Sam Upchurch brings nearly a decade of commercial real estate, corporate finance, strategic planning, and risk management experience to the Green Earth Fuels team. Previously, Mr. Upchurch headed the South American Risk Trading group and managed the North American Trading Risk Strategies group for El Paso Merchant Energy, a wholly-owned subsidiary of El Paso Corporation. There, he was responsible for developing hedging and contracting strategies for both domestic and international assets, and long-term marketing contracts. The commodity exposure included gas, power, and fuel oil. In addition, Mr. Upchurch was responsible for setting hedging strategies for the foreign exchange risk created by the group's international assets and operations. Prior to joining the Trading Risk Strategies group, he served as Lead Analyst for more than $2 billion in project financings for the company's Structured Finance group. Mr. Upchurch also served as Managing Partner of a Texas-based real estate development firm that develops college housing communities throughout the state. He earned a B.S. in Finance from Texas State University and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University. |