Leadership
Our leadership team is committed to safety, keeping engine flywheels turning,
and building a company our customers can rely on.
Scott has 20+ years of senior leadership experience with a successful history leading global industrial/energy O.E.M.s with an aftermarket focus. Scott has held CEO, President, and other senior management positions with CIRCOR International, United Technologies (now Raytheon Technologies), and Honeywell International. Scott has an Aerospace Engineering degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Northwestern University.
Matt is a 21-year compression veteran with Cameron’s compressor division and has a combined 30 years in the oil and gas sector in various strategic commercial roles. Matt has held vice president-level roles with Champion Technologies-Athlon Solutions and FTS International. Matt received his Bachelor of Science in Business from Penn State University and his MBA from Clarion University of Pennsylvania.
Malcolm is a proven business professional with 21+ years of experience across manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain. Malcolm held key management positions at Dresser Industries, Cameron’s compressor division, and Team Industrial Services. Malcolm has a Bachelor of Science in Management from Witwatersrand Technikon and a Mechanical Engineer N4/N5 from Johannesburg Technical College.
John has 20+ years of corporate financial experience in the energy industry. John joins us from Pelican Energy Partners where he served as Managing Director for 9 years. Earlier in his career, John held finance leadership roles at J.B. Poindexter, GulfStar Group, and Morgan Keegan. John holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from Northeastern University and a Master’s in finance from Texas A&M University.
Nina is a 20+ year human resources leader with both domestic and international experience. Nina has experience developing human capital, scaling teams, and driving global talent development and HR strategy for Fortune 500s and SMBs. Most recently, she served as vice president of global human resources at Fortive within Precision Technology. Nina received her Bachelor of Science in art from Algiers University, a Master’s in accounting & finance from HEC Alger, and an MBA from Texas A&M University.
regional Leaders
Mike Baughman
Mike Baughman began his career with Cooper as a high school student in 1979 where he worked on the assembly floor of the famous Grove City, PA Cooper-Bessemer plant. Mike collectively spent 31 years with Cooper over the course of his career in Grove City and Odessa. Mike also spent time at Nickles Industries and Valerus Inc. where he packaged close to 1,000 new and refurbished compressors. In recent years, Mike has run his own catalyst business. He returns to his roots as the leader of Cooper’s Midland-Odessa service, shop, and sales operations.
David Glasson
David Glasson is a seasoned business executive with 15+ years of experience in the Oil & Gas industry. In 2013, David joined Quorex Switzerland as a business development manager. In 2018, David founded Quorex Australia, a gas compression aftermarket service company that was later acquired by Cooper in 2020. Prior to Quorex, David worked in various project and design engineering roles, including Veolia Australia as an EPC in the Oil & Gas sector. David holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sydney.
Stephen Hammond
Stephen Hammond is a 35-year Cooper veteran who started his career just after high school after taking a tour of our former Superior engine-compressor factory in Springfield, Ohio. Stephen has dedicated almost his entire career to Cooper, as there are few things he’s done outside of our company. Stephen learned the business from the ground up and has served in AJAX package engineering, application engineering, shop management, service management, and sales leadership both domestically and globally. Today, Stephen is the leader of our Gulf Coast region which includes management of the sales team, machine shop, and service group.
Greg Penzato
Greg Penzato is a 33-years Cooper veteran who started his career at the Louisiana Service Center as a management trainee. Greg dedicated his career to Cooper and has held many positions in aftermarket services. Greg learned the business from the ground up and has served as machine shop manager, project manager and services manager. Greg served as the Southeast U.S. region lead until Feb. 2023. Today, Greg is the Eastern U.S. operations leader which includes management of the sales team, parts, inside sales, machine shop and field service group.
Functional Vice Presidents & Directors
Charles Ely
Vice President, Engine Analytics and Technical Training
Charles is an accomplished professional with 30+ years of experience with most of his years spent in the oil and gas midstream and pipeline industry. During his career, Charles held engineering, operations, sales, consulting, and senior management roles at Dominion Energy/Consolidated Natural Gas, Compressor Engineering Corporation, Siemens/Dresser-Rand, and FirstService Residential. Charles holds a Bachelor of Science in computer engineering, a Bachelor of Science in electrical and electronics engineering, and an MBA from West Virginia University.
Chioma Eze
Director, Strategy and Corporate Development
Chioma Eze is a strategy professional with experience developing strategy and implementing large-scale transformation programs. Prior to joining Cooper, Chioma led transformation programs across technology, human capital, and profitability topics while at Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and the Boston Consulting group. She has a Masters in Accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA from The University of Texas, McCombs School of Business.
Patrick Gillespie
Vice President, Sales - Americas
& NOx Reduction Initiative Lead
Patrick is a sales leader with 16+ years’ experience building partnerships with customers in the power generation and gas compression industries. Patrick began his career in Moscow as part of GE’s market development team. After returning to the US, Patrick joined Cooper in 2015 and has held successive roles leading commercial teams in the U.S. and Latin America. Patrick holds a BA in International Relations & Russian Language from Boston University.
Jay Guidry
Vice President, Operations
Jay Guidry has more than 30 years of experience in operational roles with over 26 years in leadership. He has been with Cooper for 14 years working in various capacities within new compressor and after-sale operations including sourcing, procurement, repair, and service. In addition to Cooper, Jay has held plant and operations manager positions with companies like Epic and Gardner Denver. Jay graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Technology.
Kelly Hargrove
Vice President, Field Operations
Kelly Hargrove is a 44-year compression industry veteran. Kelly started his career with El Paso/Kinder Morgan in 1979 as a college summer hand and learned engines and compressors in his role as operator and senior mechanic before moving into leadership and management roles. Kelly served as the mechanical maintenance manager in Mercer, Pennsylvania where he managed all elements of equipment maintenance and gas pipeline operations. Kelly now serves as the vice president of field operations at Cooper.
James Harrison
Vice President, Operations
James Harrison has 14 years of experience in the compression market and 21 overall in various engineering, technical support and operational roles. James has held key positions at Fluor, Exterran-Archrock and Waukesha-Pearce. Most recently, James was director of operations with Cook Compression. James graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.
Jeremy Holberg
Vice President, Cooper Components Group
Jeremy Holberg is a 22-year aftermarket and energy industry veteran with substantial experience in gas compression, hydraulic fracturing, and conventional drilling. Jeremy has held multiple sales, operational, and leadership roles in his career including a 10+ year career at Cameron’s Compression Systems group where he worked in procurement, project management, and key account sales. In 2012, Jeremy became the director of aftermarket at GD Energy Products and advanced later to the position of vice president, aftermarket operations until re-joining Cooper in 2023. Today, Jeremy leads Cooper’s components division at corporate headquarters in Houston, Texas. Jeremy holds a BA in Marketing from Texas A&M University.
Hans Mathews
Vice President, Engineering
Hans Mathews joined the gas pipeline and compression industry in 1991 with Tenneco where he spent 9 years in engineering, maintenance analysis, and leadership roles before joining Hoerbiger in 2000 where he became a senior vice president and general manager for their Engineering Services (HES) team. HES was acquired by Cooper in 2020, and Hans joined us after the transition. Hans is a United States Air Force Veteran and graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.
Mitch Opat
Vice President, Turbocharger Solutions International (TSI)
Mitch Opat is a turbocharger veteran having spent 40 years in the industry. Mitch started his career at Turbine Specialties Inc. in Salina, Kansas before transitioning to LCM Turbo Inc. For the last 10 years, Mitch has been the general manager of Archrock’s turbocharger division located in McPherson, Kansas. In 2020, Cooper purchased the Archrock turbocharger division, and Mitch came to us during the transition. Mitch has a technical degree in Diesel Engine Technology and a BS in Management from Central Christian College.
Giuseppe Robbiano
Vice President, Information Technology
Giuseppe Robbiano is an information technology leader with more than 26 years of experience in architecting, implementing, and supporting information technology systems. Giuseppe has held several key IT positions with Baan Peru/Grupo Novatech, Bucyrus International, Caterpillar Global Mining, and Ducommun LaBarge Technologies. He also served in various IT senior management positions with Bray International. Giuseppe holds a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Lima, Peru.
Jordan Smith
Vice President, Sustainability & Emerging Technologies
Jordan Smith is a 20-year compression veteran who began his career as a student working at Colorado State University’s (CSU) Engines & Energy Conversion Lab. After graduating from CSU as a mechanical engineer, Smith joined Cameron Inc. where he specialized in the design of emissions reduction technologies for large power generation and gas compression engines. Since Cameron, Smith has held engineering and sales management roles in the industry and received his P.E. certification in Colorado.
David Tomes
Vice President, Used & Refurbished Equipment
David Tomes is a 40+ year gas compression guru who began his career in the industry as a Cooper mechanic in 1980 working globally on reciprocating engines-compressors. In 1996, he moved to NRG Energy where he managed their United States Operation. Since 2010, David has owned his own compression business specializing in the overhaul and refurbishment of reciprocating equipment and parts for AJAX, Clark, Cooper-Bessemer, IR, Waukesha, and Worthington models. Today, David leads Cooper’s used and refurbished parts and equipment business located in Odessa, Texas.