Bertrand (Bert) Valdman serves as President & CEO of NorthStar Energy, a leading provider of fuel and energy solutions in Alaska and Hawaii. Prior to this role, Bert was the President & CEO of Optimum Energy, the leading provider of data-driven cooling and heating optimization solutions for enterprise facilities. Prior to joining Optimum Energy, he was the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, one of the largest electric utilities in the country.
Prior to Edison, Bert was the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Puget Sound Energy where he was responsible for regulated electric and natural gas distribution operations, as well as the Customer Service, Information Technology, and Community Affairs functions. He also served as Puget Energy’s Chief Financial Officer from 2003 through 2007. Before joining Puget Sound Energy, Bert was a Managing Director in JP Morgan’s investment banking group in New York and Paris. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Northwestern University, as well as masters and doctoral degrees from Stanford University.
Bert serves on the Board of Lakeside School in Seattle and has served on the Boards of Saltchuk Resources, Veresen Inc., and currently serves on the Board of portfolio companies of Oaktree Capital Management. On the side, Bert is a distance runner who enjoys spending time with his wife Madeleine and their three children.
Lisa Rice is the CFO of NorthStar Energy. Prior, she held leadership positions at Univar Inc. and Puget Sound Energy in financial planning & analysis, budgeting and treasury. Most recently Lisa was principal of her consulting firm, serving as CFO for several technology startups. She holds an MBA from University of California, Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Business Administration from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Washington. In her free time Lisa enjoys cooking and spending time with her family.
Erin Eliasen joined NorthStar Energy in 2019. She was introduced to the business in her prior role as Saltchuk’s shared services Associate General Counsel where she supported NorthStar, Foss and Tote. Prior to joining Saltchuk, Erin was a corporate partner with Garvey Schubert Barer, now Foster Garvey. Erin began her legal career in New York City as a bankruptcy associate before returning to her hometown of Seattle to work at Stoel Rives LLP where she transitioned into her current role as corporate attorney and was made partner on Jan 1, 2011.
Erin is a graduate of Fordham Law School, University of Pennsylvania, and Seattle’s Garfield High School. She is a devoted sports fan and has two very active, tiring children.
Thien-Di (pronounced “Zee”) Do began her career in the Michigan automotive industry where she built a brand new marketing department for a rapidly growing $1 billion+ organization. Di was responsible for all internal and external communications and assisted with the integration of six acquired companies. After moving to Seattle in 2006, she used her brand management experience to consult to businesses in healthcare, banking, food & beverage, and high-tech. Di is particularly passionate about building and growing start-ups and women-owned businesses. She is currently a strategic advisor for two upcoming brands.
Personally, Di enjoys hanging out with her husband, cheering on their two kids through life, and finding energy on a SoulCycle bike. In addition to serving on King County’s Children and Youth Advisory Board, Di is a dedicated volunteer with the Search & Rescue program at Seattle's Union Gospel Mission and is Vice President of the Board of Directors for Rwanda Girls Initiative. In 2019, she was named 425 Magazine’s Citizen of the Year.
Kimo Haynes is the President of Hawaii Petroleum, LLC., a wholesale and retail marketer of gasoline, diesel, and lubricants on the islands of Maui and Hawaii. Hawaii Petroleum’s family of brands includes Hawaii Fueling Network (HFN), Ohana Fuels, and Minit Stop. The combined companies have a workforce of over 300 employees. Kimo launched his career with Deloitte & Touche, then served a variety of businesses in the role of General Manager or President before joining Maui Petroleum in 1999. He rose from Project Manager to President before assuming leadership of Hawaii Petroleum, Inc. in 2006.
Kimo earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from UC Santa Barbara and an MBA in Finance & Marketing from USC. He is affiliated with the Nature Conservancy, American Heart Association, Hawaii Petroleum Marketers Association, Seabury Hall Board of Trustees and more. Kimo and his wife Sheila have four children and live in Hawaii where they enjoy golf, tennis, standup paddling and family travel.
Don was promoted from NorthStar’s VP of Supply and Logistics this November and named president of three of NorthStar Energy’s Alaska-based operating companies. Throughout the last decade, Don has performed numerous roles in finance, operations, logistics, supply & risk management at both Delta Western and its parent company, NorthStar Energy.
In his prior role, Don specialized in regional and local physical arbitrage, developing and executing procurement, trading, infrastructure, and risk management strategies, focusing on niche markets with high barriers to entry, including Methanol, distillates, renewables, and various approaches to credit and incentive planning.
Prior to Delta Western, Don focused on M&A activities in the petroleum distribution arena. He began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in the Technology Tax Consulting practice. He also worked for Sage Software and Imperium Renewables, a biodiesel company that was on the forefront of disrupting traditional petroleum refining and distribution avenues.
Don earned a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from UC Riverside and a Masters of Business Taxation from USC. In his free time he restores classic cars.
Joel Lawrence has been in the petroleum distribution industry for nearly 20 years. He started at Inlet Petroleum (now Inlet Energy) in 1999 in customer service and worked his way up throughout the company. Joel earned an associates degree with a lifelong dream of serving in law enforcement. Upon graduation and working for 3 years as a deputy sheriff in Kansas, Joel seized the opportunity to travel to Alaska and has called it home since. Outside of Inlet Energy, Joel spends time assisting his son’s basketball, golf and baseball leagues and attends charitable events for Cystic Fibrosis and American Heart Association. Joel enjoys golfing, fishing, hunting, camping, reading, and cooking.
Tom Jankovich serves as President of The Jankovich Company, an iconic company providing best in class supply and transportation of fuel and lubricants in the LA/LB Port Complex and San Diego since 1933.
He graduated from Long Beach State and worked briefly as a substitute teacher before realizing that a career in education would not provide adequately for his young and growing family. He joined his father on a full-time basis in 1960. Under Tom’s leadership the company grew exponentially by building and acquiring water taxis, Offshore supply vessels, tank barges, lube oil distributorships, dozens of petroleum tank trucks, and support equipment. His three sons followed in his footsteps and currently serve in key management positions. Revenues rose from $100K in 1975 to over $350M.
Tom has served on the Board of Little Company of Mary Hospital and The Bank of San Pedro. He enjoys working, playing golf, and consuming fine wine, not necessarily in that order.