Why UNC-Kenan-Flagler?
David Fountain, TVA, discusses the value of an Energy MBA Concentration at UNC Kenan-Flagler.
UNC Kenan-Flagler offers an MBA energy program unique among major business schools. Our comprehensive curriculum allows students to explore every aspect of the energy value chain – from oil and gas to power, petrochemicals, and renewables. Courses focus on day-to-day business and economic situations unique to the energy industry and address challenges faced by specific industry segments. Graduates emerge well-prepared to assume leadership roles within the ranks of multinational corporations, independent producers, power generators, renewables firms, and financial and consulting firms.
David Fountain, TVA, discusses the value of an Energy MBA Concentration at UNC Kenan-Flagler.
Hear from Stephen Arbogast, one of the industry experts you'll learn from, whose teaching focuses on business ethics, international finance, and the business of energy.
Darby Casey, MBA '23, shares insight into the energy concentration at UNC Kenan-Flagler, her internship experience and post-graduation plans in the energy industry.
Learning from professors who have built their expertise by working in the industry helps students better tackle the real-world problems facing the energy sector.
Professor Stephen Arbogast discusses the Energy Transition, including current challenges, potential solutions that extend across all energy sources, and the role that MBAs can play in shifting to a lower carbon energy future.
Professor Dan Domeracki addresses the role that the oil and gas industry can play -- and is playing -- in becoming a critical part of the climate change problem.
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Director, UNC Kenan-Flagler Energy Center
Stephen Arbogast’s teaching career focuses on international finance, project finance, business ethics and the business of energy. He is the author of “Resisting Corporate Corruption: Cases in Practical Ethics from Enron through the Financial Crisis” (Wiley, 2017). His Exxon career spanned 32 years and included assignments as finance manager of Esso Brasileira, treasurer of Exxon Capital Corporation and finance director of Esso Standard Thailand. He received a master’s degree in public affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, his BA in government from Cornell University and a master’s degree in theological studies from the University of St. Thomas, Houston.
Senior Vice President, Integrated Planning (Carolinas), Duke Energy
Bill Currens serves as senior vice president of integrated planning for Duke Energy in the Carolinas. He is responsible for coordination of planning and execution of the company’s clean energy strategy in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Before assuming his current position in May 2021, Currens served as senior vice president of financial planning and analysis for Duke Energy. He was responsible for the business and financial planning functions of the enterprise, including oversight of the company’s financial forecast. Since joining the company in 2002, Currens has served in a number of leadership positions including senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer and vice president of investor relations.
Prior to joining Duke Energy, Currens spent more than nine years with the public accounting firm KPMG LLP.
A native of High Point, North Carolina, he earned a BSBA and a Master of Accounting from UNC Kenan-Flagler. In 2015, he completed The Executive Program at the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
He is a CPA in North Carolina. He actively serves in the community on the board of directors for the Renaissance West Community Initiative, the United Way of Central Carolinas and the N.C. Zoological Society
Head of Regulatory Affairs for the East Coast at WeaveGrid.
Bradley Harris is responsible for regulatory affairs on the east coast for WeaveGrid. WeaveGrid works with utilities, automakers, and other parties to solve several EV-grid integration challenges and help integrate renewable energy into the electric system.
Previously, Bradley served as the Director of Government Affairs at Resources for the Future, an energy and environmental think-tank. He has also worked on the Pricing and Customer Solutions team at Duke Energy. In that role, he led several of the company’s efforts related to rate design, electric vehicles, rooftop solar, energy efficiency, and energy affordability.
Bradley is an alum of the Kenan-Flagler MBA program, having graduated in 2019 with a concentration in corporate finance and an enrichment in energy. He also has a Masters in Public Policy from Duke University and a BA in Economics from Tufts University. Bradley is also an alum of the Clean Energy Leadership Institute (CELI).
Associate Director, UNC Kenan-Flagler Energy Center
Dan Domeracki is vice president, government and industry relations for Schlumberger Limited. Before this role Domeracki served as vice president, global accounts and industry affairs for Schlumberger where he was responsible for leading Schlumberger’s global account program and dedicated global account teams. During 2008-2011 Domeracki was global account director for ConocoPhillips managing the executive level corporate relationship between ConocoPhillips and Schlumberger. From 2006-2008 Domeracki was based in London where he served as vice president, marketing and technology for the Schlumberger Reservoir Management Group. He holds a master’s degree in geology from the University of South Carolina.
Director of Solar Transactions for NT Solar
Paul leads and manages the closing and execution of solar tax equity investments for a leading solar tax equity team. NT Solar selects projects, manages deal structures, closes transactions, and provides asset management for our capital partners. In this role, NT Solar raises much needed tax equity capital to serve the solar industry.
Prior to joining NT Solar, Paul managed Project Finance and corporate finance for eight years at Distributed Sun, an active solar developer in community solar and other distributed markets. He raised development capital, managed development budgets, maximized project sale value for development or operating assets, and carried out corporate finance duties. In an earlier role, Paul was the Finance Policy Manager for the American Wind Energy Association (now American Clean Power Association), the nation’s primary wind advocacy organization in tax policy and wind industry data.
He holds both a BSBA and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.
Vice President-Tax and Chief Tax Officer, Kinder Morgan
Jordan H. Mintz serves as the vice president-tax and chief tax officer of Kinder Morgan, Inc. The Ccmpany’s pipelines transport primarily natural gas, refined petroleum products, CO2 and crude oil. He overseas approximately 75 professionals responsible for administration of corporate and partnership tax planning, including property and indirect tax, compliance, audit and reporting functions. He previously held senior tax positions positions at publicly traded Centex Corporation, Enron Corporation, and Exxon Corporation. He was also a tax partner at Houston-based Bracewell LLP.
He earned his undergraduate degree from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, his law degree from the Boston University School of Law and his master’s in taxation from the NYU School of Law.
Executive Vice President of Refining, Marathon Petroleum Corporation; Senior Vice President, MPLX GP LLC.
Ray Brooks is executive vice president, refining of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. He is also senior vice president of MPLX GP LLC. He is a board member for the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers Association (AFPM), a subcommittee member and past chairman for the American Petroleum Institute (API), and member and past chairman of the AFPM/API Process Safety Advisory Committee. He is a member of the University of Cincinnati Engineering College Advisory Council.
Brooks joined Marathon in 1979 as a chemical engineering co-op. In 1983, he started a progression of technical and management positions at Garyville, Texas City, Robinson, Catlettsburg, St. Paul Park and Galveston Bay refineries. He earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati and an MBA from the University of New Orleans in 1988.
Clinical Associate Professor of Data Sciences and Operations, University of Southern California
Phil Rogers received a BS in mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MS and PhD in operations research from the University of California at Berkeley, with minors in statistics and mathematical economics. During a 33-year career at Exxon Corporation, Rogers developed many sophisticated mathematical models that were used to optimize a wide variety of the corporation’s business operations. He then joined the University of Houston, where he taught courses in statistics, business modeling and decision making and was awarded a university-wide teaching excellence award. He is continues his educational reach as a clinical associate professor of data sciences and operations at the University of Southern California.
Professor of the Practice, Vlahoplus Consulting Services, LLC
Chris Vlahoplus is currently Professor of the Practice, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and teaches the seminar “The Business of Energy Consulting” for MBA students. He also holds a role as Senior Consultant to the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.
Previously, he had a nearly 30 year career with ScottMadden as a management consultant to the energy and utility industry, serving 20 years as a partner. He led ScottMadden’s clean tech and sustainability practice including a role leading the firm’s nuclear consulting practice.
Chris earned a BS.in mechanical engineering from the University of South Carolina, an MS.in nuclear engineering from MIT and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.
Upstream Treasurer, ExxonMobil Corporation (Ret)
Alfred Y. Harper served as the Upstream Treasurer in Exxon Mobil Corporation. He joined the company in June 1990 after various finance-related assignments in Dallas, Houston, Singapore and Coral Gables, he was named Assistant Treasurer of the ExxonMobil Chemical Company in 2000.
In 2001, Al became the Business Services Manager and Controller of ExxonMobil de Venezuela in Caracas, and in 2005, he was named Business Services Manager and Treasurer of ExxonMobil Qatar in Doha. In July 2008, he joined the ExxonMobil Development Company, where he held the titles of Controller and then Treasurer. His teams supported the development and financing of ExxonMobil’s major upstream projects around the world.
In January 2013, Al was named as the Upstream Treasurer in ExxonMobil Corporation where he managed a team that is responsible for delivering corporate finance support to ExxonMobil’s worldwide upstream business.
Al holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He is married and has two children.
CFO of Low Carbon Solutions at ExxonMobil Corporation
David was born in Massachusetts and received his B.S. degree magna cum laude in Chemical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis and his MBA from New York University. He is a CPA.
After working for IBM, David joined Exxon Corporation in 1989 as a Financial Analyst in Exxon Chemical Company. His career has been spent in a variety of assignments in both Treasurer’s and Controller’s, including business analyst, financial supervisor, trading room manager and planning manager. David also served as the Controller of the Benelux affiliates and as the Lead Country Manager and Business Services Manager of Esso Thailand. David returned to the U.S. in 2005 when he became the Corporate Financial Reporting Manager, later becoming the Controller of the Chemical Division of ExxonMobil, then the CFO of the Upstream, and assuming his current role in 2024.
David is a Professor of the Practice of Finance at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina and teaches a course in Industrial Finance with his colleagues. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Wells Fargo Center for Finance and Accounting Research at the Olin School of Business in St. Louis.
David and his wife Margie have two children and they reside in Houston, Texas.
“This is a terrific moment to be involved in energy. Opportunities abound on many fronts, in traditional oil and gas and renewables. All are making major contributions to reinvigorating the economy. The UNC Kenan-Flagler Energy Concentration prepares you for your role in this renaissance by focusing on the problems energy executives address each day. Our industry veteran faculty will equip you with the technical knowledge needed to decode energy issues and show you through case work how to apply your skill set to the industry’s challenges. If you then go to work for an energy company, you will go to work on issues and problems you will already have seen, discussed and analyzed.”