Oberon Fuels appoints first CFO, new COO

Clockwise from top left: Anthony, Winkel, Sweeney and Dawra

Oberon Fuels, a renewable fuels producer, welcomed four new executives, including its first CFO, Ann Anthony, and new COO, Derek Winkel.

Both Anthony and Winkel will play critical roles in growing the business as it scales up the commercialization of its renewable DME and methanol, according to the company.

Anthony and Winkel will work with other senior leaders to scale Oberon as it aims to decarbonize the propane industry and accelerate hydrogen infrastructure.

“Ann and Derek each bring invaluable experience to support Oberon Fuels on its journey to commercialization and deliver the full impact that renewable fuels can have on reducing carbon emissions,” says Oberon Fuels President and CEO Rebecca Boudreaux. “They’re the ideal partners to build new markets, scale our solutions and open up a critical new front against climate change. I’m already seeing their names open doors.”

“Ann and Derek have played pivotal roles building clean energy leaders while engineering successful returns for investors,” adds Elliot Anise-Hicks, Oberon Fuels co-founder and chief technology officer. “Their decision to join Oberon represents an important milestone as we amass a top leadership team to usher in many projects to come.”

Anthony brings nearly 30 years of experience helping innovative energy companies scale and successfully introduced OPAL Fuels, a renewable natural gas company, to the public markets. Before OPAL Fuels, Anthony served as CFO and secretary for Key Capture Energy, a startup focused on stand-alone battery storage, where she contributed to the company’s acquisition by SK E&S Co. She was also responsible for leading the company’s finance and human resources function, including financial planning and analysis, corporate procurement and capitalization efforts.

“I’ve been thoroughly impressed by how Oberon has created several new markets for clean energy solutions while attracting some of the largest players in the industry,” says Anthony. “The company has a proven track record of uniting complex technology, environmental policies and existing infrastructure into a powerful solution for reducing emissions for more than 450 industrial companies. Together, we are well positioned to take the company to new heights.”

Winkel has nearly two decades of experience leading and scaling operations for renewable energy companies. He most recently served as vice president of manufacturing development, commercial performance and services for Chevron following the company’s acquisition of Renewable Energy Group (REG) at a $3.15 billion valuation. Following the acquisition, Winkel played a pivotal role in the improvement and expansion of its renewable diesel production facility, which took total site production capacity from 90 million gallons per year to 340 million gallons per year.

“Oberon has successfully commercialized renewable DME to reduce the carbon emissions associated with propane, which is used in 50 million American homes as well as a range of industrial applications,” says Winkel. “With decarbonization only growing as a top priority, now is the right time to scale Oberon’s solutions globally across a range of industries.”

Anthony and Winkel’s appointments come at a time of momentum for Oberon Fuels, with highlights including other new appointments and award recognitions:

• Jason Sweeney, vice president of sales: Sweeney brings more than two decades of experience driving business development for gas producers and pipelines, as well as for power producers. He most recently served as vice president of business development for Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline and before that was a director of business development at Kinder Morgan, an energy infrastructure company in North America.
• Karan Dawra, vice president of project engineering: Dawra has steered engineering teams and capital projects with more than 17 years of experience on a global scale predominantly with ExxonMobil. Most recently, Dawra served as the vice president of engineering for Ambercycle and commissioning manager for an $8 billion Exxon-SABIC polyethylene and monoethylene glycol joint venture, where he managed a team of more than 150 people.
• Oberon was recognized by Time’s Best Innovations of 2023 for its renewable DME, which lowers propane’s carbon footprint by up to 60 percent.
• The company was a finalist for best sustainable chemicals product in S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Platts Global Energy Awards.