commonwealth lng

Leadership

Leadership

Across our company,
we value collaboration
and responsibility.

Executive Leaders
Management Team
Board of Directors

Paul Varello

Founder and Executive Chairman

Paul has more than 50 years of experience in the engineering and construction industry including 30 years in C-level management positions. Before founding Commonwealth Projects in 2014, he was Founder and Chairman of Commonwealth Engineering and Construction, a project management company specializing in the design and construction of refining, LNG, chemical and gas processing projects.


He also served as Chairman and CEO of Sterling Construction Company, CEO of American Ref-Fuel Company, President of the Process Sector of Fluor Corporation and Monitor Trustee for the Federal Trade Commission overseeing the LNG tank business of CB&I.


Paul is a Registered Professional Engineer in Louisiana, Texas and California, and holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Villanova University. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program.

Farhad Ahrabi

President and CEO

Farhad joined Commonwealth following a seven-year tenure at Cameron LNG, during which he oversaw the development, construction and subsequent operations of a 14.5 mtpa LNG facility in Hackberry, Louisiana. Prior to that, he had been active in LNG during his 28 years with BG Group.


Farhad has also formerly served as an Independent Director at ARC Resources Limited, a leading Canadian energy company with a diverse asset portfolio focused on responsible energy development.


He holds a PhD. in Reservoir Engineering from the University of Exeter (England) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wales.

Management team

Jamie Gray

Chief Operating Officer   

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Nick Eusepi

Chief Financial Officer

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Thomas Smith

General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

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George Nemeth

Chief Commercial Officer

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Scott Ray

Chief Technical Officer

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Dan Fleischer

Senior Vice President, Finance 

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Jesse Lee

Executive VP LNG Marketing

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Dan McGinnis

Executive VP LNG Marketing 

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Lyle Hanna

VP Corporate Communications

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Cristina Perez

VP of Human Resources

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Tony Diocee

VP & Project Director

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Les Hanson

VP Operations

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Board of Directors

Don Cruver

Chairman of the Board

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Rod J. Ragan

Director

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David Sargent

Director

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Joe Cutillo

Director

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Jeff Early

Director

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Company

Leadership

Project

Sustainability

Contact

One Riverway, Suite 500
Houston, TX 77056

  • (346) 352-4444
  • info@teamcpl.com

Jamie Gray

Chief Operating Officer 

Jamie is responsible for setting comprehensive goals and strategy to achieve project success and business growth.  He formerly led Sempra Infrastructure’s design, construction, and commissioning of Cameron LNG.  He’s also had experience in wind energy after starting his career in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power program.

Nick Eusepi

Chief Financial Officer

Nick is responsible for the management of all financial and accounting activities of Commonwealth LNG, including business planning, budgeting, forecasting and negotiations. He’s experienced in raising various types of capital through debt and equity placements and knowledgeable in the intricacies of project finance. Nick’s background is from the public accounting arena where he specialized in audit and attest work, along with various other financial consulting roles.

Thomas Smith

General Counsel & Chief Compliance Officer

Thomas advises on legal issues and company strategy as a member of Commonwealth’s executive team. He reviews contracts and ensures legal compliance in all business matters. Thomas brings over 20 years of experience in the energy industry, having worked previously at BG Group and Direct Energy in senior legal roles and at NRG as Chief Risk Officer.

George Nemeth
Chief Commercial Officer
George is responsible for leading the commercialization and marketing efforts for Commonwealth LNG with the goal of delivering clean-burning natural gas to customers worldwide. He has more than 20 years of experience commercializing gas and marketing and trading LNG.

Scott Ray

Chief E&C Officer

Scott oversees the execution of Commonwealth LNG’s engineering, procurement, construction and permitting. Scott has over 30 years of domestic and international engineering and management experience and has constructed multiple liquefaction facilities around the globe.

Dan Fleischer

Financing

Dan directs all aspects of project financing for Commonwealth LNG.  Prior to joining the company, he managed a $7 billion LNG FID financing and $3 billion LNG commercial debt restructuring.   Earlier in his career Dan was an investment banker, strategy consultant, and helped to launch and grow private equity-backed renewable energy companies.

Jesse Lee

Executive VP LNG Marketing

Jesse is responsible for implementation of Commonwealth’s global LNG marketing strategy. He brings more than 20 years of international business development experience, including the negotiation and execution of long-term LNG offtake agreements with strategic customers in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, the U.K., China and India

Daniel McGinnis

Chief Commercial Officer

Dan oversees commercial activities involved in securing feedgas and offtake for the liquefaction facility. He has extensive experience developing projects in the LNG sector, with a depth of knowledge in strategy, business development, marketing and trading, government and regulatory issues and media relations.

Lyle Hanna

VP Corporate Communications

Lyle handles external communications and media relations for Commonwealth LNG. He draws upon more than 30 years of experience in the energy industry, including support of projects in LNG, petrochemicals, refining and waste-to-energy. He has managed brand identity for companies ranging from startups to major industry participants.

Cristina Perez

VP of Human Resources

Cristina is responsible for strategic direction, leadership, and support to executive management on workforce planning.  She oversees compensation and benefits programs, HR policies and practices and other initiatives to support the company’s culture.  Cristina has extensive experience in senior HR roles, predominantly in the energy industry.

Tony Diocee

VP & Project Director

Tony is responsible for directing the engineering implementation team for Commonwealth’s Cameron, Louisiana project.  He has 30 years of successful project delivery background through wide ranging roles in operations, engineering, commissioning, including start-up and project management.

Les Hanson

VP Operations

Les’ role focuses on project development, commissioning, start-up, and long-term operational management.  He works with the HR department to implement hiring procedures and communicating with other departments to ensure that all operations run smoothly.  He has prior experience on major LNG projects in Texas and Louisiana.