Prior to joining Opportune LLP, Mr. Stophel was an advisory director with KPMG in Denver where he was a senior leader in the firms Accounting Advisory Services team and was the firm’s southwest lead director for IFRS conversion services.  He was also responsible for expanding service offerings in Denver, Phoenix and other West/Southwest locations.  Prior to that, he was the chief financial officer for Reuters CIS operations.

Mr. Stophel began his career with Arthur Andersen in Denver and also lived and worked internationally for 13 years (1992-2005) including three years as the head of Arthur Andersen’s Uzbekistan practice in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Mr. Stophel currently serves as a Director, member of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Compensation Committee of Worldwide Papa’s Inc., a Denver, CO based corporation with international operations.

“Steve’s background and industry diversity will complement the firm as a whole,” said Opportune LLP Managing Partner David C. Baggett. “Steve’s leadership and senior management experience will provide additional on the ground leadership to our growing Denver practice.”

Mr. Stophel is a Certified Public Accountant, licensed in Colorado, and a Certified Internal Auditor. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants; and the Institute of Certified Internal Auditors.

Opportune LLP is a Houston based consulting firm specializing in assisting both private and public clients with corporate finance, process improvement, technology, complex financial reporting, tax and outsourcing. For more information on Opportune LLP, please visit our website at www.opportune.com. Mr. Stophel can be reached at 720.981.4154 or sstophel@opportune.com.

Prior to joining Opportune LLP, Mr. Colwell held the position of partner in a consulting firm where he led the firm’s energy services group.  There he was also responsible for expanding service offerings and opening offices in New York City and London.  Prior to that, he was the chief financial officer for the energy trading operations of the investment bank, UBS.

Mr. Colwell began his career with Arthur Andersen where he became one of the founders of the firm’s Energy Risk Management Practice.  At Andersen, Wes led a consulting group providing risk management services to utilities and commodities trading companies.

“Wes’s background plus his senior management experience will complement our expanding energy practice,” said Opportune LLP Managing Partner David C. Baggett. “Not only will we benefit from his risk management background, but Wes brings a wealth of experience in complex business transactions to the Opportune team.”

Opportune LLP is a Houston based consulting firm specializing in assisting energy clients with corporate finance, process improvement, technology, complex financial reporting,  tax and outsourcing. For more information on Opportune LLP, please visit our website at www.opportune.com.

HOUSTON – Don Jefferis and Marty Makulski have been admitted as Partners of Opportune LLP. Mr. Jefferis and Mr. Makulski join partners David Baggett, John Vanderhider and Josh Sherman. 

 “We are very pleased to invite Don and Marty into the partnership,” stated Managing Partner David Baggett.  “They have seeded and grown a successful energy focused process and technology practice at Opportune in just two years. Importantly, they share our commitment to client service and developing our staff.”

Prior to joining Opportune LLP in December 2007, Mr. Jefferis established the New York City office of an energy consultancy where he served several investment banks and hedge funds on energy trading systems and merger integration execution. Mr. Jefferis was a founder of Arthur Andersen’s Energy Risk Practice, the chief information officer for one of the largest energy trading houses in the United States, president of an energy trading software company, chief financial officer for a publicly traded software company and a consultant to hedge fund administrators on organizational and strategy issues.

Mr. Makulski joined Opportune LLP in January 2008 and has fifteen years of experience in providing clients with energy trading and risk management, packaged software implementation, risk policy development, trading and risk processes and business process automation.  Many of Mr. Makulski’s global clients include investment banks, oil majors, and merchant energy firms.  Prior to joining Opportune, Mr. Makulski was a founder of Accenture’s Energy Trading and Risk Management Practice, and established the London office for a boutique consultancy focused on energy trading.

Opportune LLP is a Houston based consulting firm specializing in assisting energy clients with corporate finance, process improvement, technology, complex financial reporting,  tax and outsourcing. For more information on Opportune LLP, please visit our website at www.opportune.com.

Prior to joining Opportune, Dave was Senior Vice President, Tax and Treasurer at an S&P 600 oil services firm, and was previously Vice President, Tax Planning and Structured Finance at a Fortune 50 integrated energy company. Dave started his career in the Houston office of PriceWaterhouseCoopers and has extensive experience with the tax and finance issues related to domestic and international transactions. He has served public and private companies, private equity funds, and commercial and investment banking firms.

Dave holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from the University of Texas, a Master of Science degree in Accountancy and Taxation from the University of Houston, and a Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Houston Law Center. Dave is active in a variety of professional and non-profit organizations including the Houston CPA Society, the Houston Bar Association, and Houston Grand Opera.

Corwin most recently served as a Partner at Sirius Solutions and was responsible for the Energy Supply, Trading, and Risk Management practice. Corwin has almost two decades of experience in advising his clients in North America and Europe in the areas of energy trading and risk management, packaged software implementation, technology architecture development, trading and risk processes and business process automation.

“Corwin brings to our firm an extensive and unique knowledge of energy trading and in particular, the development and implementation of technical architectures to enable our clients commodity trading businesses” said David Baggett, Managing Partner of Opportune LLP. “As we continue to build our Energy and Supply Trading practice, Corwin will provide the type of quality insight into the inner workings of trading systems and risk management that our clients expect from Opportune.”