Our Team
Parkman Whaling’s professionals are experienced in all facets of the energy investment banking industry.
Parkman Whaling’s professionals are experienced in all facets of the energy investment banking industry.
Jim Parkman has been associated with the energy industry and financial services business for over 30 years as an employee of energy companies, an investment banker specializing in energy and an entrepreneur providing financial services to energy companies. He is now involved in an investment banking firm formed in 2007 named Parkman Whaling LLC.
Petrie Parkman & Co., the firm he co-founded in 1989, was sold to Merrill Lynch in December 2006. During the seventeen year history of Petrie Parkman it was engaged in providing financial services to the energy industry including representing clients in mergers, asset transactions, restructurings, private placements and underwriting of securities. Petrie Parkman became a leader in its businesses and was recognized in several publications as the best in the energy advisory sector before it was sold in 2006.
Prior to the formation of Petrie Parkman, Jim Parkman was a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation where he worked in the New York M&A Group as an energy specialist beginning in 1982. He came to First Boston after working for Saxon Oil Company and Texas Eastern Corporation from 1975 to 1982. His first professional job as an economist for The Federal Reserve Bank was accepted after receiving his M.A. in economics from Texas Tech. Prior to that he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force after completing his undergraduate degree (honors) at Mississippi College in 1972.
During his career Mr. Parkman has advised public and private companies, directors, investors and government officials on strategic and transaction objectives. He was extensively engaged in numerous takeover defense situations in the 1980’s and was responsible for organizing energy company asset restructuring programs during that same period. His involvement in energy industry transactions extended through 2006 as he developed a leading provider of acquisition and divestiture services and established a leading merger advisory service. In the late 1990’s Mr. Parkman created a service to advise both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy resulting in several significant reorganizations and recapitalizations. His service to private, public and institutional interests includes assignments for the U.S. Government (the largest privatization in U.S. history) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (natural gas initiative).
In addition to forming Petrie Parkman and Parkman Whaling he has collaborated with and invested in several energy-related entities including Energy Special Situations Funds, Patriot Resources, Cortez Resources, Hi-Crush Partners, Ultra Tech Frac Services, Monterey Resources, EC Mako LLC and other start-ups and early stage entities.
Jim Parkman resides in Houston, Texas and has two grown children and three grandchildren also residing in Texas. He is a strong supporter of educational charities primarily through the Susan K. Black Foundation. This entity, founded in 2001 by Mr. Parkman in honor of his late wife, is involved in advancing art education through school programs, workshops and museum programs.
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William P. Nicoletti has a long history in investment banking, corporate management and directorship as well as in litigation support and management consulting. He is experienced in complex corporate and partnership governance issues. He has served in several corporate leadership positions including as: lead director, non-executive Chairman of the Board, Chairman of Special Committees and as Chairman of several Audit Committees. He has been involved in several corporate and partnership restructurings as both a banker and a board member. He has testified as an expert in connection with matters of corporate and partnership governance, mergers, acquisitions, financings, valuations and due diligence.
Bill has been a Managing Director and Head of Energy Banking for PaineWebber Incorporated, E.F. Hutton & Company Inc., and McDonald Investments, Inc. Prior to joining Parkman Whaling, he was Managing Director of Nicoletti & Company Inc., a firm providing investment banking, expert testimony and financial advisory services to corporate clients involved in a diverse mix of businesses. Until joining Parkman Whaling, his business activities were based in New York.
Brandon Baudin has over fifteen years of experience in the energy and investment management industries. He has served in critical roles for private equity funds and their portfolio companies - ranging from start-up to IPO-ready organizations.
Over the course of his career, Brandon has partnered with investors, board members and management teams to develop tactical and strategic goals, analyze and negotiate mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and restructurings, raise debt and equity capital, create internal controls and accountability procedures, advise on highly contentious matters, and prepare and review SEC filings.
Brandon has been involved in raising over $1 billon of capital for energy focused companies while at Parkman Whaling. He has also served in managerial positions for certain merchant banking investments controlled by the firm’s principals, including Ultra Tech Frac Services which was successfully sold in 2013. Brandon also serves as the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer at Parkman Whaling, in addition to his involvement in the firm’s merchant and investment banking activities.
Prior to joining Parkman Whaling, Brandon was Chief Financial Officer at ESS Funds, a private equity firm focused on providing growth capital to the energy industry. Brandon was also a key part of the firm’s investment team, sourcing and evaluating equity and debt opportunities. He advised portfolio company management teams on financial and operational matters, including financial modeling, development of accountability measurements, and the establishment of internal controls, policies and procedures. Brandon was responsible for all treasury and financial reporting functions as well as the firm’s investor relations activities at ESS Funds.
Prior to ESS Funds, Brandon served as Controller for Petrie Parkman & Co., a leading investment bank specializing in the energy industry. Petrie Parkman & Co. was sold to Merrill Lynch in 2006. Brandon started his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he oversaw the planning and execution of audit engagements in the investment management industry including: investment advisors, open-end and closed-end mutual funds and broker dealers.
Brandon received an MBA from Rice University and a BBA in Finance from Fort Hays State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant.
Brandon resides in Houston, Texas and has two small children. He serves on the board of the Ronald McDonald House Houston, an organization that provides a “home away from home” for families of sick children receiving medical treatment.
Bruce is a founding member of Parkman Whaling and has been involved in the energy industry for more than 15 years in various capacities, including investment banking, strategy consulting, and government service. At Parkman Whaling, Bruce has managed advisory engagements in mergers and acquisitions, financings, and divestitures, with a focus on upstream oil and gas transactions in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian and San Joaquin Basins. He has also managed or participated in restructurings, distressed M&A, and 363 sales for public and private E&P companies, with a focus on assets in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountains. Bruce has also advised energy companies and institutional investors on oil and gas special situations and distressed investing opportunities.
In his capacity with Parkman Whaling’s merchant banking activities, Bruce manages Monterey Energy LLC, an independent E&P company with approximately 16,000 net acres in California’s San Joaquin Basin. In addition to his role with Monterey, Bruce oversees certain non-operated oil and gas investments in the Eagle Ford Shale.
Bruce has also worked in corporate finance at Noble Corporation and South Bay Resources in Houston, and as a strategy consultant with PFC Energy in Washington, DC. At PFC Energy, Bruce provided strategic, geopolitical, economic and financial advice to large-cap integrated energy companies, national oil companies, and independent E&P companies. Prior to PFC Energy, Bruce worked in the office the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and served as a White House liaison for the Department’s Power Marketing Administrations. Bruce’s government experience also includes domestic and international energy policy at the U.S. Senate in Washington and the International Energy Agency in Paris.
Bruce is a trustee of the National Ornamental Metal Museum and a member of the Advisory Board of the Asia Society Texas Center.
He received an MBA from Rice University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a BA from the University of Colorado.
Michael Hanson is a founding member of Parkman Whaling LLC. For nearly 10 years, Michael has had the great pleasure of advising companies, boards, lenders and investors throughout the energy industry. As an investment banker, Michael represents clients in mergers, asset transactions, restructurings, private placements and strategic initiatives. Clients served range from small, private oil and gas firms to large, public asset managers and financial institutions, including one of the world’s largest commercial banks as creditor in a multibillion bankruptcy.
The majority of Michael’s work focuses on the upstream sector of North America’s oil and gas industry. With a lifelong respect for the industry’s technical experts, Michael is adept at communicating the technical aspects of opportunities in order to support his clients’ goals of making money in a cyclical industry. Beyond exploration and production, Michael has experience in gas gathering and midstream infrastructure, hydraulic fracturing services, frac sand mining, power asset management, oilfield technology, among others.
As a result of beginning his career just prior to the Financial Crisis, Michael has acquired substantial experience in distressed situations representing debtors, creditors and investors in and out of bankruptcy. Notable public transactions include the successful restructuring of Energy Partners Ltd. (EPL) and the sale of Dune Energy, named the Energy and Services Restructuring of the Year for 2015 by the Global M&A Network.
In addition to his advisory work, Michael is very involved in Parkman Whaling’s principal investing activities, which now include more than $325 million of invested capital. Of all his accomplishments in his career, Michael is most proud of the close relationships he has built with his many friends, colleagues and clients across the energy and financial centers of Houston, New York, Midland, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Denver, Bakersfield, Calgary, among others.
Outside of his work activities, Michael is an active supporter of education, health, arts and community organizations throughout Houston. He is currently a board member of The Fondren Foundation, and was formerly a director of The Menninger Clinic Foundation, Co-Founder and Co-Chair of its Young Leaders in Mental Health, a founding member of the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Next Generation Donor Institute and a member of the steering committee for the establishment of The Center for Family Philanthropy.
Michael received an MBA in Entrepreneurship from the Acton School of Business, named the #1 Most Competitive Student Body of Graduate Business Schools in America by the Princeton Review. He is also a magna cum laude graduate from Southern Methodist University. Born in Corpus Christi, Texas, and raised in Houston, Michael is a fifth-generation energy industry member. He resides in Houston with his wife and their three young children.
Lars Hollis has over seven years of financial advisory experience and has been involved in a number of engagements including M&A, divestitures, fairness opinions, restructurings, and private placements. In addition, Lars has worked closely with the board of directors and management teams of Parkman Whaling’s merchant banking investments.
Prior to joining Parkman Whaling, Lars worked for Accenture’s Strategy Consulting practice specializing in the Energy Industry. While at Accenture, Lars worked with clients ranging from private equity funded energy companies to fully integrated super majors. In addition, Lars served as a financial analyst for the transaction advisory firm VMG Health performing valuation work and rendering fairness opinions.
Lars Hollis earned a Bachelor of Science with a focus in finance from Cornell University. Lars earned the rank of Eagle Scout from the Boys Scouts of America. Lars is actively involved in the Houston Producers Forum, Young Professionals in Energy, Houston Energy Finance Group, and Young Professionals in Finance.
Spencer Eichler graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.B.A. in Finance and Energy Management Concentration in 2015. Prior to working at Parkman Whaling, Spencer interned at Breitburn Energy in his hometown of Los Angeles. Spencer is a member of the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and served as Vice President of Operations for the Maguire Energy Institute while attending SMU.
Brian Scott has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Bucknell University and a Master of Science in Mineral and Energy Economics from the Colorado School of Mines. Prior to obtaining his graduate degree and joining Parkman Whaling, Brian worked in the financial services industry for PwC, MF Global and American Express. While at these companies he developed experience in audits and nagivating regulatory based issues.
Brian has passed the Uniform Certifed Public Accountant Examination and has the requisite experience to become a licensed CPA in the state of Texas.
Daniel Austgen graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a minor in Business Administration. Prior to joining Parkman Whaling, Danny worked for a search fund in Austin, Texas, where he gained experience soliciting and evaluating investment opportunities. During his time at the University of Texas, he spent time as a Legislative Intern in the Texas Senate working on natural resources policy. Danny is a native of Houston, Texas
Dr. Joel Parkman is a partner of Parkman Whaling LLC and is responsible for research and analysis in support of the firm’s advisory services to clients.
Prior to joining Parkman Whaling, Joel worked as Head of Research for Investment Banking for Petrie Parkman & Co. He assisted with corporate and asset transactions for both domestic and international clients including advising the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its Natural Gas Initiative as well as working to execute private equity transactions. Additionally, he worked with the restructuring group on power generation assignments to monitor troubled companies in the electric power sector and debt to equity restructuring assignments. His experience in the electric power sector includes advisory assignments involving several natural gas reserve acquisition projects for domestic municipal utility clients and an international power generator.
Prior to joining Petrie Parkman, Joel’s background was as a scholar: he holds a Bachelors degree in Business Administration from Mississippi College, a Masters of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Baylor University.
