Board of Directors

William Barnett was managing partner of the law firm Baker Botts, LLP from 1984 to 1998.  Baker Botts is an international law firm with approximately 800 lawyers and a worldwide network of offices.  As managing partner, Mr. Barnett was responsible for day-to-day management as well as strategic growth of the firm.  He is a member of the board of directors of Enterprise Products GP, LLC and Westlake Chemical Corporation.  Mr. Barnett also serves as a director on numerous educational, health care and community boards, including St. Luke’s Episcopal Health System, the Houston Zoo and the Greater Houston Partnership.  He also serves as chair of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University.  From 1996 to 2005, Mr. Barnett was chairman of the board of trustees of Rice University.

In October 2005, Mr. Barnett was honored as “Director of the Year” by the National Association of Corporate Directors.

Donald Breeding was president and chief executive officer of Airline Management, LLC, a firm engaged in aviation and airline consulting, from 1997 until 2007. From 1992 to 1997, he was president and chief executive officer of Continental Micronesia, a majority-owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines. From 1988 to 1992, he was senior vice president of operations for Continental Airlines with responsibility for all flying operations of the company and responsibility for Continental Express. Mr. Breeding is a member of the board of directors of Pinnacle Airlines, Inc. and serves as president of the Aquilla Scholarship Foundation, Inc.

Kirbyjon Caldwell has been the senior pastor of Windsor Village United Methodist Church, the largest United Methodist congregation in North America, since 1982.  Pastor Caldwell serves on the board of directors of numerous corporate, educational, health care and community development organizations including Continental Airlines, Inc., Bridgeway Capital Management, Baylor College of Medicine, the Greater Houston Partnership and Kingdom Builders Center, LLC.

Mark Jacobs is president and chief executive officer of Reliant Energy, Inc. Prior to joining Reliant in July 2002, he had a long-standing advisory relationship with the company in his position as managing director with Goldman, Sachs and Co. Mr. Jacobs joined Goldman Sachs in 1989 in Mergers & Acquisitions in New York. He moved to the Energy and Power Group in 1997 and relocated to Houston in 1998. Mr. Jacobs also serves on the boards of the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Greater Houston Partnership. He is also a member of the executive board of KIPP, Inc., a network of free, open-enrollment, college-preparatory public schools in under-resourced communities throughout the United States.

Steven Miller is chairman and president of SLM Discovery Ventures, Inc., a company pursuing commercial ventures in support of volunteerism, social outreach and higher education academic achievement. He was chairman, president and chief executive officer of Shell Oil Company from July 1999 to September 2002, following a long career at Shell beginning in 1967 that involved extensive experience in plant operations, trading and commodities, marketing, and regulatory activities. Mr. Miller serves on the board of directors of numerous educational, health care and community organizations, including the University of Illinois Foundation, M.D. Anderson Board of Visitors, St. Luke's Episcopal Health System and the Greater Houston Community Foundation.

Laree Perez has served as an independent financial consultant with The Medallion Company, LLC, an investment advisory, consultation and professional money management company, since September 2002. From February 1996 to September 2002, she served as vice president of Loomis, Sayles & Company, L.P. Ms. Perez also serves on the board of directors of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. and the Baylor College of Medicine.

Evan Silverstein was general partner and portfolio manager at SILCAP, LLC from 1993 to 2005.  SILCAP is a market-neutral hedge fund that principally invests in utilities and energy companies. Previously, he served as portfolio manager specializing in utilities and energy companies for the Bass Brothers Companies and as senior equity utility analyst for L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg & Towbin. Mr. Silverstein began his career in 1975 with Drexel Burnham Lambert.

Management and industry experts have consistently sought Mr. Silverstein’s insight. He is a frequent professional speaker and has testified before Congress on a variety of energy-related issues. Mr. Silverstein has been involved in many industry organizations, including the Edison Electric Institute.

Joel Staff has served as our chairman since April 2003 and was chief executive officer of Reliant Energy, Inc. from April 2003 to May 2007. Prior to joining the Reliant board in 2002, he was with National-Oilwell, Inc. where he served as executive chairman from May 2001 to May 2002 and as chairman, president and chief executive officer from July 1993 until May 2001. Previously, Mr. Staff spent 17 years with Baker Hughes, Inc. where he held various financial and general management positions, including senior vice president of the parent company and president of both the drilling and production groups. Mr. Staff also serves on several community boards, including the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Houston and Texas Children’s Hospital.

William Transier has served as chairman, chief executive officer and president of Endeavor International Corporation, an international oil and gas exploration and production company focused on the North Sea, since September 2006. From February 2004 to September 2006, he served as co-chief executive officer of Endeavor International. Prior to that, from March 1999 to April 2003, he served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Ocean Energy, Inc., an independent oil and gas exploration and production company that merged with Devon Energy Corporation.

Mr. Transier began his career in public accounting, rising to partner at KPMG, an international auditing and tax firm. He serves on the board of directors of Endeavour International, Cal Dive International, Inc. and Helix Energy Solutions Group, Inc. He also serves on the board of the Hobby Center Foundation.