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Our Team

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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

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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

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Sean Lagunas

VP- Accounting

Houston, TX

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Alex Laudenslager

Director of Engineering

Sheridan, WY

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Ricky Sharp

Controller

Sheridan, Wyoming

Justin Davis Headshot
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Justin Davis

Director of Land

Sheridan, WY

Stephanie Hines

Land Manager – Appalachia

Canonsburg, PA

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Zach Rifle sitting on a mountain, looking out into the distance

Zach Hollon

Geologist

Sheridan, WY

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Dan Lehman skiing on a snowy mountain

Dan Lehman

Engineering & Salesforce Tech

Sheridan, WY

Steve Wickes and his significant other smiling for a photo with a scenic view of the mountains in the background

Steve Wickes

IT Administrator

Aspen, CO

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Phillip Wolfe

Sr. IT Developer

Houston, TX

John Gordon Headshot
John Gordon holding up the antlers of a whitetail deer

John Gordon

GIS Manager

Sheridan, WY

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Caleb Rothwell

Petroleum Engineer

Sheridan, Wyoming

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Thomas Carey

Acquisition Specialist

Sheridan, WY

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Neil Leach

Acquisition Specialist

Sheridan, WY

Justice Rees

Acquisition Specialist

Sheridan, WY

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Hunter Lee

Sr. Title Landman

Sheridan, WY

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Monte Monchamp

Sr. Landman

Sheridan, WY

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Austin Neahring

Sr. Landman

Sheridan, WY

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Kolton Anderson

Non-Op Landman

Sheridan, WY

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Christina Chain

Title Manager – Appalachia

Canonsburg, PA

Jacob Martin Headshot
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Jacob Martin

Title Landman

Sheridan, WY

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Corrick Ambrose

Title Landman

Canonsburg, PA

Evan Sayre

Title Landman

Canonsburg, PA

Jax Nourse

GIS Analyst

Sheridan, WY