Our Founding Team | Flat River Minerals Executive Team

Christopher Beato

CEO & Co-founder

Sheridan, WY

With over three decades of experience in the domestic and international oil and gas sector, Beato brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role. Starting his career at Conoco, he has since held numerous leadership positions with major and independent oil & gas companies, developing assets in over 42 different countries. In 2005, Beato founded Exaro Energy, where he was at the forefront of redeveloping oil condensate plays using cutting-edge technology. Since its inception, Beato has invested more than $1 billion in upstream E&P assets through Exaro, with over $600 million invested in Wyoming alone. At its peak, Exaro controlled the development of over 175,000 net acres supported by approximately 85 mmcfe/d of production. Beato’s previous roles include serving as the Director of Baker Hughes Singapore and Managing Director of Baker Hughes Solutions for the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. His innovative spirit is evident in his authorship of 26 industry professional papers and articles, as well as his 16 U.S. patents applied/issued. This includes a patent for a tender assist deep-water development technology that has been instrumental in developing over 1 billion boe since 1999. Most recently, Beato developed the patent-pending “Effective kh” 3D seismic processing technology. This innovative technology integrates fracture stimulation data with seismic to map natural fractures in a shale reservoir, optimizing the placement of horizontal wells. Beato graduated from the Colorado School of Mines in 1986 with a degree in Petroleum Engineering. He further honed his skills as a geologist while working at Conoco Inc. $650M Invested in WY since 2012 220 Wells drilled in the lower 48 16 Patents pending/issued

Whitney Wickes

COO & Co-founder

Sheridan, WY & Houston, TX

Wickes is a dynamic and passionate oil and gas professional, embodying an interdisciplinary understanding that sets her apart in the modern landscape of landmen. Inspired by the original generation of landmen who knew how to do it all, Wickes has pursued a similar path that has enabled her to build companies from start up as well as revitalize struggling operations. Her unique ability to devise creative solutions to high-stress problems led her to become the youngest female executive in a publicly-traded oil and gas company, where in 2016 she was appointed VP of Land at Emerald Oil, Inc., a Bakken operator whose market cap reached nearly $1B at its peak. After her tenure at Emerald Oil, she joined Beacon E&P Resources, a PE-backed non-op focused on the SCOOP/STACK of Oklahoma. Wickes was later recruited by Beato to facilitate the $200M acquisition of Linn Energy’s assets in south central Wyoming, leading to the formation of XRO Energy LLC. As the VP of Land at XRO, she managed the land and regulatory teams overseeing an asset base of 175,000 net acres and 1,400 wells. Following XRO, Wickes and Beato co-founded Flat River Minerals and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Rocking WW Minerals, where Wickes’ passion for integrating technology into the E&P space continues to drive competitive advantages and increase organizational efficiencies across the FRM companies. Wickes graduated from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado with a degree in Finance and earned three certificates from the University of Denver in the field of Petroleum Land Management. In May 2023, she completed a certificate in “No Code AI and Machine Learning” from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, further expanding her skill set. In recognition of her contributions to the energy sector, Wickes was named to Forbes’ prestigious “30 Under 30” list in 2020, marking her as one of the young professionals transforming the industry. 87,000 Net acres currently managed 4,400 Royalty & non-operated wells under management 30U30 Named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30, Class of 2020