Cresta’s Team has Decades of Combined Investing and Operating Experience in Conventional and Sustainable Energy, Industrial, Transportation, and Agricultural Infrastructure
We bring that experience to every partnership, allowing us to work for our partners to let them focus on expanding their core capabilities.
Partners
Chris D. Rozzell
Managing Partner
Chris has 20 years of investment and operating experience in the infrastructure industry, and he co-founded Cresta in 2016. At Cresta, Mr. Rozzell’s primary responsibilities include transaction sourcing, transaction execution and portfolio management as well as management of the Firm. He currently serves as a Director of Easton Energy, Montrose Resources, Lapis Energy and Braya Fuels. Prior to co-founding Cresta, he served as Chief Executive Officer of Wildcat Midstream Holdings, a middle market investment holding company focused on the energy midstream space. He joined Wildcat from Regency Energy Partners, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, managing the company’s efforts in commercial project development, acquisitions, gas supply, marketing, scheduling and gas control. Prior to Regency, he held managerial positions in the strategic planning, development, and enterprise risk groups of TXU Corp and worked in the Investment Banking division of Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Chris holds a B.B.A. in Finance from Southern Methodist University.
David Truett Miller
Partner
David has 25 Years of operating and investment experience in the infrastructure industry, co-founding Cresta in 2016. At Cresta, Mr. Miller’s primary responsibilities include transaction sourcing, diligence, and portfolio management. He currently serves as a Director of Easton Energy, Ocelot Management, Blackbuck Resources, LFBioenergy and Braya Fuels. Prior to co-founding Cresta, he served as Chief Operation Officer of Wildcat Midstream Holdings, a middle market investment holding company focused on the energy midstream space. He joined Wildcat from Regency Energy Partners where he served as Vice President of Operations and Engineering, responsible for staffing, budgeting, maintenance, operations, and technical support for the midstream company’s gathering, processing, and transmission assets. Prior to Regency, he held various management and senior operations and engineering positions with the XTO Energy and Aquila Gas Pipeline Corporation. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. David holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Drew Armstrong
Partner
Drew has over 15 years of finance and acquisitions experience in the infrastructure industry, co-founding Cresta in 2016. At Cresta, Mr. Armstrong’s primary responsibilities include transaction sourcing, transaction execution and portfolio management. He currently serves as Director of Easton Energy, Blackbuck Resources, Sentinel Midstream, Ocelot Energy Management and Lapis Energy. Prior to co-founding Cresta, he served as Chief Financial Officer of Wildcat Midstream Holdings, a middle market investment holding company focused on the energy midstream space. Prior to joining Wildcat, Drew was responsible for overseeing all mergers and acquisitions activity for Regency Energy Partners. During his time at Regency, the company completed approximately two billion dollars of acquisitions. Prior to joining Regency Energy Partners, Drew worked in the corporate planning group at TXU, where he managed the sell-side forecasting process during the KKR led leveraged buyout of TXU in 2007. Prior to TXU, Drew begin his career in E&P commercial lending at Bank of Texas. Drew holds an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University and a B.B.A. in Finance from Oklahoma State University.
Investment Professionals
John Skrinar
Managing Director
Mr. Skrinar joined Cresta in January 2021 and is based in Southport, CT. At Cresta, he leads our sustainable investment strategy, focusing on transaction sourcing, transaction execution, and portfolio management. Prior to joining Cresta, John had been serving in an advisory role to a number of private equity entities and industry participants specializing in M&A, Structuring, and Commercial Optimization around the energy transition. Prior to that, he was the North American Head of Renewables for Gunvor, responsible for all aspects of the renewable energy business across refining, trading, logistics, and operations. He joined Gunvor from Noble Group, where he was a Managing Director, overseeing the Global Renewable Fuels business. Prior to Noble, John was Head of Clean Products & Renewable Fuels for Chemoil Corporation, a Glencore subsidiary. He spent the first six years of his career in real estate finance.
Mr. Skrinar is a Director of Braya Renewable Fuels, LF Bioenergy, and San Joaquin Renewables; he also sits on the Advisory Board for the Boston University Institute for Global Sustainability. He received a B.S. in Finance from Boston University.
Wade Webber
Managing Director
Mr. Webber joined Cresta in 2017 as a Vice President. He concentrates on transaction analysis and execution, portfolio monitoring and deal sourcing. He currently serves as a Director of Braya Renewable Fuels, Sentinel Midstream and Montrose Resources. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Webber worked on the investment team at NGP Energy Capital making midstream and upstream investments in the oil and gas industry. Prior to NGP, Mr. Webber was an investment banking analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Energy Group in Houston. Mr. Webber graduated cum laude from Brigham Young University with a B.S. in Accounting.
Andrew Neuberger
Vice President
Mr. Neuberger joined Cresta in 2018 as an Associate. He concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Mr. Neuberger currently serves as a Director of Blackbuck Resources. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Neuberger was an investment banking analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Energy Group in Houston, TX. Mr. Neuberger graduated magna cum laude from Texas Christian University with a B.B.A. in Finance.
Will Murphy
Vice President
Mr. Murphy joined Cresta in 2019 as an Associate. He concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. He currently serves as a Director of San Joaquin Renewables. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Murphy was an investment banking analyst with Citi’s Global Energy Group in Houston, TX. Mr. Murphy holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Mitchell Sparks
Vice President
Mr. Sparks joined Cresta in 2020 as an Associate. He concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. He currently serves as a Director of Lapis Energy. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Sparks was an investment banking analyst with Macquarie’s Infrastructure & Energy Group in Houston, TX. Prior to investment banking, Mr. Sparks worked in various engineering roles at Devon Energy. He holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Madison Tufts
Associate
Ms. Tufts joined Cresta in 2021 as an Associate. She concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Prior to joining Cresta, Ms. Tufts was an investment banking analyst with Guggenheim’s Energy Group in Houston, TX. Ms. Tufts holds a B.B.A. in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Danielle Yampolsky
Associate
Ms. Yampolsky joined Cresta in 2022 as an Associate. She concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Prior to joining Cresta, Ms. Yampolsky was an investment banking analyst with Scotiabank’s Energy Group in Houston, TX. She holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.
Townes Pressler
Associate
Mr. Pressler joined Cresta in 2022 as an Associate. He concentrates on transaction analysis, deal execution and portfolio monitoring. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Pressler was an investment banking analyst with Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. in Houston, TX. He holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Environmental Studies from the University of Southern California.
Emma Kistler
Investor Relations Associate
Ms. Kistler joined Cresta in 2022 as an Investor Relations Associate. She concentrates on fundraising, all outward communications with LPs, potential investors and Cresta’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining Cresta, Ms. Kistler spent 4 years in office leasing brokerage with Newmark as an Associate Director in both their New York City and Denver offices. Ms. Kistler holds a B.S. in Marketing and Management from Tulane University.
Operating Partners
Brad Ramsey
Operating Partner
Mr. Ramsey joined the Cresta family companies in 2018 and became an Operating Partner in 2022. Mr. Ramsey has served in various roles with Cresta portfolio companies, including Chief Executive Officer of Easton Energy, Chief Operating Officer of Sentinel Midstream, and as an executive steering committee member for Braya Renewable Fuels. Mr. Ramsey has 30 years of engineering, construction, and operations experience in the upstream, midstream, and downstream energy sectors with Koch, Valero, NuStar Energy and multiple energy infrastructure construction companies that he developed and managed. Mr. Ramsey has in depth midstream experience in the crude, natural gas, natural gas liquids and refined products business segments where he developed teams to execute several billion in capital projects in 6 countries including large scale storage terminals with pipeline, rail, truck, and marine capability. Mr. Ramsey also held various engineering, operations, maintenance and turnaround positions in multiple downstream refineries and chemical plants. He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Kansas.
Steven Basler
Operating Partner
Mr. Basler joined the Cresta family of companies in 2021, he has spent over ten years trading and operating physical renewable fuels and environmental attributes. Over his career Mr. Basler has managed the physical flow of production assets and terminals, environmental credits trading, hedging strategies, and financing programs. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Basler had been consulting for private equity firms and trading companies surrounding commercial and logistical strategies for renewable fuels. Mr. Basler was a Renewables Trader for Gunvor, spearheading the supply, trading, logistics, and operations of the North American biodiesel business. He was a Senior Trader at Noble Group responsible for trading biodiesel, feedstocks, renewable diesel, and environmental credits. Mr. Basler has also been a Trader for Chemoil Corporation focusing on biodiesel and ethanol. He began his career in finance at RBS and engineering at FactSet. Mr. Basler holds a B.S. from Marist College.
Jessica Groshek
Vice President – ESG, Cresta Fund Services
Ms. Groshek joined Cresta Fund Services in 2022 as the Vice President of ESG. Prior to joining Cresta Fund Services, Ms. Groshek was the director of sustainability and investor relations for Vistra Corp., responsible for all sustainability strategy and reporting. In that role, she established the company’s first annual sustainability report, composed its Green Finance Framework, analyzed climate risks and opportunities, and measured greenhouse gas emissions. She also engaged regularly with investors and other external stakeholders to promote the company’s decarbonization strategy and ESG value proposition. Prior to that role, Ms. Groshek held various leadership positions for Luminant and TXU Energy, both subsidiaries of Vistra. Cresta Fund Services, based in Dallas, Texas, is a portfolio company of Cresta Fund Management. Ms. Groshek holds a M.B.A from Southern Methodist University and a B.B.A in marketing from the University of Oklahoma.
Fund Administration / Compliance
Benjamin Nelson
Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Nelson joined Cresta in 2019 as General Counsel and currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer. Mr. Nelson has over 25 years of experience, including ~10 years with the Ray L. Hunt family, first as General Counsel to the Hunt family private equity arm, and then with InfraREIT, an electric transmission REIT that completed a $500mm+ IPO with Mr. Nelson as General Counsel. He worked as a corporate transactional attorney with Fulbright & Jaworski, Wilson Sonsini and a predecessor to KL Gates from 1996 to 2007. From 2017 to 2019, Mr. Nelson was President of Energent, L.P., a start-up private equity fund focused on renewable energy investing, and he also served as General Counsel to Motive Drilling Technologies, a downhole drilling intelligence company, through its 2017 sale to Helmerich & Payne. He holds a B.A. from Stanford University and J.D. from Duke Law School.
Jordan A. Maxwell, CPA
Controller
Mr. Maxwell joined Cresta in 2017 as the Firm’s Controller. He has over 12 years of accounting and finance experience and is responsible for accounting oversight, investor reporting, cash management and compliance. Prior to joining Cresta, Mr. Maxwell held various positions in accounting and finance at Wildcat Midstream Holdings. Prior to Wildcat, Mr. Maxwell worked for Embark, a finance and accounting consulting firm focused on public and private companies where he was a Director. Prior to joining Embark, Mr. Maxwell began his career at BDO USA LLP, as a Senior Associate in the audit group. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas and holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Hardin Simmons University.
Julie Westbrook
Deputy General Counsel / ESG Director
Ms. Westbrook joined Cresta in 2021 as Deputy General Counsel. Prior to joining Cresta, Ms. Westbrook worked as a transactional attorney at Sidley Austin LLP focusing on private equity, mergers and acquisitions and other corporate matters across a wide range of industries, including oil and gas, renewable energy and financial services. Prior to Sidley, Ms. Westbrook worked as the Director of Franchise Operations for Bahama Buck’s Franchise Corporation. Ms. Westbrook graduated cum laude from Texas Tech University with a B.B.A. in Marketing, a B.B.A. in Management and a B.A. in Spanish and holds a J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School.
Erin Portilla
Accounts and Legal Specialist
Ms. Portilla joined Cresta in 2020 but has held a continued working relationship of over 8 years with the current managing partners at Cresta. She concentrates on accounts payable, portfolio allocations, document organization and electronic storage database. Prior to joining Cresta, Mrs. Portilla worked for Ocelot Energy Management and Wildcat Midstream Partners.
