Akira Hayasaka
President & Chief Executive Officer
xAkira Hayasaka
President & Chief Executive Officer
Akira Hayasaka assumed the role of President & CEO of MEPUSA in July 2024. Prior to this position, he served as Senior Vice President and Divisional Operating Officer (Energy) at Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), focusing on advancing new business initiatives in energy transition and representing the company from its Houston office. His career with Mitsui & Co. began in Tokyo, Japan, where he oversaw diverse global businesses, including significant oil & gas upstream projects in Australia and the U.S. One of his notable achievements includes leading the acquisition of Marcellus shale assets in 2010, which remain a cornerstone of MEPUSA's portfolio. Akira also played a pivotal role in the Cameron LNG Project both before and after its final investment decision in 2014. Throughout his career, he has contributed extensively to corporate strategy and planning. Akira holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Tokyo and earned his MBA from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Guillermo “Bill” Martinez
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
xGuillermo “Bill” Martinez
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Bill has been involved in the oil and gas business since 1989. He started his Careers with Exxon and held various operational and technical roles, as well as asset development and leadership roles in increasing areas of responsibility. He left ExxonMobil in 2003 and has worked for Burlington Resources, Anadarko Petroleum, and Chesapeake Energy in various leadership roles responsible for asset management and business delivery for a variety of assets including West Texas, Deepwater GOM, and Eagle Ford. He joined MEPUSA in 2019 as Senior Vice President of Operations to help guide Mitsui’s efforts to expand our influence and become a US Onshore operator. In October 2020, Bill was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso and received his MBA from Rice University.
Hiroshi Toyoda
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary
xHiroshi Toyoda
Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary
Hiroshi joined MEPUSA in December 2024 as Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, and Company Secretary. He oversees corporate planning, human resources, information technology, legal, and compliance functions at MEPUSA. With nearly 30 years of experience at Mitsui & Co., Hiroshi has primarily focused on upstream natural resources, including oil and gas exploration and production, carbon capture and storage, coal and uranium mining, and LNG investments. He has also made significant contributions to strategy and planning, including a five-year tenure in corporate planning at Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.) in New York. Hiroshi holds a bachelor's degree in business and commerce from Keio University in Japan and completed the Program for Executive Development at IMD in Switzerland.
Motohiko “Moto” Aburaki
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
xMotohiko “Moto” Aburaki
Executive Vice President, Chief Strategy Officer
Moto has been engaged in the chemical, E&P, LNG business since he joined Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in 1998. He has held various positions in Mitsui & Co., Mitsui E&P UK and Mitsui E&P Italia before joining MEPUSA in 2023. Moto holds a bachelor's degree in international politics from Kyoto University in Japan.
Courtney Ranney
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
xCourtney Ranney
Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Courtney currently serves as Senior Vice President & CFO after his promotion from Controller in April 2023. He has close to twenty years of experience working in various finance, accounting and tax roles within public accounting and the oil & gas industry. Prior to joining MEPUSA in 2020, he was the Corporate Controller for Rosehill Resources, and has held various leadership positions at Southwestern Energy and Ernst & Young. Courtney holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Maryland and received his MBA in finance from Cal State East Bay. He is also a CPA, licensed in Texas.
Ryan Wilson
Vice President, Geoscience & Exploration
xRyan Wilson
Vice President, Geoscience & Exploration
Ryan is an energy entrepreneur specialized in creating real value through exploration and development of global energy resources working with highly effective, integrated, and diverse teams across the value chain since 1999. He currently serves as Vice President – Geoscience & Exploration after his recent promotion from General Manager, Marcellus and Exploration Manager in March 2023. He joined MEPUSA in 2020 after a 20-year career with Anadarko Petroleum Corporation where he obtained investment experience in conventional and unconventional, domestic and international, onshore and deep-water, and operated and non-operated projects working various positions within exploration and production across their global footprint.
Keith Nosich
Vice President, Engineering & Operations
xKeith Nosich
Vice President, Engineering & Operations
Keith currently serves as Vice President – Engineering & Operations after his recent promotion from General Manager of the Eagle Ford Asset and HSE Advisor in March 2023. He joined MEPUSA in 2020 to help expand our influence and become an Operator in the US Onshore. He spent his entire career, prior to MEPUSA, with Anadarko Petroleum and its predecessor companies and has held various operational and engineering technical roles, as well as asset development and leadership roles with increasing areas of responsibility. He has worked several domestic areas in both a Midstream and Upstream capacity including the Rockies, Mid-Continent, Gulf Coast, NE USA, California, Shelf and Deepwater GOM, and West Texas. Keith holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Wyoming and received his MBA from Texas Christian University.
David Bowden
Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions
xDavid Bowden
Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions
David joined MEPUSA as Vice President, Low Carbon Solutions in April 2023. He has close to thirty years of global energy and resources experience, specializing in business development, commercialization, and investment. Prior to MEPUSA, he held senior leadership roles in CarbonFree, Denbury and ConocoPhillips. David holds a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Curtin University in Western Australia and a Master of Applied Finance and Investment from FINSIA.
Jeff Fantuzzo
Vice President, Business Development
xJeff Fantuzzo
Vice President, Business Development
Jeff joined MEPUSA in 2023 and currently serves as Vice President of Business Development. In this role, he oversees all aspects of business development and strategy throughout the Americas. He started his career in the oil and gas industry in 2000 serving in various leadership and individual contributor roles while working at BP, Hess, Marathon Oil and MEPUSA over the past 26 years. His experience spans the E&P value chain in Business Development, Commercial and Midstream for both domestic and international upstream activities. Jeff graduated from Texas A&M University with a bachelor’s degree in economics.
Kendra Saldivar
Vice President, Human Resources and General Affairs
xKendra Saldivar
Vice President, Human Resources and General Affairs
Kendra joined MEPUSA in 2023 and currently serves as the Vice President of Human Resources and General Affairs. Kendra oversees all aspects of human resources and office administration for MEPUSA and our sister company, Mitsui & Co. Energy Marketing & Services (USA), Inc. (MEMS). Prior to joining Mitsui, Kendra worked across multiple energy related industries including oil and gas, LNG, petrochemicals and midstream. She most recently worked for NextDecade LNG LLC as the Sr Director, Resourcing. Kendra received her BBA in Management with a concentration in Human Resources from Texas A&M University.
John Pellegrin
Director, Midstream Technical and Commercial
xJohn Pellegrin
Director, Midstream Technical and Commercial
Prior to joining MEPUSA, John spent most of his 30+ year career in the midstream operations of the energy industry. He began his career with Chevron and then held roles of increasing midstream commercial responsibilities with EQT, American Electric Power, and EnLink Midstream. John’s experience includes commercial management for an integrated natural gas pipeline system (of over 3000 miles) where services provided included wellhead gathering, treating, processing, storage, and transmission services. John received his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering and his MBA from Louisiana State University.
Jud Simon
Director, HSE & Regulatory
xJud Simon
Director, HSE & Regulatory
Jud serves as Director of Health, Safety, Environment, and Regulatory at MEPUSA, bringing more than 25 years of experience leading HSE and regulatory functions across major domestic unconventional shale plays and international conventional operations in Canada and Norway. Prior to joining MEPUSA, he was Vice President of HSSE at Tellurian, Inc., and previously held senior health, safety, and environmental leadership roles at Parsley Energy, Marathon Oil, EP Energy, and Yellowjacket Oilfield Services. Jud holds a Bachelor of Science in Bioenvironmental Science from Texas A&M University in College Station.
Nicole Loupe
Corporate Controller
xNicole Loupe
Corporate Controller
Nicole joined MEPUSA as Corporate Controller in May 2023. She oversees the monthly, quarterly, and annual close processes, financial and management reporting, income taxes, SOX internal controls, internal and external stakeholder communications, oil and gas revenue and expenditures accounting, including joint interest billing and accounts payable. Nicole has over 20 years of experience in accounting and finance working for companies such as Marathon Petroleum, Marathon Oil and NuVasive. She received her bachelor’s degree in accounting and MBA from Louisiana State University, and she is also a CPA.
Sean Cooper
Director, Information Technology
xSean Cooper
Director, Information Technology
Sean Cooper joined MEPUSA in 2023 and currently serves as the Director of Information Technology. He oversees all aspects of IT for MEPUSA and our sister company, MEMS. Prior to joining Mitsui, he held a variety of managerial and technical roles and provided tenured leadership and technical acumen for organizations such as EnerVest, Sequent Energy Management, and Schlumberger over the past 25 years. Sean’s focus is promoting strategic and secure innovations that drive business solutions for the ever-evolving energy industry.
Katie LaRue
Director, Land
xKatie LaRue
Director, Land
Katie currently serves as the Director of Land after her promotion from Land Manager in 2024. Prior to joining Mitsui, she was the Land Manager for Rosehill Resources, and contributed as a landman and ROW agent at companies including Lime Rock Resources, Central Montana Resources, Roger A. Soape, Inc. and US ROW, Inc. Her sixteen-year land career includes surface project oversight and management, mineral/subsurface land work, and land administration. Katie received a master's degree from Baylor University and holds BS and BA undergraduate degrees from Converse University in South Carolina.
Jeff Jones
Sr. Field Operations Superintendent
xJeff Jones
Sr. Field Operations Superintendent
Jeff Jones joined MEPUSA in 2023 and currently serves as the Sr. Field Operations Superintendent, ensuring the safe and efficient extraction of oil and gas resources, production optimization, overseeing the daily operations, as well as training and mentoring the field staff for the Eagle Ford and Western Haynesville assets. Prior to MEPUSA, Jeff held various supervisory roles in the Marcellus, Utica, and Powder River Basin with companies including Chesapeake Energy, Ascent Resources, and Inflection Energy. He enjoys training and developing staff so that they, and the Company, reach their fullest potential.
Ryan Recio
Director, Legal
xRyan Recio
Director, Legal
Ryan joined MEPUSA in 2010 and currently serves as Director of the company’s Legal Department. As a licensed Texas attorney, Ryan leads the in-house legal function, providing strategic counsel across MEPUSA’s upstream and midstream operations. He oversees contract negotiation and management, directs dispute resolution and litigation matters, and ensures compliance with Mitsui group standards and applicable U.S. laws. In addition to his legal advisory role, Ryan manages a team of in-house attorneys and plays a key role in mentoring department staff and aligning legal strategies with broader commercial objectives.