About: Leadership

Charles H. Cotter, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board

Founder and CEO of Biomass Energy Resources, Chuck Cotter is a seasoned entrepreneur and business professional providing strategic vision and a passion for flawless execution. Mr. Cotter possesses over 20 years of experience in strategic planning, business development, operations management, sales execution, and has successfully launched, operated, and sold a business venture.

Prior to founding BER, Mr. Cotter was Vice President, Global Alliance Accounts at SAP America, Inc. managing a $60M business unit responsible for driving software related services, consulting, training, and education revenue. Prior to being promoted to an executive role in the SAP Top 100 group, Mr. Cotter was Global Account Executive for SAP contributing more than $60 million in software license revenue within 15 months of his return to the company. In 2007, Mr. Cotter became SAP’s only two-time recipient of SAP’s Top Global Account Executive worldwide.

Prior to returning to SAP in 2006, Mr. Cotter was Founder and President of Lifestyle Gourmet, food-delivery business focused on healthy, home-delivered meals. Mr. Cotter built Lifestyle Gourmet from the ground up, including the end-to-end business process systems and infrastructure. Mr. Cotter later sold the profitable business to a private investor group.

Prior to Lifestyle Gourmet, Mr. Cotter was Vice President, Marketplace Business Unit at Informatica, where he was responsible for building an analytical offering and business unit capturing business-to-business marketplaces. Mr. Cotter also built Informatica’s customer Center of Excellence and its national Analytic Applications sales team. Prior to Informatica, Mr. Cotter began his software career at SAP America, Inc. as an Account Executive where he was the worldwide Top Global Account Executive in 1999.

Mr. Cotter holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing from The University of Texas in Austin, TX.

James R. Monroe, Executive Vice President and Vice-Chairman of the Board

A seasoned executive, Russ Monroe brings over 20 years of business development, sales, and marketing leadership, and is responsible for the customer-facing sales and marketing function at BER.

Prior to joining BER, Mr. Monroe was Group Vice President at SAP America, Inc. where he was responsible for the SAP Top 100 in the Southwest Region. In his 4+ years at SAP, Mr. Monroe held key sales leadership positions and contributed to over $200M in software and software related services revenue. In 2007 he was top performing Vice President in the company. Prior to SAP, Mr. Monroe was Regional Sales Director at Peoplesoft where he led teams that were consistently the highest performing in the company. Mr. Monroe exceeded his sales targets 10 consecutive years from 1998 to 2007.

Mr. Monroe began his career as an accountant with Ernst & Young. After leaving E&Y, Mr. Monroe worked for Ross Perot as Mr. Perot’s tax CPA and financial advisor. Mr. Monroe was also asked to serve on numerous special projects for the City of Dallas, the Perot Family, and on behalf of U.S. Military veterans.

In 1992 Mr. Monroe became a key participant in Ross Perot’s run for the U.S. Presidency. He was responsible for ballot access, field operations, rallies and debates.

Mr. Monroe holds a Masters of Science in Accounting from The University of North Texas in Denton, TX and holds a CPA certificate.

Mike McCall, Board Member

Mike McCall has more than 29 years of experience in the energy industry and is currently working with several companies on energy strategy and business development. Mr. McCall began his career with Luminant (formerly TXU) in 1980.

Following the sale of TXU Corporation in 2007 to private equity investors, he was elevated to chief operating officer. Luminant owns and operates 18,000 megawatts of nuclear, coal, and natural gas power plants, as well as large surface mines that provide fuel for the coal power plants. Additionally, Luminant is in the process of constructing three new units and expanding mining operations for the new units.

Mr. McCall has held key roles such as Chairman and CEO of Luminant Energy, a wholesale marketing and trading business. While in this role, Mr. McCall was also the executive spokesman and responsible for public advocacy regarding that company’s large scale coal and nuclear power plant construction program. Additionally, Mr. McCall was senior vice president of Luminant with responsibility for mining operations, fuel management, and corporate-wide environment and safety; President of TXU Gas, a 1.5-million-customer gas distribution company and pipeline business; and Vice President of Regulatory and Director of Public Policy during the time in which Texas moved to a competitive generation and retail market.

Mr. McCall began his career in operations. He worked as an engineer, first-line supervisor, and supervisor over railroad operations, engineering manager and mine manager before taking his first corporate responsibility for the management accounting function.

Mr. McCall graduated from Missouri University of Science and Technology in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering. A registered professional engineer, he serves on the Missouri University of Science and Technology Mining Engineering Development Board, the University of Texas – Environmental Science Institute Advisory Council, the Board of the Texas Junior Golf Tour and is a member of the Dallas Assembly.

Mr. McCall formerly served on the boards of the Edison Electric Association, National Mining Association, American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, American Gas Association, Southern Gas Association, Association of Electric Companies of Texas, Texas Pipeline Association and Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association. He also served on the National Coal Council, the Energy Reliability Council of Texas and the New Mexico State University Center for Public Utilities Advisory Council.

Marvin Burchfield, Board Member

Marvin’s Burchfield’s understanding, expertise and ability has energized a professional career encompassing roles in construction, sales, engineering, research, operations, development, acquisitions and executive management with both small and large organizations such as Ralston Purina, the South Carolina Agricultural Experiment Station, Carrier Corporation and Duke Energy. He has been personally involved in the development, ownership and operation of energy assets for nearly twenty years. He currently serves as a vice president of Decker Energy International, Inc. (“DEI”).

DEI develops, acquires, and owns energy generating facilities that meet the energy needs of utility and industrial customers by providing reliable, low-cost energy with a keen sensitivity to the environment. Since 1982, DEI has developed or acquired fourteen diverse energy projects totaling nearly 1,000 megawatts of generating capacity and $700 million in total investment, including six renewable energy biomass fueled facilities. With a current total installed wood fired capacity of 88 megawatts, prior involvement with other biomass projects in excess of 200 megawatts, a current late stage development of a 40 megawatts facility in Connecticut, a 60 megawatts facility in northeastern NC, a 55 megawatts facility in southeast GA, a 50 megawatts facility in eastern TX, DEI is one of the most experienced independent developer / owners of wood residue fueled electric generation in North America. Mr. Burchfield earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering from Clemson University in 1987.

Steve Jernigan, Senior Vice President of Finance

Steve Jernigan has more than 18 years of corporate development and financial advisory experience, including extensive experience with strategic planning, M&A origination, structuring and execution, operational and financial restructuring, business valuation and financial due diligence.

Most recently, Mr. Jernigan was a Managing Director in FTI Consulting’s Corporate Finance practice in Houston Texas where he was responsible for advising clients with business restructurings, turnarounds and mergers and acquisition transactions in a wide variety of industries.

Prior to that, Mr. Jernigan spent nine years combined with Ashmore Energy International, a portfolio company of Ashmore Investment Management Limited that is focused on owning and operating energy infrastructure assets in emerging markets, and its legacy companies, Prisma Energy, which was created as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Enron estate with Enron’s international assets, and with Enron.

During this time, Mr. Jernigan held the position of Vice President, Corporate Development at Ashmore Energy International where he was responsible for new strategic business development for Asia and the Middle East. Prior to Ashmore Energy International’s acquisition of Prisma Energy, Mr. Jernigan was a Vice President of Corporate Development with Prisma Energy where he had a lead role in developing Prisma Energy’s initial strategic business plan and readying the company for sale, which included restructuring Prisma Energy’s $400mm Asia portfolio through the disposition of certain operating businesses and the restructuring of joint venture and lender arrangements impacted by the Enron bankruptcy. While at Enron International, Mr. Jernigan was a Director focused on commercial oversight and new business development for Enron’s international asset portfolio.

Prior to Enron International, Mr. Jernigan worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Transaction Advisory Services and Coopers & Lybrand’s Financial Advisory Services Practices advising clients in a variety of industries. Mr. Jernigan began his career in the Business Assurance group with Coopers & Lybrand performing financial audits of middle-market clients.

Mr. Jernigan holds both an M.B.A. in finance and a B.B.A. in accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.

J. Richard Ellis, Vice President of Strategic Planning & Analysis

Richard Ellis is a senior leader with over 20 years of experience in operations, consulting, finance, strategic planning, and business process reengineering. Mr. Ellis is responsible for BER's strategic planning and analysis function and also manages information-related shared services for the organization.

Mr. Ellis has strong practical experience in helping companies turn strategy into results by developing the operational infrastructure required for profitable growth and scalability. He came to BER from SAP America, Inc., where he served as Senior Principal in their Value Engineering group, responsible for helping SAP’s Top 100 clients create the strategies, plans, and supporting business cases for their business transformation projects.

Prior to joining SAP, Mr. Ellis served as Chief Operating Officer for National Dental Network, a leading distance-learning firm providing live-patient, video-based cosmetic dentistry education. Prior to his operations role, Mr. Ellis developed sales processes and sales management systems for Fortune 500 clients while serving as Senior Consultant for DSG Consulting, a sales management consulting firm. Prior to DSG, he drove significant growth in revenue and profitability while holding various management positions in sales operations, strategic planning, and technology development for i2 Technologies, Hitachi Semiconductor, and Dallas Semiconductor.

Mr. Ellis holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Engineering from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

Mark E. Massey, Vice President of Project Development

Mark Massey is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur with a proven track record of operations management, residential and commercial project development, strategic leadership, and team building. Mr. Massey brings over 20 years of management experience to BER and is responsible for overall project development, including supply chain management, site selection, and site development.

Prior to joining BER, Mr. Massey was President of Canyon Ridge Development LLC and Canyon Ridge-Fireside Creek LLC, creating residential and commercial real estate developments in the Colorado resort towns of Summit and Grand Counties. Mr. Massey was responsible for project vision, site acquisition, development management, municipal entitlements, and vendor management.

Prior to Canyon Ridge, Mr. Massey served as Business Development Manager at Jefferson Wells International, an international finance and accounting consulting firm. While at Jefferson Wells, Mr. Massey built a successful consulting practice focused on business infrastructure with Fortune 500 companies in the Houston marketplace. In his nine years with JWI, Mr. Massey was the recipient of numerous awards including Rookie of the Year and Spectrum Club and left as the firm’s top revenue producer in 2006.

Mr. Massey has served the community by participating on numerous boards. He currently serves as Board Member for the Denver Fellowship of Christian Athletes and KidsTek. Mr. Massey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from The University of Texas in Austin, TX.

Allen Forte, Vice President of People Strategy

Allen Forte has been a leading Business and Human Resources leader for more than twenty years. He has built a strong reputation for designing and implementing strategic management processes necessary to drive the change needed to sustain continued business success. Mr. Forte, through his organization and human resources consulting practice, People Programs Group, Inc (“PPG”), will head up the Company’s people strategy and organizational design.

As the principal practice consultant for PPG, Mr. Forte leads a team of highly skilled professionals whose purpose is to enable their clients to successfully develop and execute their plans for success. Mr. Forte’s broad professional background makes him uniquely suited to take a holistic approach to providing the Company with proactive solutions around planning, people development and organizational design focusing on the relationships between these elements to enable both business and people to unleash their full potential together.

In December 1999, he was fortunate enough to retire from a very successful career as a Colonel in the U.S. Army. He held key positions in Planning and Operations, Human Resources, Organizational Development and Department of Defense Acquisition for the Army, Pentagon.

Mr. Forte holds a Master’s degree in Information Systems from George Washington University, Washington, DC, an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Columbus State University, Columbus, Georgia, and he is also a graduate of the Army Center and College for Human Resources Professionals, The Army Command and General Staff College, The Center for Strategic Planning and the National Defense University with a concentration in Long Range Planning.