Executive Management Team
William H. Penney
Mr. Penney founded Sterling Energy Company in December 2000 and serves as Chief Executive Officer of the newly formed Sterling Investment Holdings, LLC (Sterling Energy). Concurrently, during the period from 2003 to 2007, Mr. Penney served as Vice President and General Counsel of Cantera Natural Gas. Prior thereto, beginning in 1991, Mr. Penney served as Vice President and General Counsel for a series of midstream companies funded by Morgan Stanley Private Equity, including Mountain Gas Resources, Highlands Gas Corporation, and Canyon Gas Resources. Mr. Penney has previously held positions with Getty Oil, Texaco, Home Petroleum and Presidio Oil Company. Mr. Penney holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Kansas, a J.D. from Washburn University, and is a member of the Colorado Bar Association.
David B. Kenyon
Mr. Kenyon serves as President of Sterling Energy. Mr. Kenyon was most recently Vice President and General Manager of Monarch Gas Resources, a midstream company funded by Metalmark Capital. From May 2000 to October 2007, Mr. Kenyon served as Vice President of Business Development for Cantera Natural Gas and Canyon Gas Resources. Beginning in 1991, Mr. Kenyon served as Vice President in a series of midstream companies funded by Morgan Stanley Private Equity, including Mountain Gas Resources and Highlands Gas Corporation. Prior thereto, Mr. Kenyon served in various management, business, and engineering positions at Presidio Oil Company, Western Gas Resources, and Colorado Interstate Gas Company. Mr. Kenyon holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Purdue University, a Masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado – Colorado Springs, and a J.D. from the University of Denver. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado and a member of the Colorado Bar.
Stuart L. Asselin
Mr. Asselin joined Sterling Energy in 2011 and serves as Executive Vice President of Engineering and Operations. From November 2007 to April 2011, Mr. Asselin served as Vice President, Shale Energy Services, for CH2M HILL, a 25,000 employee world-wide engineering company headquartered in Denver, Colorado. From 1997 through 2007, Mr. Asselin was a principal and Vice President of Business Development for Trigon EPC, a Denver-based pipeline and facilities engineering and field services firm. Since 1982, Mr. Asselin has served in various management, business development, project management, and engineering positions at Trigon, Public Service Company of New Mexico, and Colorado Interstate Gas Company. Mr. Asselin holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from New Mexico State University, and is a registered Professional Engineer.
Robert B. Sanders
Mr. Sanders serves as Vice President – Business Development for Sterling Energy. Since March 2003, Mr. Sanders has led Sterling Energy Company’s efforts in financial analysis, natural gas marketing, corporate management, and business development. From 1995 to 1997, Mr. Sanders assisted in acquisition analysis, management, and successful divestiture of Highlands Gas Corporation, a Morgan Stanley Private Equity-backed venture, to Union Pacific Resources Company. Mr. Sanders has also worked for MetLife Resources, a division of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, reporting to the CFO as a finance manager. He holds a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Chadwick T. Leavitt, CPA
Mr. Leavitt began his service as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Sterling Energy in 2011. Prior to joining the Sterling Energy team, he spent nearly a decade as the CFO for Quantitative Equity Strategies, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser that provides quantitative analysis and portfolio construction to large institutional clients. Concurrently, from 2007 through mid-2011, he served as the COO for Sovereign Private Equity Management, LLC, a firm that structures and operates private equity investment pools. Mr. Leavitt began his career as an auditor for Price Waterhouse, LLP after graduating from the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1994. Mr. Leavitt holds an active CPA license in the state of Colorado and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants.