Jim Parkman has been associated with the energy industry and financial services business for over 30 years as an employee of energy companies, an investment banker specializing in energy and an entrepreneur providing financial services to energy companies. He is now involved in an investment banking firm formed in 2007 named Parkman Whaling LLC.

Petrie Parkman & Co., the firm he co-founded in 1989, was sold to Merrill Lynch in December 2006. During the seventeen year history of Petrie Parkman it was engaged in providing financial services to the energy industry including representing clients in mergers, asset transactions, restructurings, private placements and underwriting of securities. Petrie Parkman became a leader in its businesses and was recognized in several publications as the best in the energy advisory sector before it was sold in 2006.

Prior to the formation of Petrie Parkman, Jim Parkman was a Managing Director of The First Boston Corporation where he worked in the New York M&A Group as an energy specialist beginning in 1982. He came to First Boston after working for Saxon Oil Company and Texas Eastern Corporation from 1975 to 1982. His first professional job as an economist for The Federal Reserve Bank was accepted after receiving his M.A. in economics from Texas Tech. Prior to that he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force after completing his undergraduate degree (honors) at Mississippi College in 1972.

During his career Mr. Parkman has advised public and private companies, directors, investors and government officials on strategic and transaction objectives. He was extensively engaged in numerous takeover defense situations in the 1980s and was responsible for organizing energy company asset restructuring programs during that same period. His involvement in energy industry transactions extended through 2006 as he developed a leading provider of acquisition and divestiture services and established a leading merger advisory service. In the late 1990s Mr. Parkman created a service to advise both creditors and debtors in bankruptcy resulting in several significant reorganizations and recapitalizations. His service to private, public and institutional interests includes assignments for the U.S. Government (the largest privatization in U.S. history) and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (natural gas initiative).

In addition to forming Petrie Parkman and Parkman Whaling he has collaborated with and invested in several energy-related entities including Energy Special Situations Funds, Patriot Resources, Cortez Resources, Hi-Crush Partners, Ultra Tech Frac Services, Monterey Resources, EC Mako LLC and other start-ups and early stage entities.

Jim Parkman resides in Houston, Texas and has two grown children and three grandchildren also residing in Texas. He is a strong supporter of educational charities primarily through the Susan K. Black Foundation. This entity, founded in 2001 by Mr. Parkman in honor of his late wife, is involved in advancing art education through school programs, workshops and museum programs.

Bruce is a founding member of Parkman Whaling and has been involved in the energy industry for more than 15 years in various capacities, including investment banking, strategy consulting, and government service. At Parkman Whaling, Bruce has managed advisory engagements in mergers and acquisitions, financings, and divestitures, with a focus on upstream oil and gas transactions in the Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian and San Joaquin Basins. He has also managed or participated in restructurings, distressed M&A, and 363 sales for public and private E&P companies, with a focus on assets in the Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountains. Bruce has also advised energy companies and institutional investors on oil and gas special situations and distressed investing opportunities.

In his capacity with Parkman Whaling’s merchant banking activities, Bruce manages Monterey Energy LLC, an independent E&P company with approximately 16,000 net acres in California’s San Joaquin Basin. In addition to his role with Monterey, Bruce oversees certain non-operated oil and gas investments in the Eagle Ford Shale.

Bruce has also worked in corporate finance at Noble Corporation and South Bay Resources in Houston, and as a strategy consultant with PFC Energy in Washington, DC. At PFC Energy, Bruce provided strategic, geopolitical, economic and financial advice to large-cap integrated energy companies, national oil companies, and independent E&P companies. Prior to PFC Energy, Bruce worked in the office the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy and served as a White House liaison for the Department’s Power Marketing Administrations. Bruce’s government experience also includes domestic and international energy policy at the U.S. Senate in Washington and the International Energy Agency in Paris.

Bruce is a trustee of the National Ornamental Metal Museum and a member of the Advisory Board of the Asia Society Texas Center.

He received an MBA from Rice University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, and a BA from the University of Colorado.

Sandie Pierce has served as office manager for Parkman Whaling since its start-up in 2007. Among her many duties, she is responsible for maintaining the firm’s client engagement letters and client invoicing, implementation and renewal of vendor contracts. She also acts as the administrator of the personnel department and manages the firm’s construction and office expansion projects.

Prior to her position with Parkman Whaling, Sandie joined Petrie Parkman & Co. in 1990 where she worked for 16 of its 17 year history. During her tenure at Petrie Parkman she assisted in many of the firm’s divestiture projects, was responsible for maintaining client engagement letters and invoicing, accounting duties, and administered personnel records for the Houston office. She also coordinated travel arrangements and processed expense reports. In addition she served as the firm’s special events planner. Sandie also managed all the construction projects for the firm’s several Houston office expansions.

In 2006 and 2007 Sandie worked with Pam Dean Cable on the Blossom Art of Flowers, an International Art Competition and Art Exhibition for the Susan Kathleen Black Foundation.

Edna Sanchez has served as office administrator for Parkman Whaling since September 2007. She is responsible for all accounts payable activities, the processing of all employee expense reports and making travel arrangements for the entire office. She provides administrative support to the Chief Compliance Officer and is responsible for managing the recordkeeping requirements for all affiliated entities. She is also responsible for managing regulatory required licensing for the firm, all registered agents and non-registered associated persons and managing the firm’s regulatory filing compliance for deadlines which include client file management, annual renewal filings, contact questionnaire filings, administrative annual filings, fidelity bond renewals, agent terminations, continuing education and distribution of internal procedures.

Prior to her employment with Parkman Whaling, Ms. Sanchez served as Sales Assistant for Assurant Health/North Star Marketing, a national health insurance firm, for thirteen years. During her tenure there, Ms. Sanchez provided administrative support to four in-house sales representatives and secondary administrative and marketing support to over 2,400 sales agents in the field. Her varied responsibilities ranged from the preparation and distribution of marketing materials to providing customer support to existing and potential clients. Ms. Sanchez also served as a liaison between sales representative and sales agents, prepared proposals for individual and group insurance policies and provided orientation for new employees.