Management Team / Advisory Board Bios
Maurice Dukes
Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Dukes co-founded PetroFunders in 2019. Previously held corporate reservoir engineering positions for a Caerus Oil & Gas, a private equity backed E&P company. At Caerus he was instrumental in maintaining and increasing the enterprise value exceeding $1 billion. He has expert technical and A&D experience with oil and gas assets in Texas, Louisiana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. He has shown expertise in bringing forth material high value projects that meet or exceed acceptable market hurdle rates. During his time at QEP Resources, he launched an industry leading refrac program in Haynesville and oversaw a $35 million non operated budget. He holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from University of Oklahoma.
Ryan Werking
Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer
Mr. Werking co-founded PetroFunders in 2019. Previously, he founded a contracting company which specializes in robust financial modeling for various independents & national oil companies with projects ranging up to $600 million. As an executive of the contracting firm, he led an effort to integrate international and state laws, well abandonment designs, and project management for domestic and international clients. He assisted with the 2nd edition of Oil and Gas Property Evaluations, aka “The Blue Book”. Mr. Werking holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from Colorado School of Mines.
Scott Sloan
Finance Lead
Mr. Sloan has over 30 years of oil and gas experience. He brings knowledge of upstream A&D processes, partnerships and corporate governance. Most recently, as President and CEO, he oversaw the completion of over a dozen US onshore divestments by Vanguard Natural Resources to mostly private operators and gained relevant insights into PetroFunders’ marketplace. Previously Mr. Sloan held senior leadership roles including SVP of Strategy for Hess and President of BP Russia; numerous corporate and business unit level CFO roles; and A&D oriented roles such as M&A Director for BP. Mr. Sloan has extensive experience in the boardroom as a director for companies including Vanguard Natural Resources, TNK, and Medgaz . He graduated from Colgate University with BA in Economics (Honors) and from the University of Chicago with an MBA.
Stephen Gornick, MS
Chief Investment Officer
Mr. Gornick has over 30 years of oil and gas experience, and has been directing operations, increasing production and proven reserves, and evaluating oil and gas reservoirs in North America since 1990. In addition to being President of East Peak Companies,he is the Chief Reservoir Engineer for Nissan Chemical. His current projects include new applications for EOR completions, paraffin treatment, and CO2/helium production. Previously, Mr. Gornick was instrumental in expanding Whiting’s production from approximately 10,000 barrels per day to over 150,000 barrels over a 10 year period. While at QEP Resources, he was responsible for adding 35 million barrels of proved reserves. Steve holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering and an MS in Mineral Economics/Operations Research from the Colorado School of Mines.
Richard K. Sotiros, CPA
Director of Accounting
Mr. Sotiros has 36 years of experience in accounting. He has spent the past 15 years as a member of the accounting firm of Sotiros & Sotiros, LLC, Certified Public Accountants, which includes clients in the oil and gas industry. As a CPA, he has been part of M&A activity with various clients, aggregating $50 million in deals. He was responsible for annual payments in excess of $500 million for film and television participating interests. In 1996, Warner Bros. merged with Turner Entertainment and he was involved in the logistics of coordinating merged departments. Mr. Sotiros has a Bachelor’s Degree in business from the University of Colorado, Boulder.
Marty Tate, JD
Senior Legal Counsel
Mr. Tate is a nationally recognized securities, finance, and fintech attorney. He counsels clients throughout the U.S. and internationally on structured finance, private and public securities offerings, fintech, initial coin offerings and tokens sales, SEC reporting, real estate financings, venture capital and angel financings, fund formation and compliance, business formation and corporate governance. Marty also represents several entrepreneurs, small and large companies, as well as private investors, finance companies, national and regional banks, investment banks and venture capital and private equity firms. In working with such clients, he regularly advises on various transactions, financings, contracts and agreements in an array of matters. Throughout his career, he has provided counsel in association with over $500 million in debt and equity financings.
