Who We Are

Mr. Kennedy co-founded TOGC in 1982. Under Mr. Kennedy’s leadership as the President and CEO, TOGC became a major producer of Coal Bed Methane gas in the San Juan Basin of New Mexico. He then led the company’s successful 2004 divestiture of its San Juan Basin asset to POGO Producing (Pennzoil Offshore Gas Operators).

As a founding member of TOGC’s successor companies, he maintains an active role as the Chief Strategy Officer, and works closely with the Geological and Engineering staff identifying exploration and production opportunities to meet the company’s goals and objectives. Mr. Kennedy received a Bachelor of Arts in Management from Augsburg University. Mr. Kennedy is also a registered principal of TFI and holds FINRA Series 22, 39, 63 and SIE securities registrations.

Mr. Stapleton became employed by Texakoma in May 1986. He became President of the company in May 2004 and continues to serve in that capacity. Prior to that, he served as Executive Vice President.

Before joining TOGC, Mr. Stapleton was Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for Asher Petroleum Corporation in Dallas, Texas where he was employed from 1984 to 1986. From 1982 to 1984, Mr. Stapleton was employed by Ram Petroleum Corporation, Dallas, Texas, as Vice President. Mr. Stapleton has also been a consultant to various oil and gas companies in Texas and Oklahoma that have been involved in oil and gas exploration and development. As a registered principal, President and Director of TFI, Mr. Stapleton holds FINRA Series 22, 39, 63, SIE securities registrations.

Mr. LaTorre became employed by the Texakoma Group in February 2010 as its General Counsel and continues to serve in that capacity for the Texakoma Group.  He now leads Texakoma Resources’ company-wide initiative to acquire, develop and capitalize domestic energy related assets utilizing its 40+ years of geological and engineering expertise related to oil and natural gas properties including producing properties, operated and non-operated assets.  In addition to his oil and gas experience, Mr. LaTorre has over 20 years of securities regulatory experience in the broker-dealer and investment advisory business and oversees preparation, execution and implementation of Regulation D, Rule 506 confidential private placement capital raises.

Prior to joining the Texakoma, from January 2008 to February 2010, Mr. LaTorre was Senior Counsel in the law department of Wells Fargo and Company in Irving, Texas responsible for legal support of its retail broker-dealers and investment advisory business lines.  From December 2004 to December 2007, he was an Associate at the law firm of Secore & Waller, LLP in Dallas, Texas representing numerous independent oil and gas companies in various corporate and securities transactions and federal and state securities regulatory matters. Before joining Secore & Waller, LLP, Mr. LaTorre spent several years with the asset management firm of AllianceBernstein, L.P. in New York, New York serving in various legal and compliance capacities including Assistant Vice President & Counsel.

Mr. LaTorre is licensed to practice law in Texas and New York and received his Juris Doctorate degree from New York Law School and his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Penn State University. Mr. LaTorre is also a Registered Securities Principal and holds FINRA Series 22, 39, 63 and SIE securities registrations.

Mrs. Keaveny joined the Company in May of 2005 and has over 20 years of oil and gas industry leadership and experience with Texakoma.  In her role, she oversees the daily business practices and coordinates company projects and initiatives.

She is featured in several publications, including Oil and Gas Investor and Shale Magazine.  As a third-generation member of the Texakoma oil and gas family, Mrs. Keaveny marries an understanding of the industry’s past with a forward-looking vision.  Her experiences as a key contributor to Texakoma’s business lines anchor her perspective and visions as to where she sees the company and industry going in the future.  She is an advocate for women in the energy industry and established a college fund to benefit women entering the engineering field of study.  In 2019, the Frisco City Council appointed her to Place 6 on the Frisco Economic Develop Corporation’s Board of Directors, which works to attract and retain a multi-billion-dollar business growth plan, and she currently chairs the Leadership Frisco Program for the Frisco Chamber of Commerce.

Mrs. Keaveny has a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science degree from North Carolina State University.

Mr. Busby became employed by Texakoma in May 2007 to oversee its accounting and finance department.  Prior to joining the Company, he served as Chief Financial Officer at Cubic Energy, Inc. from August 2005 until May 2007.

From 1993 to 2005, Mr. Busby held various positions, including Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and Controller, at Aviva Petroleum Inc. Before joining Aviva, he spent more than nine years with the public accounting firm KPMG, serving in several capacities, including senior audit manager.

Mr. Busby is a Certified Public Accountant and graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in May 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.

Mr. Wyatt joined Texakoma in August 2022 and serves as the Executive Vice President of Finance & Business Development for Texakoma Resources, LLC. Mr. Wyatt has participated in over $1.5 billion of financial transactions and will utilize his experience in capital raising, transaction sourcing, transaction analysis, financial modeling, banking, debt structuring and production hedging to further Texakoma’s initiative for expansion.

Prior to joining Texakoma, Mr. Wyatt spent several years as the Vice President of Finance for Basin Oil & Gas. Prior to Basin, Mr. Wyatt was the Director of Finance for Matador Resources; and prior to Matador Resources, Mr. Wyatt helped lead the E&P Equity Research practice at Stephens Inc. Mr. Wyatt graduated with a B.S.B.A. in Finance from the University of Arkansas and an M.B.A. in Finance and Investments from Texas Christian University.

Mr. Keaveny became employed by Texakoma in July 2013 and oversees the company’s information technology and computer systems.

Before joining Texakoma, Jamie was the Chief Operating Officer of Solace Networks. He ran the day-to-day operations, as well as provided IT roadmaps and recommendations for their clients. Prior to that, he was employed with Bank of America as a Senior Operations Consultant in the Mortgage division where he was part of the transformation into a paperless environment. He is also Finra licensed holding Series 22, 63, 39 and SIE registrations. Mr. Keaveny holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from the University of Phoenix.

Mr. Williams became employed by Texakoma in May 1991. With over 40 years of industry experience, he oversees well completions, reviews well stimulations and evaluates reservoirs of current and future wells for the company.

Before he joined TOGC, Mr. Williams was employed by Sun Oil Company, as the Southern California Reservoir and Production Engineer and Reservoir Engineering Manager in Special Projects. He then held a variety of positions for Canyon Resources, Inc., including Vice President of Production and Engineering.

Mr. Williams graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1976, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum engineering. He also attended the University of Southern California from September 1977 to May 1978, where he engaged in graduate studies in petroleum engineering.

Mr. Sluetz, a Certified Professional Landman, became employed by Texakoma in January 1992.  He supervises the leasing activities for the company and oversees other land-related operations. Mr. Sluetz provides over 40 years of experience in land acquisition matters in the oil and gas industry.

Before joining TOGC, he worked at Oryx Energy Company from 1989 to 1991, serving as Manager of Land in the land departments of Oryx Energy’s Southwest, Mid-Continent, and Southeast Divisions.  Mr. Sluetz was also previously employed by Sun Exploration and Production Company, the predecessor to Oryx Energy, from 1978 to 1989, holding various management level positions.

Mr. Sluetz graduated from the University of Tulsa in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science degree in History and a minor in Business Administration.

Mr. Suter joined Texakoma in February 1994.  He brings nearly 50 years of experience in the oil and gas industry. He spent approximately 19 years with ARCO Oil & Gas Company (1974-1993), where he served in a number of onshore and offshore exploration capacities, including Director of Exploration/Joint Ventures and Exploration Training Director.

In addition, Mr. Suter served as ARCO’s Area Geology Manager for East Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and as Exploration Staff Manager. From 1973-1974, he served as an instructor and laboratory supervisor in geology at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.

Mr. Suter is a graduate of Madison College, where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology in 1971, and of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he received a Masters of Science Degree in Geology in 1974.

Mr. Kiel became employed by Texakoma in June 1994 and he oversees production and drilling operations for the company. His experience includes nearly 40 years of engineering positions with oil and gas companies.

Before joining TOGC, Mr. Kiel served as Production Engineering Manager for Duer Wagner & Co. in Fort Worth, Texas and spent 10 years with ARCO Oil & Gas Company in Operations/Analytical Engineer and Senior Facilities/Production Engineer positions.

Mr. Kiel graduated from Rice University in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering.

Mr. Vasek, a Certified Professional Landman, became employed by Texakoma in July 2011 and oversees land negotiations, acquisitions, lease maintenance, title and other land operations.

Before joining Texakoma, Mr. Vasek worked for T.S. Dudley Land Company from November 2009 to July 2011 as a Landman and Crew Chief where he managed a team of Landmen in the Marcellus Shale play for EQT Corporation and handled lease and title work for Chesapeake Energy Corporation. Prior to that, he was employed by LINN Energy, LLC from November 2008 to November 2009 as a Landman responsible for work in the Anadarko Basin.

Mr. Vasek graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2009 with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Energy Management.

Mr. Christie became employed by Texakoma in January 2018. Prior to joining Texakoma, Mr. Christie served for 9 years as a Senior Geophysicist for ConocoPhillips.

At ConocoPhillips he gained extensive experience in geomodeling, prospect identification, 2D/3D seismic interpretation, synthetic well ties, velocity modeling, seismic attribute analysis, and interdisciplinary integration to both conventional and unconventional projects. His project areas included the Central Rockies, shallow and deep-water Gulf of Mexico and South Texas.

Mr. Christie received his Bachelor of Science in Geology and Master of Science in Geophysics degrees from the University of Kansas.

Mr. Walker became employed by Texakoma in April 2018. Prior to joining Texakoma, Mr. Walker served as a Geological Consultant for BMNW Resources in Dallas, Texas where he focused his skillset on the East Texas Basin. Prior to that, Mr. Walker spent nearly 10 years serving as a Senior Geologist with ExxonMobil in Houston, Texas where he gained extensive experience in identification and evaluation in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico.

Mr. Walker has extensive experience: building and maintaining static geologic models, conducting volumetrics and reserves analyses, and conducting 3D seismic interpretation utilizing visualization and volume interpretation techniques in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Mexico shelf and Equatorial Guinea.

Mr. Walker received his Bachelor of Science in Geology and Master of Science in Geology degrees from Baylor University.

Mr. Harwell became employed by Texakoma in August 2018. Mr. Harwell brings over 35 years of engineering experience to Texakoma, having served as a Senior Engineer or Manager at operators including Exco Resources, CDX Gas and Stone Energy.

Through his experience, Mr. Harwell gained comprehensive knowledge across the engineering operating disciplines including drilling, completions and production. Mr. Harwell has applied this knowledge to both offshore and onshore conventional fields throughout the Gulf Coast and Mid-Continent U.S. as well as the Haynesville and Barnett Shale plays. Mr. Harwell has extensive experience in well control, production optimization, well planning, casing design, gas lift, nodal analysis and gas processing.

Mr. Harwell received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Louisiana State University after attending the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, NY.

Brandon Van Sickle, VP of Acquisitions & Divestitures. Mr. Van Sickle joined Texakoma in October 2022 and currently serves as Vice President of Engineering and Acquisitions & Divestitures.

Mr. Van Sickle has evaluated over $1 billion in acquisition opportunities. In addition to A&D, he has held various roles in reservoir engineering, strategic planning, corporate reserves management, and business development. Most recently, Mr. Van Sickle served as Director of M&A and Reserves at Rockall Energy, a TPG backed portfolio company. Prior to Rockall, Mr. Van Sickle worked at Citation Oil & Gas as the A&D and Reserves Engineer. While at Citation, Mr. Van Sickle oversaw the corporate reserve reporting and A&D evaluations. He began his career with The Oil & Gas Asset Clearinghouse as an A&D reservoir engineer.

Mr. Van Sickle holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from University of Houston.

Mr. Schmid joined Texakoma in May 2023 following 10 years serving in operations and drilling engineering capacities at Denbury, Inc. At Denbury, Mr. Schmid had the opportunity to work with multi-disciplinary teams on drilling and production projects in CO2 and water floods across the Gulf Coast and Rockies Regions.

Prior to Denbury, he managed proppant logistics for customers ranging from the Permian and Anadarko Basins, to the Barnett, Haynesville, and Eagle Ford Shales. Before entering the oilfield, he worked as an analyst in the Korenvaes Capital family office. Mr. Schmid’s formative leadership experiences were in service as a tank and scout platoon leader, where he was awarded the Bronze Star medal for target exploitation and nominated for the MacArthur Leadership award. He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point with a BS in Geopolitics with an Environmental Engineering Track. He also holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of North Dakota.