Five Energy Industry Leaders Join UH Energy Advisory Board

Energy Professionals Provide Strategic Guidance to University’s Energy Initiative

The University of Houston (UH) has added five energy professionals to its UH Energy Advisory Board, which is now comprised of 18 global leaders in the energy industry. The new board members are Bernard J. Duroc-Danner, president and chief executive officer of Weatherford International Ltd.; Elizabeth Killinger, president of Reliant Energy; Derek Mathieson, president of Western Hemisphere Operations for Baker Hughes Inc.; Paul K. Siegele, president of Chevron Energy Technology Co.; and Jim Wise, managing member of Haddington Energy Partners III and Haddington Energy Partners IV.

The advisory board, which was established in 2010, is tasked with providing strategic guidance, planning and external coordination for the UH Energy initiative. UH Energy is a collection of the university’s preeminent energy research, education and training programs.

 “Our board is made up of acknowledged leaders in the fields of energy development, management and implementation,” said UH President Renu Khator. “I am delighted that they support UH’s efforts to address the diverse research and workforce needs of the energy industry.  UH is poised to become a premier energy university, and the guidance of our board members is invaluable in achieving that goal.”

Bernard J. Duroc-DannerBernard J. Duroc-Danner is chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Weatherford International Ltd., one of the largest global providers of innovative mechanical solutions, technology and services for the drilling and production sectors of the oil and gas industry. Weatherford operates in over 100 countries and employs more than 60,000 people worldwide. Duroc-Danner’s family has been in the oil business for two generations. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Wharton at the University of Pennsylvania.

Elizabeth KillingerElizabeth Killinger was named president of Reliant in October 2012 and is responsible for leading all aspects of Reliant’s retail business, which provides electricity, energy services and smart energy solutions to more than 1.5 million customers including homes, manufacturing facilities, government entities and institutions. She joined Reliant in May 2002 after two years in consulting roles across the company’s wholesale and retail businesses. Killinger holds a bachelor’s of business administration in management information systems from UH.

MathiesonDerek Mathieson joined Baker Hughes— a leading supplier of oilfield services, products, technology and systems to the worldwide oil and natural gas industry— in 2008.  Prior to becoming president of Western Hemisphere Operations, he was the president of products and technology.   Mathieson holds a doctorate in micro electro-mechanical systems and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and electronic engineering both from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

SiegelePaul K. Siegele is responsible for Chevron Energy Technology Company’s global upstream and downstream technology research and development and technical services to Chevron operating companies worldwide. Throughout his career, he has held numerous technical and managerial positions, and a variety of exploration assignments in North and South America, the Middle East and Asia. Siegele earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the California Lutheran University and a Master of Science degree in geology from the California State University at Northridge.

Jim WiseJim P. Wise is managing member of Haddington Energy Partners III and Haddington Energy Partners IV, both private equity funds that provide capital to midstream natural gas companies with a focus on natural gas storage, gathering and processing, and other midstream natural gas activities.  Wise has more than 45 years of operational and financial experience with several public companies, among them Integrated Electrical Systems, of which he was vice chairman of the board, CEO and co-founder. A native Houstonian and fourth generation Texan, Wise graduated from the University of Houston’s C.T. Bauer College of Business in 1966 with a bachelor’s of business administration degree in finance.  He was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to serve on the UH System Board of Regents from 2006-2011.

The overall vision for UH Energy and the University’s Energy Research Park is to build a premier research and education facility for students and faculty. Under the leadership of Khator, Ramanan Krishnamoorti, special assistant to the president/chancellor for UH Energy, as well as the newly expanded UH Energy Advisory Board, UH is working to forge new business approaches to the way energy is created, delivered and used.

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About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a Carnegie-designated Tier One public research university recognized by The Princeton Review as one of the nation’s best colleges for undergraduate education. UH serves the globally competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning and strategic industry partnerships. Located in the nation’s fourth-largest city, UH serves more than 40,700 students in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region in the country.