First Reserve Announces Senior Promotions Worldwide, Adding to the Bench Strength of the Largest Energy-Focused Private Equity Investment Team in the Industry

GREENWICH, Conn., HOUSTON, LONDON and HONG KONG, Dec. 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- First Reserve Corporation, a leading global investment firm dedicated to the energy industry, today announced the promotion of five senior investment team members within the Infrastructure and Buyout funds in Greenwich, Houston and London.  The promotions further strengthen the firm's senior team, the largest energy-focused private equity investment team in the industry.

"I am extremely proud of the team that we have built and these promotions reflect our continued commitment to growing our intellectual capital and rewarding excellence across our global network," said William Macaulay, Chief Executive Officer of First Reserve Corporation. "In my view, our investment team has never been as strong as it is today."

The promotions become effective as of January 1, 2013 and include:

·         John Barry, promoted to Managing Director.  John has remained active in broadening the First Reserve network in Europe since joining the firm in 2009.  He remains instrumental in First Reserve's Energy Infrastructure Fund (FREIF), is a member of the FREIF investment committee and manages the Renovalia Reserve investment.  Previously, John was a Director in Merrill Lynch's infrastructure equity investment business.  Prior to that, he was a Director at international private equity firm 3i Group plc ("3i") where he was one of the founding members of 3i's infrastructure investment business. He has been investing as a principal in private equity and infrastructure since 1996. He is based in the London office.

·         Alex Williams, promoted to Managing Director. Alex is involved in all areas of the worldwide natural resources industry, with particular expertise in mining and infrastructure related sectors. Alex has been an important part of building First Reserve's presence in Mining and Mining Equipment and Services since he joined the firm in 2008.  Alex is a member of the Board of Directors of Calibre Global and Connect Resource Services and is deeply involved with portfolio companies Southern Cross and Glencore.  Prior to First Reserve, Alex was a Director at international private equity firm 3i Group plc ("3i") where he spent nine years in 3i's European buy-out business. Before that, Alex worked at J.P. Morgan in the Corporate Finance and Capital Markets groups. He is based in the London office. 

·         Neil Wizel, promoted to Managing Director. Neil continues to play a vital role in building the Firm's Buyout investment capability in the Downstream and Oilfield Service areas.  He serves on the Board of Directors of First Reserve portfolio companies' PBF Energy, Saxon Energy Services and Deep Gulf Energy.  He will join the Board of TPC Group upon the completion of the transaction, expected later this month.  Neil joined First Reserve in 2007 from the Greenbriar Equity Group, a transportation-focused private equity firm, where he was a member of the investment staff.  Prior to Greenbriar, he was a Financial Analyst in the Leveraged Finance/Financial Sponsor Group at Credit Suisse First Boston. He is based in the Houston office.

·         Adi Blum, promoted to Director.  Adi continues to serve a critical role in the management of two of the Firm's key FREIF investments, SunEdison Reserve and First Caribbean Power & Midstream.  He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of these two companies.  As a Director, Adi will continue to focus on global midstream energy and power investment opportunities. Adi joined First Reserve in 2011 after a career at private equity firm High Road Capital Partners. Prior to that, he was with Citigroup Markets & Banking's Mergers & Acquisitions group.  Adi is based in the Greenwich office.

·         Mark Saxe, promoted to Director. Mark has helped expand the firm's presence in the midstream vertical as it relates to FREIF.  Mark has strong capabilities in sourcing midstream opportunities and his efforts helped lead to the firm's investments in First ECA Midstream and Caliber Midstream. He currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of both companies.  Mark joined First Reserve in 2011 after several years at Loews Corporation where he was a Director in the Corporate Development Department.  While there, he helped build Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, a large midstream Master Limited Partnership (MLP) and helped build HighMount Exploration & Production, a large Exploration and Production company.  Prior to Loews Corporation, he was an Analyst in the Investment Banking Division at Lehman Brothers. Mark is located in the Greenwich office.

"The contributions made by this group are exceptional and each promotion well deserved.  Each of them play an important role in helping shape the future of our firm and they contribute toward the diverse set of operational and financial acumen that we have today across our investment team, " concluded Alex Krueger, President of First Reserve.

First Reserve has over 75 investment professionals. With these promotions, First Reserve has the largest set of Managing Directors in the firm's history.

About First Reserve Corporation

Founded in 1983, First Reserve is a leading global investment firm dedicated to the energy industry with over $23 billion of raised capital since inception. With offices in North America, Europe and Asia, First Reserve is well-positioned to make strategic investments on a global basis across the energy value chain. First Reserve seeks to create value for its investors by applying its deep industry knowledge, decades of investing and operational experience, highly talented management team and powerful network of global relationships to its investments and through active monitoring of its portfolio companies. For additional information, please visit First Reserve's website at www.firstreserve.com.

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