Momentum’s fundamental strength lies in our leadership. Our team has successfully worked together for many years, making strategic, high-value acquisitions, developing greenfield assets to their full potential and creating value for our partners and interest holders. Our reputation in the industry is something we are proud of.
Bill Pritchard
Mr. Pritchard has led six successful private equity exits since 2005. Prior to his career in private equity, Mr. Pritchard was a Managing Director, Oil and Gas Corporate Finance, with Jefferies & Company, Inc. From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Pritchard served as Managing Partner of Merchant Resources #1, L.P., a GE Capital Oil and Gas limited partnership. Mr. Pritchard was previously a partner in the New Orleans law firm of Adams & Reese L.L.P., where he headed the firm’s energy practice team. Mr. Pritchard is a former Chairman of the Oil, Gas and Mineral law section of the Alabama Bar. Mr. Pritchard began his career as a petroleum geologist with Marathon Oil Company in 1980. Mr. Pritchard holds a B.A. in Geology from Washington and Lee University and a J.D., cum laude, from South Texas College of Law Houston.
Frank Tsuru
Mr. Tsuru co-founded and currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Momentum, a position he has held since 2004. In 2002, Mr. Tsuru founded Aka Energy, which was a midstream company focused on acquiring midstream assets off of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe (SUIT) Reservation. Prior to that, Mr. Tsuru ran SUIT’s midstream company, Red Cedar Gathering, from 1995 to 2002. In 1990, Mr. Tsuru founded Southwestern Production, an upstream company focused on coal bed methane development in the San Juan Basin, which was sold to Conoco Phillips. He began his career as a drilling and production engineer for TXO Production Corp. in Denver, where he was part of the team that evaluated the company’s reserves and provided M&A support. Mr. Tsuru holds a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Kansas.
Brant Baird
Mr. Baird serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of Momentum. From 2006 until 2012, he served as Vice President of Business Development and led Momentum's entry into the Haynesville Shale, Marcellus Shale and Utica Shale plays. Prior to joining Momentum, Mr. Baird worked with Koch Industries and Enbridge Energy, serving in various finance, gas marketing and business development roles. Brant has a B.B.A. in Finance from Texas A&M University.
George Francisco
Mr. Francisco serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Momentum. From 2006 until 2012, Mr. Francisco served as Senior Vice President, Corporate Development of M3 Midstream LLC and certain related entities. Mr. Francisco spent 10 years as an investment banker focused on M&A, equity and debt financing with Merrill Lynch and Dillon Read. Mr. Francisco began his career with Texas Commerce Bank and holds a B.S. in Management from Tulane University and an M.B.A. from The University of Texas.
Laranne Breagy
Mrs. Breagy serves as Executive Vice President and General Counsel for Momentum and is responsible for all of the company’s legal affairs. An original Momentum team member, Mrs. Breagy joined the company in 2004. She has more than 15 years of legal experience, specifically in the oil and gas midstream industry, and has served as lead counsel in midstream M&A transactions at more than $2 billion. Mrs. Breagy, a Colorado native, received a B.S. degree in 1997 from Colorado State University in Environmental Health. In 2001, she received a J.D. from the University of Colorado, where she received the Indian Law Clinic Award and served as a member and editor of the Law Review.
Mr. Taylor serves as Executive Vice President of Engineering and Construction for Momentum Midstream and led the engineering and construction effort at Momentum since 2009. An original team member, Mr. Taylor joined the company in 2004. He has more than 30 years in the midstream business and has previously worked for Red Cedar Gathering, Aka Energy Group and Public Service Company of Colorado.
Joe Giles
Mr. Giles serves as Momentum’s Senior Vice President of Operations. Mr. Giles joined the company in 2006 and has led Momentum's field operations since that point. He has more than 40 years of experience in natural gas pipeline, processing and treating plant operations. Prior to joining the Momentum team, Mr. Giles worked for Enbridge Energy, Dynergy and CMS Energy.