Leadership Team
Zin Smati
Chairman & CEO
With more than 30 years in the energy sector between the United States and abroad, Zin is an accomplished corporate director at LifeEnergy. Working as the CEO, he brings many skills to the table that he acquired over a well established career that saw him rise through the energy world. He has worked as the CEO of BP Global Power where he was in charge of all power generation activities before moving on to GDF Suez.
At GDF Suez Energy North America (now known as ENGIE), Zin started out as the Executive Vice President of Strategy in 2001. In 2002, he took the mantle of responsibility by becoming the President and CEO at GDF Suez Energy. His role in the company included maintaining general management, growth, and profitability of GDF Suez in North America, doubling the revenue of GDF Suez from $4 billion to $8 billion. He is also credited with tripling the EBITDA, bringing it to $1.5 billion. His leadership and management oversaw more than 14,000 MW of power generation capacity, two liquid natural gas terminals, six natural gas distributors, three pipelines, and made GDF Suez the third largest retail energy provider in the United States.
Zin holds a bachelor’s degree in Engineering from Henley Management College in Oxfordshire, England, a master’s degree in business management from the same, and a doctorate from Brunel University in West London, England. He is a member of the board at the University of Houston Bauer College of Business, and a member of SNCLavalin and the Senior Advisor to LS Power, a private equity firm based in New York. He has also been a member of the National Petroleum Council, an advisory body for the US Secretary of Energy, and he was also Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA).
Mr. Bob Stibolt
VP Supply & StrategyBob brings 30 years of experience in the energy industry to a new world in the energy sector. He has specific expertise in the fields of upstream oil & gas, power generation, energy marketing and trading, and risk management. He demonstrates a particular focus for and aptitude with value and risk management in the industry.
With a unique skill set, Bob inspires innovative and creative thinking among his peers and personnel. He has a natural ability for attracting and keeping professional talent on his team, and excels at building capabilities among team members.
Climbing to the top of the ladder in the field of risk management started in 1981 when he worked as a project manager for Natomas Company. He has worked for several companies along the way, including well respected companies like Strategic Decisions Group, Suez Energy North America, and JP Morgan. His skills in the risk management field have been perfected over
this long and distinguished career.
Bob holds a bachelor’s degree of science in engineering in Aerospace & Mechanical Sciences/Engineering Physics from Princeton University and a master’s degree in science from in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University. He has also been consulted on energy related matters and testified on several energy issues before the United States Congress and the FERC. He also has several publications on topics covering risk management in the energy industry.
Neil McKellar
VP OperationsNeil has worked in operations for the energy industry for over 25 years, managing operations for Business to Consumer and Business to Business scenarios. Originally from Canada, he spent 17 years working for the largest electrical utility located in the country: Hydro One Networks. With Hydro One, also known as Ontario Hydro, he worked on generation and transmission projects, as well as energy management and the opening of the Ontario energy market.
His skills include the procurement, origin, and development of structured products, as well as risk management for power and gas clients. He has worked with both small residential sectors and large industrial sectors. Neil worked with Shell Energy for over 10 years to develop their Business to Consumer retail sector and continued to grow the Eastern Canada C&I marketing group cialis prezzo.
Neil holds a Masters of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University and is also a Certified Engineering Technologist. He has experience in the development and use of demand management and energy efficiency incentive programs, also having sat on government committees in the development of energy policies. He actively participated in the deregulation of the Ontario electricity market, contributing to the market rules and structure. He has also developed and conducted energy audits for commercial and industrial facilities in Ontario as well as manage the development of large cogeneration and district energy projects.