Solomon Associates » consulting team

Hank Brolick, P.E.

trugenius — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:07:37 +0000

As Vice President Pipelines, Hank oversees the development and execution of Solomon’s Worldwide Pipeline, Terminals, and Gas Processing Plant Performance Analyses around the world. With more than 30 years of corporate, project management, and engineering experience in the pipeline industry, Hank began his career with Shell Oil and later worked for Williams Brothers Engineering in project management assignments on both liquid and natural gas pipeline projects on four continents.

Prior to joining Solomon in 2002, Hank also served as President of Williams Technologies and Black Mesa Pipeline. He holds an MBA in Marketing and BS in Civil Engineering from Michigan State University.

Michael Hileman

trugenius — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:01:33 +0000

As Vice President, Michael is currently responsible for Solomon’s Product & Service Development, and serves as Project Executive for major engagements. With more than 30 years of experience, Michael has spent decades working in and analyzing the petroleum industry and applies that knowledge to helping Solomon’s clients around the world improve their performance.

Before joining Solomon in 1996, Michael worked for a diverse range of organizations, including Atlantic Richfield, Charter Oil Company, and Ultramar Inc. Additionally, he is the author of several U.S. and European patents on methods for determining equivalency factors and has published several articles on optimizing assets and utilizing best practices to optimize assets. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology.

Ed Platt

trugenius — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:00:51 +0000

As Vice President – Power, Ed oversees the process of helping Solomon’s Power Generation clients improve their performance. During his 35 years of experience in the power generation industry, Ed managed and directed operations, maintenance, technical, and engineering support for TXU’s 18,925 MW of gas, oil, and coal generating capacity, involving 23 plant locations with 200 employees, and a direct operating budget of US $24 million. Ed has a comprehensive background in conventional steam and combustion turbines with gas, oil, and coal fuel experience.

A Professional Engineer in Texas, Ed holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering and from Texas A&M University. His knowledge, education and experience are leveraged in helping clients identify performance improvements and manage the tradeoffs of cost, reliability, technology, and markets that are inherent in operating power generation assets.

Bill Horner

mnorris — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:23:37 +0000

Bill began his career as a Process Engineer with Dow Chemical in 1978. Prior to joining Solomon in 2005, he developed a broad experience base as a Process/Operations Engineer and Lead Engineer at various petrochemical, refinery, and utility plants around the world. Bill is currently a Senior Energy Consultant at Solomon and now focuses on CPA activities for pipelines.

In addition to his engineering abilities, his simulation modeling skills span several software packages, including HYSYS, PROII, HX-Net, ProSteam, SuperTarget, STX/ACX, and many proprietary programs. Bill is a Chemical Engineer and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University.

Mike Vance

mnorris — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:08:22 +0000

Mike began his career in refining in 1982. Now as a Senior Consultant with Solomon, he is responsible for assisting with consulting assignments throughout the world. Prior to accepting a position with Solomon, Mike was Operations Complex Manager at the Premcor/Valero refinery in Memphis. In addition, he has held multiple positions during his 23 years of experience at Chalmette Refining LLC (a joint venture of ExxonMobil and PdVsa, formerly Mobil Oil, Tenneco Oil). He has conducted assignments in Japan and Venezuela, as well.

Mike has worked in a variety of operations, planning, and technical positions and still has passion for optimization opportunities, whether it is black oil, BTX, or organizational. He has been involved in organizational change, major turnarounds, capital project work, and knowledge management. Mike is a chemical engineer, and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Mississippi.

Chris Bustamante

trugenius — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:05:48 +0000

Chris, Senior Energy Consultant, has worked in the petroleum refining industry in a variety of responsibilities that include Refinery Process/Energy Consultant, Operations Manager, Technical Specialist, and Business Development Manager. Much of Chris’ refinery experience has been in the area of energy conservation and optimization. Furthermore, he is experienced in managing and optimizing hydrogen systems. Chris holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Business Administration, both from California State University, Long Beach

Fred Mackie

trugenius — Fri, 08 May 2009 13:42:11 +0000

Fred began his career in the refining industry as a Product Engineer in 1975. As a Senior Consultant with Solomon, he is responsible for assisting with global consulting assignments. Prior to accepting a position with Solomon, Fred held a variety of positions with chemical and engineering firms, where he gained extensive domestic and international experience, including assignments in Canada, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Europe, the United Kingdom, India, and Asia.

Fred has managed all operational and tactical aspects of maintenance programs and capital improvement projects, and is a recognized leader specializing in HVAC, electrical, fire protection, technology, and central plant engineering and design. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Science and a Master of Science degree in Engineering Administration from the University of Tennessee. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.

Ken Booi

trugenius — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:10:22 +0000

Ken began his career in the Refining Industry in 1975 as a Senior Engineer with Exxon. Today, he oversees Solomon’s Latin America consulting efforts, focusing on helping clients achieve long-term sustainable improvement by maximizing margins on existing assets. Prior to accepting this position, Ken served as Director of Latin America Power Generation Operations, striving to expand Solomon’s Power Generation CPA and consulting services in the Caribbean, and Central and South America.

Ken’s entire 30-year professional career has focused on consulting and project development in Latin America. He has assisted in numerous management consulting assignments, project development, and due diligence for asset acquisitions in Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Venezuela, Colombia, Jamaica, and Mexico. Ken is fluent in English, Dutch, and Spanish.

Doug Williams

trugenius — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:42:28 +0000

Doug joined Solomon with more than 30 years experience working for petrochemical organizations and an additional 5 years experience with heavy equipment design and engineering. He brings to Solomon considerable expertise with business process re-engineering, multiple SAP and other CMMS implementations, mechanical design, rotating equipment design and maintenance, construction and startup of chemical process plants, personnel performance management, and general management techniques.

During his time with Solomon, Doug has gained extensive experience in reliability information and management systems, maintenance information systems, custom application development, configuration, training, and functional analysis, and excels at business process engineering. He has led cost-reduction petrochemical projects with the goal of improving maintenance effectiveness to world-class standards. Doug is a Registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas (#77255) and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

John Popielarczyk

trugenius — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:19:46 +0000

John is Director of Projects in Solomon’s refining consulting practice. He also serves as Team Leader for the Hydrocarbon Quality Management and Hydrocarbon Loss teams, as well as a subject-matter expert in Solomon’s Planning and Optimization practice. John also developed and managed Solomon’s Worldwide Refinery Quality Control Performance Analysis (QC Study).

Prior to joining Solomon, John had a wide ranging international management and consulting career in the downstream petroleum industry spanning 35 years. His petroleum industry experience includes economics and planning, petroleum supply and trading, energy risk management, quality management, energy marketing, and process operations.

John has a BS and MS in Chemical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Dallas. He is a registered Professional Engineer (Texas).