Industry Sector

• Midstream
• Downstream
• Power & Gas

Principle Areas of Practice 

Change Management within:

• Energy Trading & Risk Management
• Merger & Acquisition Integration 
• Business Intelligence, Reporting & Analytics 
• Hydrocarbon Supply Chain 
• Enterprise Application Integration 
• Organization Design & Change Management

Professional Experience

Donald Barnhart is a Director in Opportune LLP’s Process & Technology practice based in Houston. Don has over 25 years of experience in change management consulting in the energy industry with Opportune, 2Develop, and Accenture, with a focus on energy trading and risk management. Don has worked with integrated supermajors, midstream and downstream companies, and independent trading firms. All his change projects drive organization performance improvement, implement strategic initiatives, and foster cultural change. Don holds an M.A. in Instructional Systems Design from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Delaware.

Representative Projects

• Change Management Lead for implementing a new ETRM system integrating the books of two new company acquisitions. Responsible for the change program, including change adoption and integration to the new organization, while leading the engagement and enablement of the workforce.
• Change Architect responsible for analyzing the failure of a trading system implementation. The analysis yielded numerous areas for improvement, including their leadership style, change practices, audit trail, allocation of hedges, INCO and contract terms, reconciliation procedures, security, communications, and roles and responsibilities.
• Change Lead for a Midstream Oil and Gas Company Marketing organization requiring an upgrade in ETRM systems. Responsible for the change program for three new ETRM systems. Deliverables included change management training for the organization and the project team, change readiness measurements, comprehensive change management plans, process redesigns, new roles and competencies, project communications, live training classes, and online training modules.
• Engagement Lead for a company acquisition analysis. An energy marketer was considering acquiring another firm and required initial due diligence to determine if they should proceed with the acquisition. The analysis included the strategic opportunity and risks, potential financial and operational integration, customer base and potential, and personnel.