Corporate Leadership
Chris Wright is the founder, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board of Liberty Energy. He is a self-described tech nerd turned entrepreneur and a dedicated humanitarian on a mission to better human lives by expanding access to abundant, affordable, and reliable energy.
Chris completed an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and graduate work in Electrical Engineering at UC Berkeley and MIT. In 1992, he founded Pinnacle Technologies, whose innovations helped launch commercial shale gas production and created an industry in hydraulic fracture mapping. Chris served as CEO of Pinnacle until 2006. Chris was Chairman of Stroud Energy, an early shale gas producer, before selling to shale pioneer Range Resources in 2006. In 2010, Chris founded and served as Executive Chairman of Liberty Resources, a Bakken-focused exploration and production company, and Liberty Midstream Solutions until its sale in 2024. Chris sits on the Board of Directors of Oklo Inc. (NYSE: OKLO), a next-generation small modular nuclear reactor company, and EMX Royalty Corp. (NYSE-A: EMX), a global mining royalties company. He also serves on the board of numerous nonprofit organizations, including ACE Scholarships, and as a founding board member of the Bettering Human Lives Foundation.
Chris grew up and currently lives in Colorado with his wife, Liz. He is a passionate father, grandfather, skier, cyclist, climber, and outdoor enthusiast.
Ron Gusek has been the President of Liberty Energy since November 2016. Before assuming the role of President, Ron was the VP of Technology and Development from 2014. Over the past 25 years, Ron has garnered extensive oil and gas experience in North America and extended his knowledge of operations through travels to Asia, Russia, and the Middle East. Within Liberty, Ron’s focus includes new technology and innovation, service quality, efficiency, and optimization.
Ron holds a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta.
Ron has also held previous roles at Sanjel Corporation, Zodiac Exploration, and Pinnacle Technologies, with a primary focus on hydraulic fracturing in unconventional reservoirs.
Outside of work, Ron is a husband to Jodi, father to daughters Abbie and Robyn, runner, cyclist, hiker, skier, and occasional adventure racer.
Sean Elliott has served as Chief Legal Officer at Liberty Energy since March 2017. Sean has over 20 years of legal experience and has spent much of his career in leadership roles within publicly traded companies.
Sean Elliott studied at Austin College where he earned a bachelor’s degree (magna cum laude) in Economics and Business Administration. He then moved on to earn his Juris Doctorate degree (with honors) from The University of Texas at Austin.
Prior to joining Liberty, Sean worked as Assistant General Counsel at USAA Real Estate Company, which is part of the USAA organization that serves the U.S. military and their families. Sean practiced law in the San Antonio office of Haynes and Boone, LLP from 2015 until joining USAA in 2016. Before moving to San Antonio, Sean served as Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary, and Chief Compliance Officer for CARBO Ceramics Inc., an oilfield services company in Houston, from 2007 until 2015. Sean also served as legal counsel to Aviall, Inc., a Dallas-based international aviation company, from 2004 to 2007, where he last held the positions of Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary.
Sean is a Texas native. He enjoys tennis, golf, mountain and water sports, and spending time with his children.
Ryan Gosney has served as the Chief Accounting Officer of Liberty Energy since March 2017. Over the course of his career, Ryan has gained extensive experience leading auditing and accounting teams in both private and public settings in the oil and gas industry through a diverse array of transactions and growth.
Ryan has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Texas Christian University.
Ryan began his career as an auditor with Arthur Andersen, LLP in September 1995 where he served in increasing roles of responsibility up to Audit Manager until June 2002. From October 2002 to October 2005, Ryan served as Controller for Patina Oil & Gas Corporation and as Controller of Delta Petroleum Corporation from October 2005 until he departed in 2012. Ryan served as Chief Financial Officer for Dorado E&P Partners, LLC, an oil and gas exploration and production company, from January 2012 to January 2016. Prior to joining Liberty, between July 2016 and February 2017, Ryan served as the Chief Accounting Officer of Vantage Energy, an oil and gas exploration and production company.
Ryan enjoys the array of outdoor activities that Colorado has to offer including hiking, off-road exploring, running, biking, and skiing.
Michael serves as CFO after joining Liberty in April 2012. He brings over 25 years of financial and systems implementation experience to the company. Throughout his career, he has been involved in all levels of finance including global financial management, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning and risk management.
Prior to joining Liberty, Michael was CFO for TAS Energy Inc., an innovative Cleantech Energy company in Houston, TX from 2009 to 2012. At TAS Michael was a key part of the raising of Equity from leading investment groups including Kleiner Perkins, Element Partners, NGP and Credit Suisse. Prior to joining TAS, Michael was the CFO for Pinnacle Technologies Inc. a leading Oil Field Service company, from 1997 to 2009.
During his tenure, Pinnacle Technologies grew at a compound annual growth rate of greater than 30%, from a $2.5M startup to a dominant technology provider with 70% market share in the hydraulic fracture mapping and reservoir monitoring business. He was a key player in the sale of Pinnacle Technologies to Carbo Ceramics in 2002 and then managed the sale of the fracture mapping and reservoir monitoring business to Halliburton before joining TAS. Michael also worked for NeXT Software Inc in Silicon Valley leading up to their prospective IPO and final sale to Apple Computer.
Michael grew up in New Zealand but currently lives in Denver, CO. He has worked across three continents in his career and has an abiding passion for travel and the arts.
Jim Brady is the Senior Vice President of Operations at Liberty Energy and has been with Liberty from day one. With over two decades of experience in the oil and gas industry, his expertise encompasses a comprehensive understanding of personnel management, equipment, vendor relations, and customer dynamics.
Jim has been a driving force in building a corporate culture that prioritizes service excellence, safety, and an unwavering commitment to achieving the highest standards within the industry.
Jim began his career with Halliburton in 1990, where he spent 17 years, serving in roles with increasing responsibility, culminating with his role as service manager, overseeing service quality, safety protocols, and personnel management. From 2007 to 2011, Jim held various positions with Superior Well Services, leading to his role as Rockies Region Manager.
Jim lives in Colorado with his wife, three daughters, grandchildren, and dog, Penny. He enjoys golf, spending time with family, and riding his motorcycle.
Dr. Leen Weijers serves as the Vice President of Engineering at Liberty Energy. He has worked at Liberty since its founding in 2011, originally serving as its Business Manager. Leen’s role at Liberty focuses on two main aspects. One, delivering improved well economics to customers through optimized frac designs, and two, on customer and internal data sharing and reporting to improve business efficiencies.
Leen worked at Pinnacle Technologies from 1995 to 2011, where he oversaw the development of the industry’s most widely used fracture growth simulator, FracproPT. He was Pinnacle’s Rocky Mountain Regional Manager from 2007 – 2011, where he helped rebuild its Rocky Mountain operations.
Leen has authored dozens of industry courses and publications. He also played a key role in the calibration of fracture growth models with various fracture diagnostics such as tiltmeter and micro-seismic fracture mapping technologies.
Leen Weijers completed his doctoral research at the Faculty of Mining and Petroleum Engineering at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands by conducting fracture growth model experiments to investigate the interaction of hydraulic fracture systems with horizontal and deviated wells. Before that, Leen completed a Master’s degree in Geophysics, also from Delft University of Technology.
Leen and his wife, Margreet, have four kids. Leen loves to spend his leisure time with his family in Colorado’s beautiful outdoors on skis, skates, or cycling tires or on the dance floor.
Jack Amant is a seasoned professional with over 25 years of experience in the oilfield. He has been an integral part of Liberty Energy since 2012 when he joined as Frac Coordinator in North Dakota. With Jack’s relentless focus on safety, he was named Director of HSEQ in 2014. In 2023, Jack was promoted to Vice President of HSEQ and Training.
Jack holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of South Dakota, where he excelled as a varsity baseball player. His educational background has given him a solid business management and leadership foundation.
Starting his career shortly after college, Jack began working in the oilfield and quickly progressed through the ranks. He initially worked as a frac hand for Liberty and steadily advanced to the position of Frac Manager in the Bakken. Jack’s hands-on experience and comprehensive understanding of operations make him a valuable asset to the company.
Passionate about the well-being and safety of Liberty Energy’s personnel, Jack transitioned to the HSEQ department in 2014. In his current role as VP of HSEQ/Training, he ensures that the highest standards of health, safety, environment, and quality are maintained throughout the organization. Jack’s commitment to creating a secure and productive work environment reflects his dedication to the company and its employees.
Jack resides in Colorado with his wife, daughter, and two grandchildren. During his leisure time, he enjoys engaging in various activities such as golfing, hunting, fishing, and coaching his grandchildren. Jack’s extensive industry experience, leadership skills, and commitment to employee well-being make him an invaluable member of the Liberty Energy team.
Mike Machovoe has served as the Vice President of Business Development for Liberty Energy since October 2021. Mike began his career with Liberty in July 2013 as an account representative, reporting to Tom Riebel. Mike has served several roles in the Liberty business development team since 2013 including Account Manager, Area Sales Manager for the Rocky Mountain Region, Director of Sales, and the Director of Business Development. Currently, Mike manages 55 employees in the great business development organization, and he is the co-author of 2 technical industry papers.
Mike started his oilfield career in 2002 working as a field specialist for Pinnacle Technologies. Although based in Bakersfield, California then later Denver, Colorado, Mike traveled all over the US and Canada working on tiltmeter fracture mapping, microseismic, and reservoir monitoring projects. After his time in the field, Mike moved to a diagnostics engineering role, conducting real-time fracture analysis on CSS (Cyclic Steam Stimulation), SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage), water and steam floods, and CSS (Carbon Capture and Sequestration) projects in the US and Canada. In 2008, Halliburton purchased the fracture diagnostics arm of Pinnacle Technologies and Mike worked there for 5 years and Team Lead for the Real-Time Reservoir Diagnostics Group with a focus on business development.
Mike received an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Mike is based in Denver and remains a passionate Buffalo Bills and Sabres fan, as well as the Colorado Avalanche. Mike, his wife Renee, and his son, Declan enjoy all outdoor Colorado activities. Mike also enjoys craft beer and live music.
Greg McKee has served as Vice President of Supply Chain since April of 2022. Since joining Liberty in 2016, Greg has set his sights on developing a strategic, efficient, and integrated supply chain driven by strong internal and external partnerships. Greg’s belief is that only with hard work, doing business with integrity, the willingness to learn and adapt, and surrounding yourself with an amazing team can you have a best-in-class Supply Chain.
Prior to joining Liberty, Greg held multiple roles working for Trican Well Service and Sanjel Corporation giving him the opportunity to oversee both domestic and international supply chain operations.
Greg attended the University of Calgary where he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree with an Operations Management specialization.
Born and raised in Calgary, Greg now calls Denver home with his wife, Megan. When he is not working, you will find Greg on the golf course, cheering on his Calgary Flames, at a country music concert, or just enjoying quality time with family and friends.
Tracee Quinnell began her career with Liberty Energy as the Director of Human Resources in 2013. Tracee brings 20+ years of progressive Human Resources experience, the majority of that gained in the oilfield.
Tracee attended Indiana University of PA (IUP), studied abroad at Oxford University in the UK, and then returned to IUP to complete her bachelor’s degree in Human Resources with a minor in Economics in 2003. She then earned her Master of Business Administration degree from IUP, in 2004. She also holds both the SHRM-SCP and the HRCI-SPHR professional certifications.
Prior to joining Liberty, Tracee worked at Superior Well Services, based in Indiana, PA, building her first Human Resources Department. She saw that company through an IPO and an acquisition. Eventually, Superior Well Services was bought out by Nabors Industries, and Tracee moved to their corporate office in Houston, TX.
Tracee enjoys spending time outdoors with her husband Nelson, and son, Dominic. She is an avid archery hunter and fly-fisher woman