, Vice President, is based in Dallas. Mr. Steger previously served as a Finance Manager at Guidon Energy, a Blackstone backed upstream company with assets in the Midland Basin. At Guidon, Mr. Steger evaluated over $1 billion in leasehold and royalty transactions, led the budgeting and forecasting process, and managed the commodity hedging program. Prior to joining Guidon, Mr. Steger worked as an Associate at Aethon Energy, a Dallas-based private equity firm, helping the company execute on over $400 million of M&A transactions. Prior to Aethon, Mr. Steger spent three years as an Investment Banking Analyst at Scotiabank in Houston and London, with a focus on Upstream and Midstream M&A. Mr. Steger earned a Bachelor of Arts in Financial Economics and Philosophy from Vanderbilt University.
Matt VeazeyDirector
Matt Veazey, Director, is based in Dallas. Mr. Veazey previously served as an Associate at Riverstone Holdings, a large energy-focused private equity firm where he concentrated on buyout and growth capital investments across all energy subsectors. Prior to joining Riverstone, he was an Associate at Lime Rock Partners, a middle market energy-focused private equity firm where he concentrated on investments in the E&P and Oilfield Services energy sectors. Prior to Lime Rock, Mr. Veazey was an investment banking analyst in the Energy group at Evercore where he worked on a variety of M&A and restructuring transactions, with a focus on the E&P and Midstream energy sectors. He graduated with honors from the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma with a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting.
Andrew KockVice President – Geoinformatics
Andrew Kock, Vice President - Geoinformatics, is based in Oklahoma City. Prior to joining Stronghold, Mr. Kock served as an IT Systems Analyst at Permian Resources managing their GIS and Petrotechnical. systems. Before Permian, he served as a Geospatial Projects Coordinator at AELP and GIS Coordinator at Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Mr. Kock received a Bachelor of Science from the University of Oklahoma.
Trevor TamlynDirector
Trevor Tamlyn, Director, is based in Dallas. Mr. Tamlyn previously spent over six years as an Associate and Vice President at First Reserve, a large energy-focused private equity investment firm where he concentrated on buyout and growth capital investments across all energy subsectors. Prior to joining First Reserve, he was an investment banking analyst in the Energy group at Barclays where he worked on a variety of M&A and capital markets transactions. He graduated from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. in Finance and Accounting.
Neel HueyVice President
Neel Huey, Vice President, is based in Midland. Mr. Huey previously served as a Senior Vice President at Frost Bank, one of the largest banks in Texas with $30.7 billion of assets. He completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees at the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University and holds a B.B.A and M.B.A in Finance.