The Board of Directors and Officers
Ryan A Bailey, Director
Mr. Bailey currently serves as Chief Investment Officer and Managing Partner for Paradigm Institutional Investments. He also serves as an advisor and mentor to Texas Wall Street Women, Chairman of the Texas Alternative Investment Association, and as a member of the board of directors of Stream Foundation, Bridgeway Capital Management, and Portfolios with Purpose. Previously, he was Co-Chief Investment Officer and Partner of Investment Office Resources, a Managing Partner and Founder of Carbonado Partners from 2020 to 2022 and currently serves as a Strategic Advisor. Mr. Bailey also served as a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Pacenote Capital from 2019 to 2020 and as Head of Investments at Children's Health System of Texas from 2014 to 2019. Mr. Bailey earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale University and completed a graduate course in tax planning from the Yale School of Management. He holds professional credentialing as a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), and Chartered Market Technician (CMT).
Mr. Bailey joined Blue Dolphin’s board of directors as an independent director in 2015. He is currently a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Bailey is considered an Audit Committee Financial Expert.
Jonathan P. Carroll, Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, and President
Mr. Carroll is a Director, President and majority owner of Lazarus Energy Holdings, LLC (LEH). LEH, a controlling shareholder of Blue Dolphin, operates and manages Blue Dolphin and its assets pursuant to an operating agreement between LEH, Blue Dolphin, and each of Blue Dolphin’s subsidiaries. As of August 14, 2024, LEH and Mr. Carroll, together, owned 83% of Blue Dolphin’s issued and outstanding common stock.
Blue Dolphin’s board of directors appointed Mr. Carroll as Chairman in 2014 and as Chief Executive Officer and President of Blue Dolphin in 2012. He currently also serves as Principal Executive Officer, Assistant Treasurer, and Secretary of Blue Dolphin. Blue Dolphin does not provide any of Mr. Carroll’s remuneration. Remuneration is considered part of the operating fees paid by Blue Dolphin and its subsidiaries to LEH pursuant to the Operating Agreement.
Before founding LEH, Mr. Carroll was a private investor focused on direct debt and equity investments, primarily in distressed assets. He previously served on the board of trustees of the Salient Fund Group from 2004 to 2022, and served on the compliance, audit, and nominating committees of several of Salient’s private and public closed-end and mutual funds at various times within that period. Mr. Carroll also previously served on the board of directors of the General Partner of LRR Energy, L.P. (NYSE: LRE) from January 2014 until its merger with Vanguard Natural Resources, LLC in October 2015. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University, and he completed a Directed Reading in Economics at Oxford University.
Bryce D. Klug, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary
Mr. Klug joined LEH as Finance Director in August 2024. Blue Dolphin’s board of directors appointed him as Treasurer and Assistant Secretary, as well as principal financial and accounting officer, in September 2024. Mr. Klug’s remuneration is considered part of the operating fees paid by Blue Dolphin and its subsidiaries to LEH pursuant to an operating agreement between the entities.
Mr. Klug has nearly twenty years of experience primarily in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining LEH, he served as a consultant to Nassau Bay Investments. From 2021 to 2023, Mr. Klug served as Manager and then as Senior Manager for transactional advisory services at Grant Thornton LLP. He was External Reporting Manager at Talos Energy, Inc. from 2019 to 2021 and Senior Manager of External Reporting at Noble Drilling from 2017 to 2019. From 2005 to 2019, he held a variety of audit, compliance, and corporate finance positions with Ernst & Young LLP, Petrohawk Energy Corporation, the Siegfried Group, Quantum Resources Energy, and Breitburn Management Company. Mr. Klug earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Michigan and a Masters in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University. He holds a professional credential as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA).
Amitav Misra, Director
Mr. Misra currently serves as the Vice President of Experiential Marketing and Partnerships for HighRadius Corporation. He also serves as an advisor to several energy, technology, and private investment companies, and he is also a director of the Houston Center for Literacy, a non-profit organization. Previously, Mr. Misra was the General Manager Americas and Vice President of Marketing for Arundo Analytics, Inc. from 2017 to 2020. He was Founder and Partner of Cardinal Advisors from 2014 to 2017, and he served as President, Director, and Chief Operating Officer of Taxa, Inc. from 2012 to 2014. Mr. Misra earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University and has held FINRA Series 79 and Series 63 Licenses.
Mr. Misra joined Blue Dolphin’s board of directors as an independent director in 2014. He is currently a member of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Misra is considered an Audit Committee Financial Expert.
Christopher T. Morris, Director
Mr. Morris currently serves as Managing Director for Known Growth, LLC. He previously served as Executive Vice President of Bonaventure Realty Group from 2020 to 2022. Mr. Morris was President of Impact Partners LLC from 2017 to 2020. Previously, he served as New York Managing Partner for Tatum (a Randstad Company) from 2013 to 2017. Mr. Morris earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University and a Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School.
Mr. Morris joined Blue Dolphin’s board of directors as an independent director in 2012. He is currently Chairman of the Audit and Compensation Committees. Mr. Morris is considered an Audit Committee Financial Expert.
Herbert N. Whitney, Director
Mr. Whitney is currently the Founder and President of Wildcat Consulting LLC. He has more than forty years of experience in pipeline operations, crude oil supply, product supply, distribution, and trading, as well as marine operations and logistics having served as President of CITGO Pipeline Company and in various general manager positions at CITGO Petroleum Corporation. Mr. Whitney previously served on the board of directors of Blackwater Midstream Corporation, the advisory board of Sheetz, Inc., as Chairman of the board of directors of Colonial Pipeline Company, and as the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Association of Oil Pipelines. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Kansas State University.
Mr. Whitney joined Blue Dolphin’s board of directors in 2012.
