C. Stephen Cochennet-
Chief Executive Officer, Chairman
C. Stephen Cochennet has been our President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman since August 15, 2006. From July 2002 to present, Mr. Cochennet has been President of CSC Group, LLC. Mr. Cochennet formed the CSC Group, LLC through which he supports a number of clients that include Fortune 500 corporations, international companies, natural gas/electric utilities, outsource service providers, as well as various start up organizations. The services provided include strategic planning, capital formation, corporate development, executive networking and transaction structuring. From 1985 to 2002, he held several executive positions with UtiliCorp United Inc. (Aquila) in Kansas City. His responsibilities included finance, administration, operations, human resources, corporate development, natural gas/energy marketing, and managing several new start up operations. Prior to his experience at UtiliCorp United Inc., Mr. Cochennet served 6 years with the Federal Reserve System. Mr. Cochennet graduated from the University of Nebraska with a B.A. in Finance and Economics.
Dierdre P. Jones – Director of Finance & Accounting
Dierdre P. Jones has been our Director of Finance and Accounting since August 2007. From May 2007 through August 2007, Ms. Jones provided independent consulting services for the company, primarily in the testing and implementation of financial accounting and reporting software. From May 2002 through May 2007, Ms. Jones was sole proprietor of These Faux Walls, a specialty design company. She holds the professional designations of Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor. Prior to joining EnerJex, Ms. Jones held management positions with UtiliCorp United Inc. (Aquila), and served three years in public accounting with Arthur Andersen & Co. Ms. Jones graduated with distinction from the University of Kansas with a B.S. in Accounting and Business Administration.
Mark Haas President- Haas Petroleum, LLC
Mr. Haas has been the President of Haas Petroleum, LLC, an oil and natural gas operator, since its inception in 1974. He has also been the President of Skyy Drilling, Co., a full service drilling company, since it was formed in 2002. From 1970 until 1974, Mr. Haas worked for his father at Haas Oil Company. During his tenure at Haas Oil Company, Mark learned the fundamentals of Kansas oil production and geology from his father, Mr. John Haas, who was inducted into the Kansas Oil Producers Hall of Fame for his vast contributions to the state’s oil industry. Haas Oil Company was founded in 1955 by Mark’s father, who continues to be active in the oil industry and consults with Mark on a regular basis. Since forming his own company in 1974, Mark has grown from being a small producer to becoming one of the top 60 (out of 1,746 total in 2006) oil producers in the state of Kansas and is licensed to operate in both Kansas and Oklahoma. He owns two full service drilling rigs and employs a total of 25 full-time employees among his service and producing operations. During 2005 and 2006, he drilled approximately 60 wells each year and is capable of drilling wells down to approximately 3500’. Mr. Haas serves as the operator of our Greenwood and Woodson counties Joint Development program as well as consults with EnerJex on our other operations.
Outside Board of Directors
Robert G. Wonish
Robert G. Wonish has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2007. Effective April 1, 2008, Mr. Wonish was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of Ecco Energy Corp. (OTC:BB ECCE). From December 2004 to June 30, 2007, Mr. Wonish was Vice President of Petroleum Engineers Inc., a subsidiary of The CYMRI Corporation, now CYMRI, L.L.C., which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stratum Holdings, Inc. On July 1, 2007, Mr. Wonish was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer of Petroleum Engineers Inc. Mr. Wonish was also President of CYMRI, L.L.C. after the sale of Petroleum Engineers Inc. in March of 2008, Mr. Wonish resigned all positions in Petroleum Engineers Inc. and CYMRI, L.L.C. as well as resigning as a member of the Stratum Holdings, Inc. board of directors. He previously achieved positions of increasing responsibility with PANACO, Inc., a public oil and natural gas company, ultimately serving as that company’s President and Chief Operating Officer. He began his engineering career at Amoco in 1975 and joined Panaco’s engineering staff in 1992. Mr. Wonish also serves on the board of directors of Striker Oil, Inc., (OTC:BB UCPI), which is an oil and natural gas exploration and production company.
Mr. Wonish serves as EnerJex’s chairman of the governance, compensation and nominating committee and is a member of the company’s audit committee.
Daran G. Dammeyer
Daran G. Dammeyer has served as a member of our board of directors since May 2007. Since July 1999, Mr. Dammeyer has served as President of D-Two Solutions through which he supports clients by primarily providing merger and acquisition support, strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting process development and implementation. From March 1999 through July 1999, Mr. Dammeyer was a Director of International Financial Management for UtiliCorp United Inc. (Aquila), a multinational energy solutions provider in Kansas City, Missouri. From November 1995 through March 1999, Mr. Dammeyer served as the Chief Financial Controller of United Energy Limited in Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Dammeyer also served in numerous management positions at Michigan Energy Resources Company, including Director of Internal Audit.
Mr. Dammeyer earned his Bachelor of Business Administration degree, with dual majors in Accounting and Corporate Financial Management from The University of Toledo, Ohio. Mr. Dammeyer also serves as chairman of EnerJex’s audit committee and is a member of the company’s governance, compensation and nominating committee.
Darrel G. Palmer
Darrel G. Palmer has served as a member of our board of directors since May of 2007. Since January 1997, Mr. Palmer has been President of Energy Management Resources, an energy process management firm serving industrial and large commercial companies throughout the U. S. and Canada. Mr. Palmer has 25 years of expertise in the natural gas arena. His experiences encompass a wide area of the natural gas industry and include working for natural gas marketing companies, local distribution companies, and FERC regulated pipelines. Prior to becoming an independent energy consultant in 1997, Mr. Palmer’s last position was Vice President/National Account Sales at UtiliCorp United Inc. (Aquila) of Kansas City, Missouri. Over the years Mr. Palmer has worked in many civic organizations including United Way and has been a President of the local Kiwanis Club. Junior Achievement of Minnesota awarded him the Bronze Leadership Award for his accomplishments which included being an advisor, program manager, holding various Board positions, and ultimately being Board President.
Mr. Palmer also serves as a member of the company’s governance, compensation and nominating committee.
Dr. James W. Rector
Dr. James W. Rector has served as a member of our board of directors since March 19, 2008. Dr. Rector is the author of numerous technical papers along with a number of patents on seismic technology. He was a co-founder of two seismic technology startups that were later sold to NYSE-listed companies, and he regularly consults for many of the major oil companies including Chevron and BP. In 1998, he founded Berkeley GeoImaging LLC, which has completed five equity private placements for oil and natural gas exploration and development projects. Dr. Rector is a tenured professor of Geophysics at the University of California at Berkeley and a faculty staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Applied Geophysics and has also served on the Society of Exploration Geophysicists Executive Committee. He received his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Geophysics from Stanford University.