Officers and Board of Directors
Val M. Holms, President, Chief Executive Officer and Director
After being honorably discharged from the United States Marine Corps, 4th Force Reconnaissance Division in Vietnam in 1969, he was the founder, sole owner and operator of Holms Building Services, Inc., a licensed general contracting company based in Missoula, Montana until 1984. Beginning in 1971 until the present, Mr. Holms has been a private investor, a part time independent land man, organized several oil and gas limited partnerships, purchased and sold mineral leases, and arranged various oil and gas joint ventures in Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, and North Dakota . From 1984 to 1988, he attended Rhema Bible Institute and received a Bachelor degree in Theology. Mr. Holms and his wife Mari Holms are the managing members of Holms Energy, LLC. On December 1 2010, Mr. Holms was appointed to the board of directors.
David Deffinbaugh, Treasurer and Chief Financial OfficerMr. Deffinbaugh graduated from the University of Montana in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, Accounting. After graduation, he worked in the family business until 1990. From 1990 to March 1992, he worked for the Montana Corporation where he assisted in the preparation of SEC financial reports along with regulatory reporting for an insurance subsidiary. From March 1992 through August 1996, he worked for Crop Growers Corporation where he was involved in various accounting functions as the company went from a private company through an IPO to a public company. From September 1996 through the present, he has maintained an accounting and financial services practice providing services to individuals and businesses in Montana and other states On May 14, 2011, Mr. Deffinbaugh was appointed to the as the Company's Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer.
Karen Midtlyng, Secretary and DirectorMs. Midtlyng has an associate degree from the University of Montana, Helena College of Technology. From 1978 to 2005, she was employed by U.S. Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.), Water Science Center, Helena, MT. During her 27 years with the U.S.G.S. she was responsible for start to finish production of several U.S.G.S. scientific reports, fact sheets and electronic documents and co-authored several U.S.G.S. publications. From 2005 to present, she has been engaged as an independent consultant in providing services for small business in the Helena area where she assists in the establishing and implementation of business processes. On December 1, 2010, Ms. Midtlyng was appointed to the board of directors.
Herman R. Landeis, DirectorMr. Landeis was the Western Region Tax Manager for Marathon Oil Corporation, based out of Casper, Wyoming, from 1972 until he retired in 1992. Previously, Mr. Landeis worked as a professional Draftsman for Marathon Oil Corporation from 1955 until 1972, except for a two year leave of absence to serve in the Military (Army), where he was honorably discharged. As a Tax Manager for Marathon Oil Corporation, he was responsible for and managed a variety of financial matters related to property tax negotiations, valuation of company owned assets and property, and conducting various financial analysis on operations in the Western United States. These properties included the Interstate Pipeline running from Montana to Missouri, properties in Alaska, five off-shore platforms and numerous operating oil and gas properties in the Western United States. Since his retirement in 1992, he has acted as a consultant to the oil and gas industry related to special projects involving tax matters, appraisals and valuation of property. Mr. Landeis received a Certified License as a Professional Appraiser from the University of Nebraska in 1972. On January 4, 2011, Mr. Landeis was appointed to the board of directors. Until May 31, 2011, Mr. Laneis was the Company's Chief Financial Officer.
Bill M. Baber, DirectorMr. Baber has 37 years of experience in the field of drilling, completing, operating and maintenance of oil and gas wells. In addition, Mr. Baber also provides sources and arranges for the maintenance of oil/gas rigs and other heavy machinery used in drilling operations. Mr. Baber regularly consults with clients on drilling operations and regulatory requirements. For the past 15 years, Mr. Baber has conducted his business through his entity, Bill M. Baber Oil Field Equipment. Mr. Baber is expected to receive certain equity-based compensation for his services to the Company as a Board member. Such compensation is yet to be determined.
W. Edward Nichols, DirectorMr. Nichols has owned and operated gas processing plants in Kansas and Wyoming, and also co-owned and operated oil drilling, production and gas gathering companies in Kansas. Mr. Nichols has served as a Director and member of the Executive Committee of several public companies, including General Environmental Corporation, Gulfstar Energy Corporation and EnviroMart.com. He is currently chairman of the Board of Directors of Gulfstar Energy Corporation. He also serves as a consultant and in-house counsel for Travelpayer Systems Limited, a financial transaction processing and settlement company in the United Kingdom.
In addition, Mr. Nichols is an attorney with Nichols & Nichols in Denver, Colorado and is authorized to practice in the states of Colorado and Kansas, the United States Federal Courts, and Supreme Court of the United States. He is also Managing Director of Nichols & Company LLC, a management consulting firm. Previously, Mr. Nichols was Senior Partner in Nichols and Wolfe, a national municipal bond law firm. He was instrumental in structuring and providing Approving Legal Opinions for several hundred million dollars of General Obligation Bonds, Tax Anticipation Notes and Revenue Bonds. He has since worked as a consultant with public and private companies in the U.S., Europe and the Far East and has extensive international relationships with investment banking firms, accounting and brokerage firms.
Other Employees, Consultants and Contractors
The company employs a number of outside consultants on an as needed basis. The management team is responsible for all material policy-making decisions, and will be assisted in the implementation of the BRI's business by our executive management team and our General Counsel. All employees will enter into written employment agreements with BRI. As drilling production activities continue to increase, we may hire additional technical, operational or administrative personnel as appropriate. We do not expect a significant change in the number of full time employees over the next 12 months, assuming our currently projected business and operating plan does not change. We are using and will continue to use the services of independent consultants and contractors to perform various professional services. We believe that this use of third-party service providers may enhance our ability to contain general and administrative expenses.