About Us

About Energy & Minerals Group

The Energy & Minerals Group (EMG) is a specialized natural resource focused private equity firm founded in 2006 with current assets under management (“AUM”) of approximately $14 billion as of September 30, 2023. In addition, EMG’s funds and co-investments have returned approximately $11 billion to Limited Partners to date. EMG targets equity investments of $150 million to $1,000 million across the natural resource industry, which includes the extraction and processing of the critical metals and minerals to facilitate decarbonization as well as upstream and midstream energy.

Team

John T. Raymond, Co-Founder, Majority Owner, Chairman of the Investment Committee, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Raymond is Co-Founder and Majority Owner of The Energy & Minerals Group, and serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer. Prior to founding EMG, Mr. Raymond served in various executive roles at Plains Resources between November 2001 and April 2005 including President and CEO from December 2002 until the July 2004 take private/management led buyout of Plains Resources at which time Mr. Raymond subsequently became President and CEO of Vulcan Energy Corporation, the privately held successor to Plains Resources. Mr. Raymond also served as a director of Vulcan Energy Corporation from July 2004 until December 31, 2015. From December 2002 to March 2004, Mr. Raymond was contemporaneously President and Chief Operating Officer of the upstream affiliate, Plains Exploration and Production Company. From June 2001 to April 2005, Mr. Raymond was also a director of Plains All American Pipeline, LP and again joined the Board in 2010 where he continues to serve as a director of Plains All American Pipelines, LP and Plains Holdings, GP. From January 2000 to May 2001, he was Director of Corporate Development for Kinder Morgan, Inc. He was Vice President of Corporate Development for Ocean Energy, Inc. from April 1998 to January 2000 and was a Vice President with Howard Weil Labouisse Friedrichs, Inc. from 1992 to April 1998.

Mr. Raymond currently serves as a director of Ascent Resources LLC, Catahoula Resources, LLC, Ferus Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels GP, LLC, Flat River Minerals, LLC, Heritage NonOp Holdings, LLC, Heritage Minerals Holdings, LLC, Lodestar Energy Group, LLC, MarkWest Utica EMG, LLC, MarkWest EMG Jefferson Dry Gas Gathering, LLC, Medallion Midstream 2, LLC, Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc. the general partner of NGL Energy Partners LP, Oxbow Crush, LLC, the general partner of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. and Plains GP Holdings, L.P., SCM PR Parent Holdings, LLC, Spur Energy Partners Holdings, LLC, TerraVolta Resources LLC, Traverse Midstream Holdings LLC, Umbel Corp, V Eye P Holdings, LLC and W.D. Von Gonten Laboratories, LLC. Mr. Raymond is also Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of EMG Advisors.

Mr. Raymond received a B.S.M. from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University with dual concentrations in finance and accounting and currently sits on the Board of the Business School Council. He also serves on the Board of the American Heart Association, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors and is a member of YPO. He and his wife serve as annual co-Chairs of the Navy SEAL Legacy Foundation dedicated to raising funds for fallen SEALS and their families. He and his wife are also avid supporters of the Turn It Gold Foundation focused on critical funding and advancement for research of pediatric cancer. Mr. Raymond is a minority owner of the Houston Astros MLB team.

John G. Calvert, Co-Founder, Member of the Investment Committee, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer

Mr. Calvert is Co-Founder of The Energy & Minerals Group and serves as a Member of the Investment Committee, Managing Partner and Co-Chief Executive Officer. Prior to founding EMG, Mr. Calvert was a successful senior investment banker responsible for initiating, structuring, and executing over $40 billion of transactions in the natural resources industry. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Calvert served as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank Securities in the Large-Cap investment banking coverage group based in New York, where he provided strategic counsel and transaction execution advice to Deutsche Bank’s global mining and metals clients. Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2005, Mr. Calvert was a Managing Director and Global Head of Mining Investment Banking at Credit Suisse First Boston, where he had global coverage responsibility for the mining sector. From 1993 to 1996, Mr. Calvert worked in the Natural Resources Group of Morgan Stanley & Co., where he focused on transaction execution in mergers, acquisitions and financings for the mining sector. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Calvert practiced law as an associate at Blake Dawson Waldron in Australia as an Associate in its Corporate & Securities Group, where he provided legal advice on corporate transactions in the media and mining sectors.

Mr. Calvert currently serves as a director of Coronado Group LLC, EMG Baffin Holdings Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Chronos Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Ferus II Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Iron Ore HC Lux S.a.r.l., NGPMR Lux II S.a.r.l., Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc. and SVRE Holdings Ltd. Mr. Calvert is also Co-Founder and Portfolio Manager of EMG Advisors.

Mr. Calvert attended the University of Sydney, Australia where he graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree (First Class Honors) in 1989.

Jeffery A. Ball, Managing Director and Member of the Investment Committee

Mr. Ball is a Managing Director and a Member of the Investment Committee. Prior to joining EMG in October 2007, Mr. Ball served as Director in the Investment Banking Group at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC from 2000 to 2007. While at Credit Suisse, Mr. Ball served as a senior officer responsible for the energy Master Limited Partnership sector. From 1996 to 2000, Mr. Ball worked in the Investment Banking Group at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette Securities Corporation. Mr. Ball has completed over $56 billion of mergers and acquisitions and capital markets financing transactions during his career in the energy and minerals sectors.

Mr. Ball currently serves as a director of Ascent Resources, LLC, Eagle LNG Partners, LLC, Ferus, Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels GP, LLC, Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc., Nunavut Iron Ore, Inc., and as an observer on the Board of MarkWest Utica EMG, LLC. Mr. Ball also serves as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Eagle LNG Partners, LLC.

Mr. Ball graduated with Honors from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School with a BS in Economics with dual concentrations in Finance and Accounting in 1996.

Carl A. Luna, Managing Director and Member of the Investment Committee

Mr. Luna is a Managing Director and a Member of the Investment Committee. Prior to EMG in October 2015, Mr. Luna served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Axip Energy Services, LP (formerly Valerus Compression Services, LP) from 2013 to 2015. While at Axip, Mr. Luna was responsible for all finance, planning, tax and accounting functions and played a key role in the strategic divestiture of three business segments for over $850 million in net proceeds. Axip was a TPG backed company focused primarily in the natural gas compression business. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Luna served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Copano Energy L.L.C. While at Copano, Mr. Luna was responsible for all finance, treasury, investor relations, tax and accounting functions at the publicly traded partnership. Mr. Luna led all financial decisions including capital raising, capital allocation and liquidity and commodity risk management. Mr. Luna also worked closely with executive management and commercial teams to develop the company’s Eagle Ford growth strategy, which ultimately included over $1.5 billion in capital projects. Mr. Luna was a key member of the executive management team that worked with Copano’s board of directors on a strategic process that ultimately resulted in the sale of the company to Kinder Morgan for $5 billion in May 2013. From 2006 to 2009, Mr. Luna served as Vice President, Finance of Copano and was responsible for corporate finance, corporate development, treasury, risk management and investor relations activities. Prior to joining Copano, Mr. Luna served as a Vice President in the Syndicated and Leveraged Finance Group at J.P. Morgan Securities from 1997 to 2005 focusing primarily on acquisition financings and recapitalizations. Mr. Luna also held various other banking positions while at J.P. Morgan from 1991 to 1997.

Mr. Luna currently serves as a director of Catahoula Resources, LLC, Flat River Minerals, LLC, Lodestar Energy Group, LLC, Oxbow Crush, LLC, SCM PR Parent Holdings, LLC, Spur Energy Partners Holdings, LLC, TerraVolta Resources LLC, and Traverse Midstream Holdings LLC.

Mr. Luna graduated from Texas A&M University with a BBA in Finance in 1991 and received an MBA from the Rice University Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management in 2004 where he was a Jones Scholar Award winner.

Laura L. Tyson, Managing Director, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Member of the Investment Committee

Ms. Tyson is a Managing Director, the Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel and a Member of the Investment Committee.  She has over 25 years of experience working on corporate and securities transactions.  Prior to joining EMG in February 2014, Ms. Tyson was a Partner at Baker Botts L.L.P. and was a member of the MLP, Energy and Private Equity practice groups.  She advised private equity funds, hedge funds and other investors in fund and special purpose vehicle formation as well as in the conduct of their investment activities and represented issuers, underwriters and investors in a variety of equity and debt offerings and mergers and acquisitions.  While at Baker Botts, Ms. Tyson’s practice was focused on the energy sector and MLPs, including those engaged in coal mining, pipeline transportation and gathering, storage, oil and gas exploration and production, compression, shipping and propane, and she served as outside counsel to EMG on both portfolio company investments and co-investment structuring beginning in 2008.  Prior to becoming a Partner at Baker Botts, Ms. Tyson was a Corporate Associate at both Baker Botts and Winstead, P.C. 

Ms. Tyson currently serves as a director of Ascent Resources, LLC, Coronado Global Resources Inc., and Heritage NonOp Holdings, LLC.

Ms. Tyson graduated Magna Cum Laude from McNeese State University with a BS in Economics and Finance in 1993 and received a JD from the University of Houston Law Center, graduating Cum Laude in 1997.

Rachel L. Cowsert, Managing Director and Chief Tax Officer

Ms. Cowsert is a Managing Director and the Chief Tax Officer.  Prior to joining EMG in November 2014, Ms. Cowsert served as a Senior Manager at KPMG in their federal tax practice.  While at KPMG, Ms. Cowsert managed client engagements across multiple industries, including the private equity, financial services and energy sectors.

Ms. Cowsert graduated Summa Cum Laude from The University of Texas at Arlington with a BBA in Finance in 2006, as well as a Masters of Public Accountancy in 2009.  Ms. Cowsert is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Neal Dickson, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer

Mr. Dickson is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer.  Mr. Dickson has served as a member of EMG’s Compliance Team since joining EMG in June 2014.  Prior to joining EMG, Mr. Dickson served as a Manager at KPMG LLP in their audit practice.  While at KPMG, Mr. Dickson was the lead Manager on a number of financial services clients, including private equity funds and real estate investment and management companies.

Mr. Dickson graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Houston with a BBA in Accounting in 2006.  Mr. Dickson is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Stuart F. Feiner, Consultant to EMG

Mr. Feiner is a consultant to EMG, with a focus on the key EV and energy storage system battery inputs.  Prior to his engagement with EMG as a consultant and member of the General Partner, which began in July 2011, Mr. Feiner served as a senior executive and consultant in the global mining industry for over 40 years.  From 1976 to August 2006, when he retired from Inco Limited (now Vale Canada Limited, Vale S.A.’s global base metals operations), he served in a number of senior management and legal positions with Inco, including as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and member of the Inco Management Committee responsible for oversight of all operations and major investment decisions, including capital projects, for Inco from 1993 until March 2006.  Inco, as a NYSE (one of the original Dow Jones 30 industrial companies) and TSX listed public company until it was acquired by Vale in early 2007, was one of the oldest leading global mining companies, with operations and projects located in Canada, Indonesia, Japan, China, the UK, New Caledonia and Central and South America.  During his career with Inco, Mr. Feiner had direct responsibility or management oversight for some of the largest acquisitions in the global mining industry, including Inco’s $4.3 billion acquisition of the Voisey’s Bay deposit in Newfoundland and Labrador in 1996 and Inco’s aborted $15 billion acquisition of Falconbridge Limited in 2006.  Mr. Feiner’s responsibilities at Inco included the financial/technical evaluation of virtually all major mining projects or acquisitions pursued by Inco during his career, implementing innovative financing arrangements to fund the initial and sustaining capital costs of mining projects, environment, health and safety and government relations and public affairs on a global corporate-wide basis.  During his career, Mr. Feiner has served on the boards of both public and private mining and leading technology-based companies.  Since his retirement from Inco he has served as a consultant on a number of mining projects and has assisted first nations in their negotiations with mining companies on financial participations and other arrangements covering projects located on their lands.

Mr. Feiner currently serves as a director of EMG Baffin Holdings Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Iron Ore HC Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Ferus II Lux S.a.r.l., EMG Chronos Lux S.a.r.l., and NGPMR Lux II S.a.r.l..

Mr. Feiner holds a BS in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a MBA from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a JD degree from Duke University Law School.

Vinod Pillai, Managing Director

Mr. Pillai is a Managing Director. Prior to joining EMG in September 2013, Mr. Pillai served as Senior Analyst in the Global Energy Investment Banking Group at Citigroup from 2011 to 2013. While at Citigroup, Mr. Pillai worked on a wide variety of capital markets and financial advisory assignments with public and private companies across the upstream oil and gas, midstream, refining and oilfield services sectors of the energy industry. Mr. Pillai started his career at KPMG in the Audit group focusing on the Financial Services Industry.

Mr. Pillai currently serves as a director of Ascent Resources, LLC, Caribbean LNG, Inc., CC Hastings Capture Company, LLC, CC Lexington Capture Company, LLC, Ferus GP, LLC, Ferus, Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels GP, LLC, Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc., and Medallion Midstream 2, LLC.

Mr. Pillai graduated from the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin with a BBA in Business Honors and Accounting in 2010. He also received his Master’s in Professional Accounting in 2010 and has passed all parts of the CPA exam with the highest honors.

Jeffrey C. Rawls, Senior Advisor to EMG

Mr. Rawls is a Senior Advisor to EMG and CEO of EMG V portfolio company Catahoula Resources. Mr. Rawls was a Managing Director of EMG from July 2008 – January 2019. Prior to joining EMG, Mr. Rawls served as Managing Director at Bear Energy, LP (a wholly owned Bear Stearns company) from 2006 to 2008 where he was responsible for identifying strategic natural gas investments throughout North America. From 2005 to 2006, Mr. Rawls was Vice President at Kinder Morgan where he led a newly created business team focused on developing natural gas projects in the Rocky Mountain region, which included the development of the Rockies Express Pipeline. From 2003 to 2005, Mr. Rawls served as co-founder and Managing Partner at Tiger Midstream Investments, LLC (“Tiger Midstream”). At Tiger Midstream, Mr. Rawls developed natural gas gathering pipeline projects in the United States and evaluated over $1 billion in energy midstream investment opportunities. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Rawls served as Vice President of Natural Gas Trading, Origination & Producer Services at Calpine Energy Services, L.P. (“Calpine”). He was responsible for all of Calpine’s natural gas procurement, transportation, and physical trading (2.5+ Bcf/day) and evaluated over $1 billion of acquisitions including natural gas midstream and upstream assets. Prior to joining Calpine in 1998, Mr. Rawls held various positions at Enron Corp ranging from pipeline engineering to natural gas trading.

Mr. Rawls currently serves as a director of Ascent Resources, LLC, Catahoula Resources, LLC, MarkWest Utica EMG, LLC, MarkWest EMG Jefferson Dry Gas Gathering, LLC, Medallion Midstream 2, LLC, SCM PR Parent Holdings, LLC and Traverse Midstream Holdings LLC.

Mr. Rawls graduated from the Louisiana State University with a BS in Petroleum Engineering in 1987. He received an MBA from the University of Houston in 1997.

Olivia Wang, Deputy General Counsel

Ms. Wang is Deputy General Counsel.  She has over 10 years of corporate legal experience with a primary focus on the energy industry.  Prior to joining EMG in September 2022, Ms. Wang served as General Counsel North America of Advario North America (formerly known as Oiltanking North America), a global company focused on petrochemical liquid storage logistics.  While at Advario, Ms. Wang oversaw all legal matters impacting Advario’s North America business, including strategic planning, business transactions, regulatory compliance and risk assessment/management.  Prior to joining Advario in June 2020, Ms. Wang served as Senior Counsel of EnerVest Ltd., a Houston-based company who manages and operates oil and gas assets on behalf of investors.  At EnerVest, Ms. Wang advised the investment team on a variety of business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and complex service arrangements.  Before moving in-house, Ms. Wang was a Senior Corporate Associate at Vinson & Elkins, L.L.P. from 2012 to 2018.

Ms. Wang graduated from Peking University in 2001 with a B.S. in Biotechnology, and from Baylor College of Medicine in 2008 with a Ph.D. in Molecular Virology and Microbiology.  Ms. Wang received her J.D. from Northwestern University in 2012.

Joyce C. Zhang, Principal

Ms. Zhang is a Principal.  Prior to joining EMG in July 2015, Ms. Zhang served as Analyst in the Energy Investment Banking Group at Evercore Partners from 2013 to 2015.  While at Evercore, Ms. Zhang worked on a large assortment of mergers and acquisitions assignments in the upstream oil and gas and midstream/Master Limited Partnership sectors of the energy industry.

Ms. Zhang currently serves as a director of TerraVolta Resources LLC.

Ms. Zhang graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania with a BS in Economics with concentrations in Finance and Operations and Information Management in 2013.

Luke Anderson, Vice President

Mr. Anderson is a Vice President. Prior to re-joining EMG in October 2022, Mr. Anderson served as consultant to companies in the energy, materials, and industrial sectors, advising on a broad range of capital markets, M&A, corporate finance, and strategic activities. During his tenure as a consultant, Mr. Anderson worked intimately with companies involved in lithium-ion battery recycling, vanadium chemical and vanadium redox flow battery production, and a variety of other companies. From February 2020 through August 2021, he was a Vice President at Merewether Investment Management, a $2.0 billion long-short fund focused on investing in public equities across the value chain in the energy, materials, and industrial sectors. During his time at Merewether, Mr. Anderson led the research and investment efforts on oil and gas upstream, midstream, and services, as well as lithium, nickel, copper, and a broad range of energy and materials linked industrial companies. Mr. Anderson previously served as a Senior Associate at EMG from November 2017 through February 2020 where he served as a director of Chronos Duvernay GP Ltd., and Flat River Minerals, LLC. Prior to his initial tenure at EMG, Mr. Anderson worked in Rice Energy’s corporate development group, as well as serving as an analyst at Citigroup’s global energy investment bank.

Mr. Anderson graduated from The University of Texas with a BBA in Finance in 2015.

Arturo K. Pimienta, Vice President

Mr. Pimienta is a Vice President. Prior to joining EMG in June 2017, Mr. Pimienta served as Senior Analyst in the Energy Investment Banking Group at Evercore from 2015 to 2017. While at Evercore, Mr. Pimienta worked on a large assortment of mergers and acquisitions and restructuring assignments in the upstream oil and gas, midstream/Master Limited Partnership and oilfield services sectors of the energy industry. Prior to joining Evercore, Mr. Pimienta served as Analyst in the Real Estate Investment Banking group at Barclays from 2013 to 2015. While at Barclays, Mr. Pimienta worked on several mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt offering assignments.

Mr. Pimienta currently serves as a director of Ferus, Inc., Ferus Natural Gas Fuels GP, LLC, and Ferus Natural Gas Fuels Inc.

Mr. Pimienta graduated Cum Laude from Boston College with a BS in Management with concentrations in Finance, Economics and Operations Management in 2013

Mark D. McCauley, Associate

Mr. McCauley is an Associate. Prior to joining EMG in October 2022, Mr. McCauley served as an Analyst in the Energy and Power Investment Banking Group at Piper Sandler from 2021 to 2022. While at Piper Sandler, Mr. McCauley worked on a large assortment of mergers and acquisitions and capital raise assignments in the midstream and renewable sectors of the energy industry.

Mr. McCauley graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas A&M University with a BS in Computer Science with a concentration in Cybersecurity in 2020. He also received a MS in Finance from Texas A&M University in 2021.

Corbin McBride, Fund Controller

Mr. McBride is the Fund Controller. Prior to joining EMG in May 2023, Mr. McBride served as a Senior Associate at KPMG LLP in their audit practice. While at KPMG, Mr. McBride was the lead Senior Associate on a number of financial services clients, including EMG and other private equity funds.

Mr. McBride graduated Magna Cum Laude from Baylor University with a BBA in Accounting and Master of Accountancy in 2018. Mr. McBride is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Brooke E. Dugan, Management Company Controller

Ms. Dugan is the Management Company Controller. Prior to joining EMG in October 2013, Ms. Dugan served as an Audit Associate at KPMG in their audit practice. While at KPMG, Ms. Dugan worked on a number of financial services clients, including private equity funds and insurance companies.

Ms. Dugan graduated Magna Cum Laude from Texas Tech University with a BBA in Accounting and an MS in Accounting in 2011. Ms. Dugan is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Misty Caffarel, Assistant Accountant

Ms. Caffarel is Assistant Accountant. Prior to joining EMG in January 2018, Ms. Caffarel served as a Manager at Med Data Services. While at Med Data Services, Ms. Caffarel managed a team of accounts receivable specialists and provided services to numerous medical practice partners.

Ms. Caffarel studied Accounting at Northwestern State University.

Stephanie Gunnerson, Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Ms. Gunnerson is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager. Ms. Gunnerson joined EMG in February 2007.

Tracy Locke, Executive Assistant and Office Manager

Ms. Locke is an Executive Assistant and Office Manager. Prior to joining EMG in 2006, Ms. Locke was an Executive Assistant at Vulcan Energy Corporation, Plains Exploration & Production Company and Plains Resources.

Stefanie Solis, Administrative Assistant

Ms. Solis is an Administrative Assistant. Ms. Solis joined EMG in April 2019.