2024 Energy Conference - Both Days

Mike Cougevan, Martindale Consultants, Inc

Mike began his Martindale career in 1994 and is a Vice President of the firm. He provides senior leadership, expertly manages clients’ joint venture audit and other projects, and shares his extensive industry experience and knowledge to train Martindale employees. Mike also provides expert witness and litigation support and been accepted and designated as an expert in numerous State courts and in Federal court. Mike previously worked for Conoco (now ConocoPhillips) for 13 years in various positions, including financial analysis, joint interest accounting, internal reviews, managing non-operated properties, negotiation of agreements, and settlements of joint interest and revenue audits and disputes.

Mike has provided the additional foundation to manage and provide clients with exceptional quality in our audits and litigation support areas. Mike is considered a prominent authority on Gulf of Mexico accounting issues and has performed international reviews in Australia, Barbados, and Brazil.

Mike’s expertise includes:

• Testifying as an expert witness in arbitrations and State and Federal    courts on subjects including joint venture claims and custom and practice in applying exploration agreements, joint operating agreements, and Accounting Procedure provisions in oil and gas operations
• Conducting and overseeing audits for U.S. and international joint venture projects
• Conducting and overseeing audits for Gulf of Mexico shelf and Deepwater joint venture projects
• Conducting and overseeing client in-house projects on joint interest accounting and COPAS Accounting Procedure applications
• Assisting clients negotiate agreements
• Assisting clients in resolving disputes and complex joint venture issues for both operated and non-operated ventures.

Mike has actively served in various capacities in the Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies (COPAS) since 1987; positions held include:

• President of COPAS
• President of COPAS of Acadiana
• Chair of COPAS of Acadiana Audit committee
• Chair of the COPAS National Audit committee
• Chair of the COPAS Emerging Issues subcommittee
• Chair of Vehicle Rates subcommittee
• Two terms (six years) as Director on the COPAS Board of Directors
• Chair or member of more than 16 COPAS publication drafting teams
• Key participant in drafting the COPAS 2005 Accounting Procedure
• Recipient of the 2004 COPAS Eagle award
• Developer of the Knowing Your COPAS Documents (KYCD) educational series
• Participant on several COPAS special committees and task forces

Mike is an experienced speaker on joint venture topics for both public and private audiences and has given presentations to more than 25 different organizations

Brandon Lagarde is a Partner in the firm's Tax Services Group. Brandon concentrates his practice on tax planning and consulting for federal and state income taxes. Brandon works with clients of all sizes in a variety of industries and assists those businesses with navigating the tax complexities of today's highly regulated environment.
Brandon has extensive experience assisting clients with tax issues associated with the CARES Act, Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (aka "Federal Tax Reform") Louisiana income and sales taxation, tax planning for closely-held business, trusts and estates, multi-state planning and compliance, and mergers and acquisitions.
Prior to joining the firm, Brandon was a Director at Postlethwaite & Netterville (P&N), a leading full-service accounting and business advisory firm. Before this, Brandon practiced tax law at a national law firm. 
Brandon is a member of the AICPA (Tax Section), where he serves as the Chair of the Tax Practice Management Committee and Vice-Chair of the National Tax Conference Planning Committee, the LCPA, where he serves on the State and Local Tax Committee, as a member of the Legislative Committee , and as a member of the Baton Rouge Chapter of the LCPA, American Bar Association (Tax Section) and Louisiana Bar Association (Tax Section). Brandon graduated from Leadership Greater Baton Rouge, a year-long leadership program of the Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC), and was named to the Baton Rouge Business Report's Top 40 under 40.
Furthermore, Brandon is a frequent speaker on a variety of tax topics, including CARES Act, Federal Tax Reform, Louisiana taxes, and income and estate tax planning for closely held businesses and high-net worth individuals. 

Stephen Morgan is an investment director at Hancock Whitney Bank, where he is facilitates a team of investment professionals focused on delivering superior investment strategies and client outcomes.

Stephen has been in the investment industry for over 20 years, joining Hancock Whitney as part of the acquisition of Capital One Asset Management, LLC. Prior to joining Capital One, Stephen worked at Morgan Stanley, efolio.com, Hibernia Bank and Waterhouse Securities.

Stephen has a Bachelor of Mathematics from Carleton College and a Master of Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin.

Les Nettleton served as Bourgeois Bennett’s Director of Information Technology Services for 35 years. In that capacity, he managed the team of specialists that both supports the technological infrastructure of Bourgeois Bennett and provided individualized technology services to the firm’s diverse client base.

Les has specialized experience in the areas of systems analysis, technology management consulting, database management and information systems training. He regularly addresses academic, community and professional groups and organizations, both locally and nationally, on a variety of technology topics and provides technology training to the firm’s staff.  Les was awarded the 2020 Outstanding CPE Discussion Leader by the Louisiana State Society of CPAs after receiving the highest overall speaker rating for 2020.

Active in the community, Les is on the Board of Directors of Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans. He is a member of the St. Catherine of Siena Pastoral Council.  He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs Technology Sector. Les is also a member of Technology Section for AGN North America, an international association of 200 accounting and consulting firms.

Kyle Polozola, Partner, Kean Miller

Kyle Polozola is a partner in the Lafayette office of Kean Miller. He practices in the oil and gas, business and corporate, and real estate groups. Kyle has more than 25 years of experience handling complex oil and gas and commercial litigation disputes, environmental litigation, oil and gas transactional matters, including mineral title examination, due diligence, acquisition and sale of oil and gas properties, and energy regulatory matters. He assists clients with a variety of corporate and business transactional matters, and represents local, state, national, and international clients in Louisiana ad valorem (property) tax matters.

Following law school, Kyle clerked for the Hon. Catherine D. Kimball, Associate (later Chief) Justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana. He is a member of the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute Advisory Council.

Kyle has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America in Energy Law, Oil and Gas Law, and Administrative/Regulatory Law, 2016 - 2023, and is AV-rated by Martindale-Hubbell.

E Preis, Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson, LLP

E. Fred Preis, JD
Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson
New Orleans, LA

Fred is a senior partner at Breazeale, Sachse & Wilson Law Firm where he practices in the labor and employment law section which represents management nationwide.

Prior to serving as an officer in the United States Army, Fred earned both his undergraduate degree in business and his law degree from Louisiana State University. He has been representing management in labor and employment law matters for more than 30 years. Fred is past Chairman of both the Louisiana and New Orleans Bar Association Labor Law Sections.

John Schmidt, Tax Managing Director, Pelican CPAs & Advisors, LLC

John C. Schmidt, CPA is a Tax Managing Director at Pelican CPAs and Advisors, LLC.  John has over 30 years of accounting experience handling complex tax compliance and consulting for high net worth individuals and their related business and charitable interests.  John also holds the AICPA Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) Credential, a designation exclusive to CPAs signifying the powerful combination of extensive tax experience and comprehensive knowledge of financial planning.  John’s clients span a variety of industries including oil & gas, timber, dealerships, construction, services, real estate, political
campaigns, and other tax-exempt organizations. John received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Louisiana Tech University and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of New Orleans. His professional/Community Associations and Memberships include:

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
•  Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants (LCPA)
• Member of Estate & Financial Planning Committee
• Member of Oil & Gas Committee
• Tax & Estate Planning Council of Shreveport, Treasurer
• Council of Petroleum Accountants Societies (COPAS)
• United Way of Northwest Louisiana, Past Board Chair

Greg Upton, LSU Center for Energy Studies

Dr. Greg Upton is Associate Research Professor at the Louisiana State University Center 
for Energy Studies. His research interests are at the intersection of energy and 
environmental economics.
Dr. Upton’s research has focused on a number of topical energy issues in Louisiana 
including mineral revenues, the impact of the oil price collapse on Louisiana’s budget, 
solar tax credits and net metering policies, implications of the crude oil export ban’s 
lifting, among others. He has presented his work to approximately 150 industry, 
governmental and academic audiences, and has been quoted or cited over 100 times in 
local and national media including the Wall Street Journal, and NPR’s Marketplace.
Dr. Upton holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Louisiana State University where he also 
received both an M.A. in economics and a B.S. in economics with a concentration in 
empirical analysis

An internationally known expert on energy systems and environmental engineering, Mark E. Zappi currently holds the BORSF Endowed Chair in Bioprocessing at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL). He holds professor appointments in both chemical engineering and civil engineering at UL. Dr. Zappi received his BS in Civil Engineering from UL and his MS and PhD in Chemical Engineering from Mississippi State University (MSU). He has held research leadership positions at the US Army Corps of Engineers Engineering Research and Development Center; Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering at MSU; and UL. He serves and has served on numerous state, national, and international energy and ecological related committees and panels. He has testified twice to the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and once to the Louisiana Public Service Commission. He has generated over $50M in research funds and has published over 200 technical publications. He is a sought-after consultant for energy initiatives with particular expertise with energy industry assessments and alternative energy system start-ups. He also has extensive consulting experience with environmental cleanup system design and assisting with research enterprise design. His technical expertise involves the use of biological agents and chemical oxidizers for processing of a wide variety of feedstock and input streams. He holds five patents and has three more pending.