Energy Executive Joins Avista Capital
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Energy Executive Joins Avista Capital

avista nf2Graham Whaling has joined Avista Capital Partners as an Industry Executive focused on energy investments. Mr. Whaling has more than 35 years of experience in a range of roles throughout the energy sector and most recently he was Chief Executive Officer of Parkman Whaling, an oil and gas investment banking advisory firm that he co-founded in 2007.

“Having known and often worked with Graham over the past 15 years, I am delighted to welcome him to the Avista team. As someone who has built energy businesses from the ground up and structured major industry transactions, Graham will play a key strategic role at Avista, including helping to source deals and advising current management teams. His presence will enable us to continue building on the success of our energy franchise,” said Steven Webster, Co-Managing Partner of Avista.

“I am very excited to join the Avista team, which has a well-earned reputation in the energy industry and for whom I have enormous respect. This is a great time to be in the energy business, and I am eager to begin working with the team at Avista to identify attractive new investments, build value within the existing portfolio and, ultimately, help deliver outstanding risk-adjusted returns for the firm’s investors,” said Mr. Whaling.

Before forming Parkman Whaling, Mr. Whaling was chairman and CEO of Laredo Energy, which he co-founded in 2001 (and in which Avista Capital Partners invested in 2008). Prior to Laredo, he was a Managing Director at DLJ Merchant Banking, where he worked together with Mr. Webster to build Global Energy Partners, an upstream energy practice which sourced and managed private equity investments in the energy space.

Prior to DLJ Merchant Banking, Mr. Whaling was chairman and CEO of Monterey Resources, which was acquired by Texaco in 1997. Previously, he had been CFO of Santa Fe Energy, from which Monterey was spun off. Mr. Whaling spent seven years as an energy-focused investment banker at Lazard Freres & Co. and CS First Boston. He began his career as a petroleum engineer with Ryder Scott Company.

Mr. Whaling holds an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Texas.

 Avista Capital Partners, with over $6 billion of capital under management, makes control or influential minority investments in growth-oriented energy, healthcare, communications & media, industrials, and consumer businesses. The firm was founded in 2005 and is based in New York with offices in Houston and London (www.avistacap.com).

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 7-28-14

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