Executive Officers

Preston Powell, 34
Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Powell is a Managing Director of Carnelian, where he is responsible for leading investment sourcing, transaction due diligence and execution and monitoring portfolio companies. Prior to joining Carnelian in November 2015, Mr. Powell was an energy investor at Denham Capital Management and KKR & Co. from 2011 to 2015. He began his career in investment banking at Greenhill & Co. and received a B.B.A. from the Business Honors Program from The University of Texas at Austin.

Stephen Wedemeyer, 41
Chief Financial Officer

Mr. Wedemeyer is the Chief Financial Officer of Carnelian, where he oversees Carnelian’s accounting, finance and reporting functions. Prior to joining Carnelian, from December 2013 to November 2016, Mr. Wedemeyer was the Manager of Finance and Operations of Stellus Capital Management, LLC, an investment firm with platforms focused on direct lending to middle market companies and energy private equity. Mr. Wedemeyer began his career in the Assurance Services practice of Ernst & Young, LLP. Mr. Wedemeyer received a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with honors from The University of St. Thomas and a Master of Science in Accountancy from The University of Houston.

Board of Directors

Tomas Ackerman, 41
Chairman of the Board

Mr. Ackerman is a Co-Founder and a Partner of Carnelian, where he oversees Carnelian’s efforts in sourcing investments, transaction negotiation and execution, monitoring of portfolio companies and firm management and strategy. Prior to co-founding Carnelian, Mr. Ackerman was an energy investor at Natural Gas Partners from 2002 to 2015, most recently serving as a Managing Director and the head of the Houston office. Mr. Ackerman received a B.B.A. from the Business Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Alan Levande, 64
Vice Chairman

Mr. Levande is a career energy executive with broad experience across the power, utilities, renewables, midstream and upstream value chains. Mr. Levande is currently the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors of PDAC. Prior to joining PDAC, Mr. Levande was Co-Chief Executive Officer of Covey Park Energy LLC, a natural gas company that was acquired for $2.2 billion in 2019 by a public company. Previously, Mr. Levande was a Co-Founder and Senior Managing Director at Tenaska Capital Management LLC, a $4 billion private equity manager focused on investments in the power and energy sectors. Mr. Levande began his career in energy investment banking, where he spent 20 years with Goldman Sachs and Salomon Brothers covering power, utilities, renewables and natural resources. In all of Mr. Levande’s prior roles, Mr. Levande was actively involved in sourcing and executing large-scale, complex mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Levande received his B.S. and M.B.A. from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania.

June Yearwood, 55
Director

Ms. Yearwood is a Managing Director and the Head of Private Specialty Strategies for The Church Pension Fund (“CPF”), a multi-billion dollar private pension fund. In her role at CPF, Ms. Yearwood focuses on private equity, real estate and real assets, including natural resources and infrastructure. Ms. Yearwood is also a director of PDAC. Previously, Ms. Yearwood served as Vice President, Secretary and Investment Director at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a non-profit foundation, and spent over a decade with J.P. Morgan, where she served in debt capital markets, public finance and community development roles of increasing seniority. Ms. Yearwood received a B.A. from Yale University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and currently serves as Board Chairperson for Brooklyn Workforce Innovations, a New York City-based non-profit focused on creating living-wage employment opportunities.

Scott Prochazka, 54
Director

Mr. Prochazka is a director of PDAC. Prior to joining PDAC, Mr. Prochazka served as CEO of CenterPoint Energy (“CenterPoint”), an NYSE-listed, Fortune 500 energy delivery company with electric transmission and distribution, power generation and natural gas distribution operations that serve more than 7 million metered customers in Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas. During his tenure, CenterPoint expanded its energy efficiency programs, established its first Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) strategy and began construction on a large solar array in southern Indiana to serve customers in the area. As of September 30, 2020, CenterPoint had approximately 9,600 employees, owned approximately $33 billion in assets, and held a controlling interest in Enable Midstream Partners, LP, a NYSE-listed master limited partnership that owns, operates and develops strategically located natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. Prior to his 18 years at CenterPoint Energy, Mr. Prochazka spent 13 years working in various roles at Dow Chemical. Mr. Prochazka received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin.