IECA EXECUTIVES

Officers

John Evenstad, President
Concord Energy LLC.

John most recently has been the Director of Credit and Contracts for Concord Energy LLC. After receiving a BS (1980) and an MBA (1985) he embarked on a 22 plus year career of diversified credit experience. He worked at Dun & Bradstreet for 14 years in senior analyst, system development, and various other management positions before moving on to the energy industry joining Xcel Energy. Since, he has 8 years of energy credit management, system development, and contract negotiation covering physical and financial gas and power contracts. He joined Concord as a startup and enjoyed all the necessary legwork and time management skills typical of a startup with a one-person mid-office. John has been a member of the IECA since 2002 and served on various committees including chairperson of the Commercial Credit Group, a Director since 2006, and regularly helps deliver the IECA Best Credit Practices Survey.

Greg Cortez, First Vice President
Hess Corporation

Greg is the Director of Credit in the Corporate Risk Controls department of Hess Corporation. He is responsible for the counterparty credit risk management of Hess Corp’s worldwide wholesale and domestic retail trading and marketing activities. Greg manages a global team of experienced credit managers based in New York, New Jersey, London, Singapore and Bangalore. This team is responsible for all aspects of the credit lifecycle including credit analysis, credit exposure monitoring and credit mitigation.  Prior to joining Hess, Greg worked for Bankers Trust Co. in the Energy Portfolio Management group. In this role, Greg was responsible for managing a portfolio of E&P counterparties across the entire credit process for existing transactions including exposure monitoring, collateral structuring and ongoing credit quality reviews. He also worked as part of the Risk Management department, forecasting regulatory risk-based capital and ensuring compliance with capital adequacy regulations. Greg completed Banker Trusts’ credit training program. Greg is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the International Energy Credit Association (IECA), where he also serves on the Strategic Planning Committee. He is also a past Chairperson of the IECA’s Crude Oil and Refined Products Corp Committee. He has presented on credit topics to various industry groups, including the Risk Control committee of the American Petroleum Institute. He holds a BA in History from the State University of Albany (1993).

Denis Vermette, Past President
Spark Energy Gas, LP

Denis is a Director for Spark Energy Gas, LP. After receiving his BA in Economics in 1991, he began his career at the TD Bank in various capacities and locations. Started in energy credit in 1997 working for Koch Oil Co. Ltd. in Calgary, left Koch in the later part of 1999 and moved to the United States working in different locations throughout the US in the Energy Credit capacity and finally ended up in Houston, Texas. Denis joined the association in 1997 and has chaired several committees as well as participated on the board over the past six years.

Alyson Beicker (Mohn), Treasurer
Spark Energy Gas and Electricity

Bio

Ian Plester, Communications
BMO Capital Markets

Ian is a Director, Loan Portfolio Group at BMO Capital Markets where he is responsible for counterparty credit risk management for BMO's Commodity Products Group. Ian began his career in banking in 1976 with National Westminster Bank in the UK. He fulfilled a number of branch positions before joining NatWest's International Banking Division in 1982 and moving to the USA as an expatriate in 1985. From 1985 to 2002 Ian focused on corporate lending transactions primarily to global mining companies and then in the late nineties to utilities and power generation companies. In 1997 Ian joined the Bank of Montreal and from 2002 his focus has been counterparty credit risk. Located in New York, he manages a small team that is responsible for delivering credit approvals for trading counterparties, negotiating ISDA contracts and a range of associated tasks. Ian has been a member of the IECA since 2002 and serves on a number of Committees. He was elected to the Board in 2008. Married to Diane since 1988, Ian has two teenage boys, Julian and Jonathan.

Ruth Hudson, Education
Direct Energy

Ruth is a Credit Risk Manager for Direct Energy in Houston, Texas where she is responsible for managing a portfolio of counterparties in the credit risk management group for the company’s North American wholesale energy group.  After receiving her BA in Accounting in 1990 from the University of Houston, she began her career at Texaco in the revenue accounting group.  She moved to the energy credit group in 1996.  In 1998 she began working at Coral Energy (now known as Shell Energy North America (US)) managing a portfolio of credit counterparties.  In mid 2001, Ruth began working for Duke Energy where she managed a portfolio of counterparties, negotiated physical and financial gas and power contracts and also managed a small group of credit personnel.  She began working at Direct Energy in 2007.  Ruth joined IECA in 1996, has served on various committees including Chairperson of the Gas, Liquids and Electricity Group and has been a Director since 2004.  Ruth has been married to David for 13 years and has two children, Joseph and Elena.

Mark Soulliere, Membership
Tenaska Marketing Ventures

Mark is the Director of Credit Risk at Tenaska.  He is responsible for counterparty credit risk management for Tenaska's three trading operations, Tenaska BioFuels, Tenaska Marketing Ventures and Tenaska power services.  Mark graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Accounting.  He worked for Kiewit Construction and DMSI in Omaha prior to joining Tenaska in 1997.  He has been a memeber of the IECA since 1997 and has served on various committees and most recently chaired the GLE and By-Laws Committee and served on the Board for the past 3 years.