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LEADERSHIP TEAM


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Steve Wilhite • President / CEO

Mr. Wilhite was named President in 2002, and President and CEO in 2007. He has been an integral part of the Summit leadership team since 2001, when he joined the staff to oversee marketing and strategic planning. Before joining Summit, Mr. Wilhite provided energy consulting services to several Fortune 500 companies that compete in the deregulated retail energy industry. Mr. Wilhite has held the following positions: Vice President of Marketing and Operations for FPL Energy Services; Vice President of Marketing for Duke-Louis Dreyfus; Manager of Energy Supply for International Paper; and several positions in Marketing and Rates for Florida Power & Light Co.

Education: M.B.A., Duke University (Fuqua), Durham, NC; B.S., Mathematics, Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL



Mark Boyer • Executive Vice President / Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Boyer joined Summit Energy in 1995 and today serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Boyer started his energy career at EnTrade Corporation, first selling natural gas to industrial end-users and ultimately leading EnTrade's wholesale gas marketing effort until that company's sale to Tenneco (El Paso) in 1993. Mr. Boyer then co-founded APB Energy, focusing on the brokerage of energy risk management products. Upon joining Summit Energy, Mr. Boyer first led the risk management group and managed client accounts. He was appointed COO in 2000.

Education: B.A., English, Haverford College, Haverford, PA



George Willett • Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Willett joined Summit in 2008 and serves as the Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Summit, Mr. Willett spent over 15 years in a CFO capacity with both private and public companies. In addition, Mr. Willett served as an auditor with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Education: B.S., Business Administration, Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH



Carlos Ruffino • President – Texas Region

Mr. Ruffino launched PoCo Energy Group in December 2000, after an 18-year tenure with TXU Corp. Mr. Ruffino held a variety of senior-level positions during his career at TXU. As director of technology solutions, he was responsible for implementing value-added services such as delivering metered data over the Internet, billing analysis and energy analysis software, sub-metering service, e-notification services and customized energy analysis reports. He also directed a unique Internet-based program called Konnections, which allows commercial and industrial customers to perform statistical and graphical analysis of their electric and gas use.

Education: B.S., University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK



Jim Vonderhaar • Vice President & General Manager – Regional Operations

Mr. Vonderhaar is responsible for managing Summit Energy’s North American regional operations. As part of the executive team, Mr. Vonderhaar is involved in all aspects of the energy management business, including industrial, commercial, and institutional sectors. Prior to joining Summit, he served as President and CEO of Kimball Resources, which was acquired by Summit in 2008. Before Kimball, Mr. Vonderhaar worked for fifteen years in various management positions at The Southern Company. During that time, he directed Southern’s involvement in the potential privatization and deregulation of Ontario Hydro, the provincial electric utility in Ontario, Canada. He also managed Southern’s marketing efforts with U.S. industrial customers.

Education: B.S., Business Administration, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS



David Bonn • Vice President

Mr. Bonn directs a team of Client Energy Managers, who serve as direct liaisons to Summit's clients. He joined Summit's staff in 1995 and served as Vice President, Electric Power Services, when electric deregulation was in its infancy. As the nation progressed toward deregulation, his group negotiated many of the inaugural third-party electric power sales agreements for Summit clients. Mr. Bonn was a contributor to the Electrical Contracting Foundation research project titled "Surviving Utility Deregulation".

Education: B.A., English & Political Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY



Bill Brewer • Vice President

Mr. Brewer is Summit’s Vice President of Sourcing & Sustainability. He is responsible for the oversight of Summit Energy's client energy portfolio for natural gas, electric power, alternate fuels, carbon and renewables. Mr. Brewer has extensive experience helping clients develop risk profiles for energy procurement and environmental sustainability strategies. Over the past few years, Mr. Brewer has helped centralize Summit’s global Sustainability services for customers. Mr. Brewer formerly served as a wholesale trader for natural gas and electricity in the western United States for Merrill Lynch and Allegheny Energy. He also served as a portfolio manager, managing a 1,250 MW portfolio of financial and physical generation assets in California and Nevada. He has extensive background in electricity risk management, wholesale energy trading and the underlying fundamental influences shaping the energy markets. Mr. Brewer has served as an expert witness at Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceedings.

Education: M.A., International Business, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; B.A., Business Administration, Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY



Wade Harlan • Vice President

Mr. Harlan directs a team of Client Energy Managers, who serve as direct liasons to Summit's clients. Client management includes strategic planning, securing detailed analysis, and coordinating, managing and implementing energy procurement for the client. Mr. Harlan was the Executive Vice President of Kimball Resources for 22 years where he was responsible for developing and implementing energy management services for large industrial national accounts. Mr. Harlan joined Summit as part of the Kimball Resources acquisition in 2008.

Education: M.B.A., Houston Baptist University, Houston Texas, B.B.A., Texas A&M University, College Station, TX



Robert "Bob" Hayes • Vice President

Mr. Hayes is responsible for regional industrial sales across Texas and leads the development of Summit’s producer marketing services business.  Mr. Hayes started in the energy industry with Mobil Oil Corp, spending 6 years in gas operations and accounting.  He was Director of Transportation and Gas Control at TPC Corporation for three years before moving over to TXU Corporation to serve as their Director of Wholesale Marketing for two years.  For three years Mr. Hayes served as Vice President of Gas Origination for El Paso Merchant Energy.  He has been an active faculty member of the Northeast Gas Association's Gas Operations School since 1997.  Over the past 18 years Bob has gained extensive knowledge of energy markets both from a fundamental and financial perspective.  Mr. Hayes has been with Summit Energy Services since 2002.

Education: B.B.A., Accounting & Finance, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX



Rick McKay • Vice President

Mr. McKay joined Summit in early 2006 as its initial Vice President - Client Development. In this role, Mr. McKay leads and is responsible for the company's sales and marketing efforts throughout North America. Mr. McKay's previous experience includes 20 years of sales, marketing and senior management priorities with both privately and publicly held telecommunications equipment companies. He also served in senior management sales and marketing positions with a financial consulting firm where he also moved into the COO position. He has experience in the print advertising field as well.

Education: B.S., Government, Centre College, Danville, KY



Jason Miller • Vice President

Mr. Miller leads the development of Summit's energy efficiency service offerings. He also oversees development and management of energy efficiency projects. Since joining Summit in 1997, Mr. Miller has served in various roles, including electric power services, information technology, client utilities management and business development. Prior to Summit, Mr. Miller was senior project manager for an international environmental engineering firm.

Education: M.B.A., University of Louisville, Louisville, KY; B.A., Chemistry, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC



Tim Statts • Vice President

Mr. Statts has pioneered Summit's risk management services, combining shrewd analysis with a keen knowledge of market dynamics. In previous positions with Summit, Mr. Statts was responsible for analyzing natural gas commodity markets; identifying buying opportunities; developing natural gas hedging strategies on the natural gas commodity market for industrial clients; and managing the natural gas market analysis department. Prior to Summit, Mr. Statts was with Sempra Energy, where he was responsible for managing the financial hedging book; performing all market transactions; identifying acceptable risks; and performing market analyses for internal and external use.

Education: M.B.A., Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana; B.A., Mathematics, Bellarmine College, Louisville, KY



Ron Taglieri • Vice President

An attorney and financial analyst, Mr. Taglieri holds the position Vice President, Rates. He and his staff are responsible for opportunity analysis, rate process and development, and invoice reconciliation for all clients. Ron began his career in the energy industry in 1991 as a regulatory attorney with EnTrade Corporation, where he was a Capacity Management Specialist. At Wickford Energy/Black Hills Energy Resources, he was responsible for large utility sales and later worked as a marketer responsible for large utility accounts for Texex Energy Partners.

Education: JD/MBA, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL; B.S., Economics and Finance, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI



Garrett Taylor • Vice President

Mr. Taylor directs a team of Client Energy Managers, who serve as direct liaisons to Summit's clients. Prior to joining Summit in 2001, Mr. Taylor worked for almost 10 years at various companies within Sempra Energy Solutions. For five years, he worked for the regulated utility San Diego Gas & Electric before transitioning to the unregulated side of the business at Sempra.

Education: B.B.A., Baylor University, Waco, TX



Philip Wafford • Vice President

Mr. Wafford directs a team of Client Energy Managers, who serve as direct liaisons to Summit's clients. Client management includes strategic planning, securing detailed analysis, and coordinating, managing and implementing energy procurement for the client. Prior to joining Summit in 1993, Mr. Wafford worked for more than five years at Comair, Inc., as Manager of Fuel Administration, where he negotiated fuel services agreements and managed multi-million-dollar fuel budgets.

Education: B.A., Marketing, Northern Kentucky University, Cold Springs, KY



Vance Waller • Vice President

Mr. Waller is the Vice President of Client Development for Summit's national accounts. His responsibilities include marketing to large industrial prospects as well as independent energy producers. Mr. Waller has held numerous operational, management and executive positions with Kimball Resources since 1987. His responsibilities included directing a team of energy managers and spearheading numerous energy-related projects for key industrial clients. Prior to Kimball, Mr. Waller was a Regional Sales Representative with Weatherford International and a Drilling and Production Equipment Specialist with Cameron Iron Works. Mr. Waller joined Summit as part of the Kimball Resources acquisition in 2008.

Education: BBA, Marketing and Organizational Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX



Dan Whitsell • Vice President

Mr. Whitsell joined Summit in 2008 as its initial Vice President - Technology. In this role, Mr. Whitsell is responsible for Summit’s technology strategy, product development, and information technology services. His previous experience includes software development, consulting, multiple startup businesses and over 13 years in various roles in Information Technology at GE Consumer & Industrial.

Education: B.E., Engineering Math & Computer Science, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY



Find out more about energy management career opportunities.


 

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