Key Executives is pleased to announce The Top 25 Executives of Houston for 2023. Houston is a major corporate center. While the region is known globally for its role in the aerospace and energy industries, its economy is strengthened by several other sectors, including medicine, finance, agriculture, transportation, and trade. This year’s awardees contribute to the Texan city’s development by operating, guiding, and advising companies such as HCA Healthcare, Aetna, Hess, Nextra, Marathon Oil, and more.
Among this year’s awardees is Phil McDivitt, Chief Executive Officer of Ascend Performance Materials. Under his leadership, the company has achieved record financial performance. Awardee Crissy Nolen, Chief Marketing Officer of Colliers International, leads the company's marketing efforts out of their Houston office, developing and expanding marketing and technology platforms for the area. Also awarded is Ray Blanchette, Chief Executive Officer of TGI Fridays, a food industry veteran with over 30 years of restaurant experience.
Please join us in celebrating the accomplishments of The Top 25 Executives of Houston for 2023.
1. Tricia McGusty
Chief Operating Officer, HCA Healthcare
Tricia McGusty is the Chief Operating Officer of HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest. In her role, she is responsible for ensuring consistent department and service line strategy alignment as well as hospital facility initiatives, including building maintenance, quality improvements, and the overall environment of care. Previously, McGusty served as the facility’s Vice President of Business Development.
Prior to this, McGusty served in various roles at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest while the facility was owned by Tenet Healthcare. While at Tenet, she held various roles, including Physician Relations Manager, Director of Physician Relations, Director of Business Development, and Associate Administrator. McGusty received her MBA in Leadership from the University of Houston Downtown and BS in biology and psychology from Houston Baptist University.
2. Russell Jukes
Chief Digital Officer, DXC Technology
Russell Jukes is the Chief Digital Officer of DXC Technology. He oversees the strategic delivery of all IT projects and business applications of DXC Technology’s IT global function. Jules drives DXC IT’s digital footprint across the organization by utilizing his long history of experience-driven processes and innovative techniques.
Before joining DXC Technology, Jukes was a senior information technology infrastructure and operations director at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Before that, he was a senior IT director of service management and Global IT at HP. Jukes graduated from the University of Liverpool with an undergraduate degree in computer science.
3. Pierre Bang
President & Chief Executive Officer, Total
Pierre Bang is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Total. Bang has been with the company for over 40 years. He began his career with Total in 1983, first as Assistant Director, then as Director of the Surface Engineering Department in Cameroon. From 1992 to 1996, he held various positions as a Project Manager across Cameroon, the US, and Congo, and later as a Petroleum Architect in France. He joined the Girassol project in Angola, first as an Oil Platform Construction Engineer for the FPSO and as Deep Offshore Field Manager. In 2001, he was appointed as the North America Delegate before going on to become Senior Vice President of Operations at Total E&P Nederland. He then went on to become the Managing Director of Total E&P Cameroon. Bang graduated from Ecole Centrale de Marseille.
4. Rozana Beeler
Chief Digital Officer - Americas Zone, TotalEnergies
Rozana Beeler is the Chief Digital Officer of the Americas Zone for TotalEnergies. In this role, she’s developed the first-ever digital department of some affiliates and of the Zone. She also led the Total to TotalEnergies rebranding efforts within the AMER region and supported the subsidiaries in executing integrated marketing campaigns that generated awareness, drove demand, and built customer loyalty. She first joined the company in 2015 as a Digital and Marketing Project Manager.
Previously, Beeler was a Director of Global Marketing at Advent. Before that, she was a Marketing, Digital, and Communications Coordinator at Arispe PR. Beeler earned an undergraduate degree in public relations, advertising, and applied communication from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
5. Steve Fortune
Chief Information Officer, CSX
Steve Fortune is the Chief Information Officer of CSX. He leads all digital and technology operations and planning for CSX and focuses on harnessing transformative technologies to unlock growth and enable continued efficiency across the business.
Prior to this, Fortune spent 30 years at BP, most recently as CIO of the global BP Group. Previously, he held positions as CIO and Vice President for BP’s Upstream oil and gas business and also served as a regional CIO. He began his BP career as a Chemical and Process Engineer before moving into operations management and later transitioning into information technology. Fortune earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Loughborough University in England.
6. Adam Luker
Chief Financial Officer of Production Solutions, Baker Hughes
Adam Luker is the Chief Financial Officer of Production Solutions at Baker Hughes. He's been with the company for five years. He first joined as Executive of Digital Integration Leader, where he led the integration of the two legacy digital divisions and software portfolios from GE Oil & Gas and Baker Hughes. As a result, he has a diverse set of experiences in technology, financial services, and oil and gas across multiple global locations in the US, Europe, and Asia.
Luker first got his start in a financial management program at GE Plastics. From there, he went on to GE. Luker graduated from the College of the Holy Cross with an undergraduate degree in economics.
7. Mike Graff
Chairman & CEO, Air Liquide
Michael Graff is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Air Liquide. He’s also the Executive Vice President in charge of the Americas hub. Additionally, Graff supervises the electronics business line and the engineering and construction activity. Based in Houston, Graff leads the business operations for the Americas and Asia-Pacific regions of Air Liquide Group and is the global chairman of the Group's Electronics business line.
He has over 30 years of experience in the energy, chemicals, and polymers industries across the Americas, Asia, and Europe. He began his career with Amoco, BP, and plc, going on to serve as President or CEO of several global chemical and polymer businesses. Graff graduated from Purdue University with a master's degree in chemical engineering and from the Illinois Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering.
8. Rob Cashman
Chief Operating Officer, Compute Business, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Rob Cashman is the Compute Business Chief Operating Officer at Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Before this, he was the Vice President of Strategy, Planning, and Operations for GreenLake Cloud Services, where he led business strategy, operations, and business planning for an incubated business unit designed to pivot the company to an SaaS model with a cloud experience to apps and data everywhere.
Before joining Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Cashman was Unisys's VP of Product Management. He began his career at Hewlett-Packard. Cashman graduated from Keele University with an undergraduate degree in international relations.
9. Jeff Miller
President & Chief Executive Officer, Halliburton
Jeff Miller is Chairman of the Board of Directors, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Halliburton. Since joining Halliburton in 1997, Miller has served in several roles, including Chief Operating Officer, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Regional Vice President of the Gulf of Mexico, and Operations Vice President of Angola and Indonesia. He is a certified public accountant, and a member of the Advisory Council for Texas A&M University Dwight Look College of Engineering. He also serves on the board of directors for the American Petroleum Institute, Greater Houston Partnership, and National Petroleum Council. He is a foundation board member for The Council on Recovery.
Miller has a Bachelor of Science in agriculture and business from McNeese State University and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University.
10. Greg Carrow
CFO & VP of TX/OK/NM and Central Region, Aetna, a CVS Health Company
Greg Carrow is the Chief Financial Officer and VP of TX/OK/NM and Central Region at Aetna, a CVS Health Company. He first joined the company in 2013. Previously, Carrow was a National Finance Director of Large Business at Humana, Inc. Before that, he was a Controller at Manhattan Insurance Group. Earlier in his career, he worked with AIG American General as a Manager of Financial Reporting. Carrow graduated from the University of Houston, C.T Bauer College of Business.
11. Justin Rounce
EVP & Chief Technology Officer, TechnipFMC
Justin Rounce is the Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of TechnipFMC. He is responsible for research and innovation, product engineering, procurement and sourcing, manufacturing, quality, safety, security, it, and digital. He is also responsible for corporate development, mergers & acquisitions, and external technology engagement.
Prior to joining TechnipFMC, he spent 31 years at Schlumberger Limited in a succession of executive leadership positions. This includes stints as Vice President of Software Technologies, Vice President, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Senior Vice President, Marketing and Technology. He was also Chief Technology Officer for Cameron International before Schlumberger's acquisition and President of Schlumberger Valves and Measurement.
12. Timothy Leveille
EVP of Finance & CFO, SABIC
Timothy Leveille is the Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of SABIC. Before this, Leveille was Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Controller of Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, based in The Woodlands, Texas, United States. He previously served as assistant treasurer of the Chevron Corp., overseeing global cash management and financing activities for Chevron's operating companies worldwide. He has worked for the public accounting firm, PwC, and Caltex. Leveille holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Boston College and an MBA in finance from Columbia University School of Business.
13. Giorgio Martelli
President & CEO, Saipem America
Giorgio Martelli is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Saipem America. He first joined the company in 2009 as General Manager of Saipem do Brasil. Currently, he is responsible for all aspects of Saipem’s SURF and Deep Water Business Unit over the Americas, including the acquisition of contracts and safe execution of relevant projects.
Previously, Martelli was a managing director at Sonsub AS and, before that, a General Manager at Saipem UK Ltd, Sonsub Division. Earlier in his career, he worked with Micoperi as a Naval Architect. Martelli graduated from Università degli Studi di Trieste.
14. Crissy Nolen
Chief Marketing Officer, Colliers International
Crissy Nolen is the Chief Marketing Officer of Colliers International. She’s responsible for the organization's marketing efforts, develops and expands marketing and technology platforms for the Houston office, and contributes to the Southwest region. In 2020, she became a Principal of the firm.
She began her career as the marketing specialist at the front desk of a boutique commercial real estate firm. From there, her focus was learning commercial real estate and bringing the best marketing practices to the CRE realm. That boutique firm later merged with Colliers' Houston office, where Nolen was promoted to Marketing Director before becoming Chief Marketing Officer. She’s been named Colliers US Marketer of the Year, partaking in Fort Bend's Leadership Class program, been recognized as a local Top 40 Under 40, and taken home awards for Best Market Intelligence and Driving Business Efficiencies & Effectiveness.
15. Jim Fish
President & CEO, Waste Management
Jim Fish began his professional career 36 years ago. Today, he is the President and CEO of Waste Management. Waste Management is America's leading provider of integrated environmental solutions. He’s held a number of roles at the company, including Chief Financial Officer and President, Vice President of Pricing, and Director of Financial Planning.
Fish first got his start as a Director of Yield Management at America West Airlines. From there, he went on to TWA before eventually rising to Vice President of Finance at Westex-A Yellow Corp Company. Fish graduated from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business with an MBA in finance and an undergraduate degree in accounting from Arizona State University.
16. Jay Waring
Chief Operating Officer, Service Corporation International
Jay Waring is the Chief Operating Officer of Service Corporation International (SCI). He joined SCI in 1996 as Area Vice President of Operations when SCI acquired his family's funeral business. He was then appointed President of the Northeast Region in 1999 and President of the Pacific Region in September 2001. In September 2002, Waring was appointed Vice President, Western Operations, a position he held until May 2004, when he was appointed Vice President, Major Markets Operations. He was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2006. In July 2008, Waring's responsibilities were expanded to include business development, and in 2015, he was named Senior Vice President of North American Operations. Currently, Waring serves on the Board of Directors at BankFive and the Greater Houston Partnership.
Waring has an MBA from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Stetson University, and a degree in mortuary science from Mount Ida College.
17. Zhanna Golodryga
EVP of Emerging Energy and Sustainability, Phillips 66
Zhanna Golodryga is the Executive Vice President of Emerging Energy and Sustainability for Phillips 66, a diversified energy company. She has more than 30 years of experience within the oil and gas industry. Golodryga previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Administrative Officer for Phillips 66.
Before joining Phillips 66, she served as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, Services, with responsibilities for Global Supply Chain, Facilities, and Office Services for Hess Corporation, a role she has held since 2012. Prior to that, she was Vice President and CIO at BHP Billiton, Vice President of Information Technology at TeleCheck International, Manager of Information Systems at Baker Hughes, and IT Services Manager at Marathon Oil. Golodryga graduated with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Kyiv Engineering and Construction Institute in Ukraine.
18. Roger Kearns
Chief Operating Officer & EVP of Performance & Essential Materials, Westlake Chemical
Roger Kearns is the Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Performance and Essential Materials of Westlake Chemical. He previously served as their Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of Vinyls Chemicals.
Prior to joining Westlake, he was a member of the Executive Committee at Solvay SA in Belgium. He was responsible for Solvay's advanced materials business cluster, as well as its corporate research organization and its North American region. Kearns has an MBA from Stanford University and a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
19. Hema Yalamanchi
Chief Data Officer, Oceaneering
Hema Yalamanchi is the Chief Data Officer of Oceaneering. She’s responsible for the company’s vision, strategy, execution, and delivery of enterprise data management and analytics, digital products, and business intelligence solutions.
Previously, Yalamanchi was a Senior Enterprise Information Architect at ONE Gas and a Program Manager of Technology Consulting at Wipro Consulting. Earlier in her career, she worked with IIIT Hyderabad, Indecom Cyber Solution, as a Team Leader and Software Developer Consultant. Yalamanchi has a master’s degree in computer science from Oregano State University and an undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University.
20. Ray Blanchette
Chief Executive Officer, TGI Fridays
Ray Blanchette is the Chief Executive Officer of TGI Fridays, an American restaurant chain focusing primarily on American cuisine and casual dining. Blanchette is a food industry veteran with over 30 years of restaurant experience.
Before joining TGI Fridays, Blanchette was a Chief Executive Officer at Ruby Tuesday and, before that, a President and CEO at Au Bon Pain. Earlier in his career, he worked with Carlson Restaurants Worldwide as a President and CEO. He has received many awards and recognition, including nominations for the prestigious Carlson Fellows Award in 2003 and 2005, and Division of the Year for TGI Fridays in 2001, 2002, and 2003. In 2013, he received the “Golden Chain Award” and was ultimately named “Operator of the Year” by Nation’s Restaurant News. Blanchette graduated from Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business with an MBA.
21. John Eck
President & Chief Executive Officer, Mattress Firm
John Eck is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mattress Firm. In his role, he oversees the strategic vision for the company, including its 2,500 stores, digital properties, and 10,000 team members. Eck joined the company in 2019 to lead the evolution of the organization into one that delivers a seamless customer experience across all channels.
He was previously a Senior Advisor and Consultant for media and emerging technology platforms at Rockdale Partners. Previously he was at Univision Communications, where he served as Chief Local Media Officer. He has been a Cincinnati Bell Board of Directors member since 2014 and serves on the Audit Committee. Eck spent 28 years at GE in lighting, aviation, financial services, and media, where he had a variety of leadership roles in finance, operations, and technology. Eck graduated from Indiana University with a BS in business finance.
22. Mike Kavanagh
Chief Commercial Officer, Crown Castle
Mike Kavanagh is the Executive Vice President, Sales, and Chief Commercial Officer of Crown Castle. He mobilizes and brings growth opportunities for the company and its customers. Kavanagh joined Crown Castle as the President of DAS operations and became President of Small Cell Sales.
Before Crown Castle, he was a Co-Founder and CEO of NewPath Networks. Earlier in his career, he co-founded Metawave Communications, where he served in executive sales and project management roles. He has more than 30 years of experience in the telecom industry and has held key positions for organizations such as Opencell Corporation, US West NewVector, and the Raytheon Corporation. Kavanagh has an MBA from Seattle University and a Bachelor of Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
23. Greg Hill
President & Chief Operating Officer, Hess
Greg Hill is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Hess. He was appointed as a Board of Directors member in 2019. He was previously a Director on the Hess Midstream Partners GP LLC Board.
Before joining Hess, Hill spent 25 years at Shell, where he served in a variety of operations, engineering, technical, and business leadership roles in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the US. The roles include Executive Vice President of exploration and production of Singapore-based Shell Asia Pacific and Chairman of Shell’s Global Production Leadership Team. Hill has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wyoming.
24. Patrick McKinney
Chief Operating Officer, NextEra Energy Resources
Patrick McKinney is the Chief Operating Officer of NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida-based energy company. He’s responsible for all operated properties through Trinity Operating and non-operated upstream operations within the company’s gas infrastructure business unit.
McKinney was previously the Managing Director at Lantana Energy Advisors-Suntrust Robinson Humphrey. Before this, he was President and Chief Operating Officer at Rex Energy Corporation, Senior Vice President of Operations at Cano Petroleum, and Worldwide Portfolio Manager at Pioneer Natural Resources Company. Earlier in his career, he was Vice President of Union Pacific Resources and Corporation. McKinney graduated from Pepperdine Graziadio Business School with an MBA and from the University of Wyoming with an undergraduate degree in petroleum engineering.
25. Lee Tillman
Chairman, President & CEO, Marathon Oil
Lee Tillman is the Chairman, President, and CEO of Marathon Oil. He is also the Chairman of the Marathon Oil Board of Directors. Prior to joining Marathon Oil, he served as Vice President of Engineering for ExxonMobil Development Company, where he was responsible for all global engineering staff engaged in major project concept selection, front-end design, and engineering. He served as North Sea Production Manager and Lead Country Manager for Subsidiaries of ExxonMobil in Stavanger, Norway, and as Acting Vice President, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company. Tillman began his career in the oil and gas industry at Exxon Corporation in 1989 as a Research Engineer. Tillman holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Auburn University and a BS in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University.