Moving molecules.
Across markets.

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Jacob Field is Chief Executive Officer of VP Ventures and a founding principal of the platform. He has more than two decades of physical energy trading experience, beginning in natural gas in 2003. In 2015 he co-founded Spotlight Energy and built it into one of the largest privately held independent physical natural gas trading companies in the United States, scaling a physical commodity book from startup to national reach. In addition to VP Ventures, Field serves as CEO of Spotlight Energy, Spotlight Power, and Nokota Gas Processing, and is CEO and founder of Pierview Capital Management. He sits on the boards of OneLNG, One Power Solutions, and Field Industries. Field holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Business Administration from the University of Florida.

President

John joins VP Ventures as the President with 20 years of engineering, operations and commercial experience. A former Nuclear Submarine Officer in the U.S. Navy, John subsequently spent 8 years in supply chain management as a leader in Apple's Global Procurement Organization supporting contract manufacturing and most recently the capital equipment supply chain for Apple's Mechanical Enclosures (Manufacturing Design Team). John was also the CoFounder and CEO of CarMommy, a Rideshare Rental and Retail Operation in California from 2019–2023. John is a native of Virginia Beach, VA and holds a Bachelor of Science from the U.S. Naval Academy and an MBA from the Yale School of Management.

Chief Technical Officer

Brian joins VP Ventures as the Chief Technical Officer with 30 years in the energy and service sector, working for large oilfield service companies, energy information, and natural gas distribution & service providers. He started as a young petroleum engineer in the oilfield with increasing levels of responsibility in engineering, operations, business development, and management. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum & Natural Gas Engineering with a focus in Electrical Engineering from Penn State University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME), the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC), and the Project Management Institute (PMI).

Chief Financial Officer

Seth Patterson is Chief Financial Officer of VP Ventures, where he oversees financial strategy, capital allocation, corporate development, and strategic growth initiatives. He also serves as Chief Investment Officer of KWK Management, an SEC-registered investment adviser, where he oversees portfolio strategy and risk for KWK Partners LP, managing market exposure through listed and over-the-counter futures and options — hands-on derivatives and hedging experience that underpins his risk-oversight role at VP Ventures. Patterson brings more than 15 years in capital markets, risk management, and corporate finance; at Saracen Capital and Gastar Exploration he worked on more than $300 million of M&A and more than $700 million of debt and equity financings. A licensed CPA, he gives VP Ventures institutional-grade financial controls, risk governance, and capital-markets capability. Patterson played collegiate football at Western Michigan University and Sam Houston State.

Vice President of Sales & Origination

Scott Winchester is a senior energy executive with over 15 years of leadership experience in natural gas, small-scale LNG, virtual pipeline development, and distributed power infrastructure across the Americas and Caribbean. He specializes in originating, structuring, and executing complex energy projects with a focus on commercial development, strategic partnerships, and asset performance. Scott currently serves as Vice President of Sales & Origination at Virtual Pipeline Ventures, leading commercial strategy, project origination, and partner development for small-scale LNG and gas-to-power platforms. Previously, Scott held senior roles at New Fortress Energy, One Power Solutions, One LNG, and Genset Holdings, where he led LNG import and microgrid development, fuel-conversion initiatives, distributed generation projects, and island utility systems. Scott holds a B.S. in Business Management from Clemson University.

Global Head of Trading

Shawn Grau is Global Head of Trading for VPV Supply & Trading and Santiago Supply & Trading. He has more than 25 years of experience in physical commodity trading, logistics, and supply chain management, including nearly two decades at Trafigura, one of the world's largest independent commodity trading houses, where he executed physical transactions across crude oil, refined products, and NGLs in North American and global markets. He has also held roles at Shell Trading and Epic Midstream. Grau leads the trading book across crude, refined products, and NGLs, and owns trade structuring, logistics optimization, and risk management across both platforms. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University.

Co-Head of Commercial and Business Development

A.J. Ferries is Co-Head of Commercial and Business Development for VPV Supply & Trading and Santiago Supply & Trading. He brings extensive experience in NGL commercial development, origination, and purity marketing from Phillips 66, where he led NGL business development across the Gulf Coast, and subsequently held commercial roles at Epic Midstream and EnLink Midstream focused on NGL supply origination and commercial operations. Ferries leads NGL origination and purity marketing, developing the refinery and midstream counterparty network that supports the platform's deal flow. He is a University of Houston graduate and a former member of the Cougar golf team.

Co-Head of Commercial and Business Development

Bo Aycock is Co-Head of Commercial and Business Development for VPV Supply & Trading and Santiago Supply & Trading. He was previously Director of Supply at Texon LP, a privately held crude oil and condensate marketing company, where he led crude, condensate, NGL origination, supply management, and producer relationships across North American markets. His producer-side relationships and origination work there generated a series of strategic partnerships for the company. Prior to his time at Texon LP, Bo spent time as a Landman in South Texas running title and negotiating leases for various producers. He is a Louisiana State University Graduate and a former member of the LSU football team.