11:30 AM
Keynote Luncheon + HOF Awards
Speakers
Keith Behrens
Nicole Chambers
Bryan Daniel
Nick Fersen
Kyle Kafka
Bryan Loocke
Energy Business Conference
The NAPE Energy Business Conference features presentations from senior-level executives and industry leaders brought on stage to discuss some of the industry's most pressing topics. Attendees also enjoy extra networking time along with exclusive insights from the experts the day before the expo floor opens. NAPE Experience Plus Pass required.
The Capital Track has been approved for 2 AAPL CEUs and the Luncheon Keynote has been approved for 1 AAPL CEU.
11:30 AM
12:55 PM
01:05 PM
02:00 PM
02:20 PM
03:15 PM
Keith Behrens joined Stephens in May 2009 as a managing director. Prior to joining Stephens, Behrens was a co-founder and managing partner of Energy Capital Solutions. Behrens has approximately 30 years of investment banking experience, including with major firms such as Bear Stearns and Wasserstein Perella. He has focused most of his career on covering primarily exploration and production companies as well as other energy-related companies. Behrens has generated and led the execution of various M&A, public & private equity and senior & mezzanine debt transactions, representing more than 240 transactions and $56 billion in transaction volume.
In addition to his extensive transaction experience, Behrens served on the board of directors of Enservco Corp. (NYSE MKT: ENSV) for more than six years, served on the board of directors of the Dallas Petroleum Club, previously served as chairman of the IPAA's Private Capital Conference and is active in several energy industry organizations. He continues to support the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business, having served on the Advisory Council for the Master of Finance Program and previously on the Advisory Council for the Energy Management and Innovation Center.
Behrens received his B.B.A. and M.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.
Nicole Chambers brings nearly two decades of experience collaborating with public and private companies across the United States. Previously, she served as senior managing director, listings at Nasdaq. In that capacity, Chambers played a pivotal role in driving the growth and development of Nasdaq's listings and services, forging strategic partnerships throughout every stage of the capital markets lifecycle. Now, at the Texas Stock Exchange, she leads the global listing strategy, engaging with corporates for transfers and IPOs. Chambers is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and serves on the Cox School of Business Executive Board.
Bryan Daniel is the president of NYSE Texas, part of NYSE Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE: ICE). NYSE Texas is a fully electronic equities exchange, headquartered in Dallas, Texas.
Prior to joining NYSE Texas, Daniel served as chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission and as executive director for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's Office of Economic Development and Tourism. He previously served as the Texas state director for rural development and chief administrator for trade and business development at the Texas Department of Agriculture.
Daniel holds a Bachelor of Science in agricultural communications and a Master of Science in agricultural education, both from Texas Tech University.
Nick Fersen is a co-founder of EOC Partners, where he oversees the firm's efforts in sourcing investments, transaction negotiation and execution, monitoring of portfolio companies and firm management and strategy.
Prior to founding EOC Partners, Fersen was a managing director at EIG in Houston. During his seven years at EIG, he was responsible for sourcing, structuring and monitoring portfolio investments with a particular focus on the upstream and midstream sectors.
Prior to EIG, Fersen worked at J.P. Morgan in the Leveraged Finance Group for eight years, focused on the broader energy sector. In this capacity, he was responsible for originating, structuring and executing bank and institutional loans, second-lien loans, bridge financing, high-yield bonds, private debt and mezzanine debt. Fersen holds a B.A. in economics and art history from Williams College.
Kyle Kafka is a partner at EnCap Investments. Prior to joining EnCap in July 2006, Kafka spent two years at First Albany Capital, where he worked in the Energy Investment Banking Group. Previously, Kafka began his career at Amegy Bank of Texas, where he worked in the commercial banking department.
Kafka received a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin.
Kafka serves on the board of directors of several EnCap portfolio companies and is a member of the American Petroleum Institute, the Houston Producers' Forum and the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
Bryan Loocke is an accomplished transactional lawyer at Vinson & Elkins who represents public and private clients in a variety of domestic upstream and midstream oil and gas transactions. Loocke is highly experienced in leading complex deals that require multidisciplinary teams. Over the course of nearly two decades, he has been involved in a wide range of transactions, including drilling participation agreements, farmouts, operating agreements, gathering and transportation agreements, rig agreements, production payments, preferred equity investments and traditional and mezzanine financings.
Loocke is the managing partner of Vinson & Elkins' Houston office. He received a J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2002 and a B.A., summa cum laude, from St. Edward's University in 1999.
Rachel Racz serves as senior vice president of listings for the Southern and Central U.S. and Latin America at Nasdaq and as president of Nasdaq Texas. In this role, Racz oversees new listings, as well as the retention of listings and U.S. investor relations services across Texas, the Southern and Central U.S. and Latin America.
Racz brings more than 15 years' experience across every aspect of the capital markets environment, with deep expertise in the oil and gas industry. She is a Nasdaq alumna who previously oversaw Nasdaq's listings franchise in Texas, responsible for client relationships and driving new listings growth. Racz left Nasdaq in 2019 and has subsequently held senior leadership positions across corporates, investment firms and industry bodies focused on business development, client engagement and strategic investor relations.
A Texas native, Racz brings a strong understanding of Nasdaq's clients and the region's local business dynamics, and she serves as an advocate for their interests and needs across the region.
Racz is a graduate of the University of Houston with a degree in global business and political science.
She resides in Texas with her husband and three children.