Our Team

Zach Fenton, Chief Executive Officer

Zach co-founded UpCurve Energy in 2015 and has built it into a company producing 12,000 boe/d across a 17,000 net acre position. Prior to co-founding UpCurve, Zach worked as a Reservoir Engineer in ConocoPhillips’ Eagle Ford organization and before that spent several years at ConocoPhillips in various strategy, economics/BD and leadership support positions, between both Houston and Aberdeen. Prior to joining ConocoPhillips, Zach worked as an Associate at the NY-based private equity firm Lindsay Goldberg and as an Analyst in Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division, where he focused primarily on energy industry M&A and financings. Zach received an MBA with honors from the Wharton School and a Certificate in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M. He graduated cum laude from Duke University with a BA in Economics where he was a member of their Division I men’s lacrosse team. Zach is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Steve Escaler, Chief Financial Officer

Steve joined UpCurve in July 2019 and serves as our Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining UpCurve, Steve was Vice President and CFO of Juniper Resources, an E&P operator focused on the San Juan Basin. Prior to Juniper, Steve spent 17 years as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, UBS and Citigroup, advising oil and gas companies on a broad range of transactions including mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. During the course of his career to date, Steve has led and successfully closed over 100 M&A and financing transactions with an aggregate value in excess of $200 billion. Steve holds a B.A., Magna Cum Laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.S. in Finance from the University of London. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Ahmed Shedeed, Chief Operating Officer

Ahmed serves as our Chief Operating Officer. Prior to joining UpCurve, Ahmed worked as a team lead in the Strategy and Planning team for ConocoPhillips, where he was responsible for near-term tactical planning and strategic long-term development of the highest valued assets in the corporate portfolio. Prior to that, he spent several years as a senior reservoir engineer in the Eagle Ford development organization where he was responsible for the planning, development, and technical evaluations for the core of Eagle Ford asset. He also helped analyze spacing, stacking and infill development and evaluated multiple A&D deals. Ahmed started his career as an asset production engineer where he worked several onshore and offshore assets in North America. Ahmed received an MBA with honors from Jones School of Business at Rice University. He also graduated with highest honors in Petroleum Engineering from New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Kasia Charzynski, VP of Geoscience

Kasia serves as our Vice President of Geoscience. She began her career with ConocoPhillips as a development geologist for conventional Louisiana plays. Prior to joining UpCurve in 2016, for several years Kasia served as a Senior Geologist at ConocoPhillips in various exploration, appraisal, development and operations roles on Delaware, Eagle Ford, Bakken, and Exploration Teams. Kasia received a MS in Geology from Colorado School of Mines and a BS in Geology from Wayne State University. She is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists and the Geological Society of America.

Dena Demboski, VP of Operations

Dena serves as our Vice President of Operations. Prior to joining UpCurve, Dena served in drilling and production engineering roles at Linn Energy. She was instrumental in starting the drilling organization at Linn and drilled 400+ wells collectively gaining experience across a multitude of basins. Her production focus involved plunger lift and production chemical optimization as well as P&A workovers. Prior to Linn, Dena worked for ConocoPhillips/Burlington Resources as a completions engineer in Texas Bossier. She also drilled wells in South Texas and the Eagle Ford. She has over 17 years of engineering design and management experience in drilling, completions, and production operations across 13 different basins domestically. She received a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering with a Business Management Certification from Texas A&M University and was recognized as the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s Young Engineer of the Year in 2007. Dena serves on ASME’s Executive Committee for collegiate student affairs and is an active member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and American Association of Drilling Engineers.

Kristi Faith, VP of Development

Kristi serves as our Vice President of Development. Before joining UpCurve Energy in 2018, Kristi worked for ConocoPhillips as a Senior Geologist in exploration, appraisal, and development roles for the Delaware Basin, Niobrara, and Lewis Shale. Kristi started her career at Devon Energy working offshore Brazil before working onshore unconventional assets. She worked the Smackover in north Louisiana with the New Ventures team and on the appraisal and development of Cotton Valley sands in East Texas. Kristi received her MS and BS from the Boone Pickens School of Geology at Oklahoma State University. She is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Houston Geological Society, and the West Texas Geological Society.