Management Team

Murry S. Gerber
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Murry S. Gerber became CEO of EQT in 1998 and was elected Chairman in 2000. During his tenure, EQT has transformed itself from a regional natural gas distribution company into one of the largest and fastest growing independent Exploration and Production companies in the United States.

Through employment of innovative technology and cost discipline, EQT is now the largest natural gas company in the Appalachian basin. These efforts have propelled EQT to inclusion in the S&P 500 index and resulted in the company being named by Business Week as one of America’s top 50 companies.

Prior to joining EQT, Mr. Gerber, a Chicago native, served as CEO of Coral Energy, one of North America’s largest energy marketers. He had previously been Treasurer of Shell Oil Company and prior to that served in a number of management and technical positions over a 19 year career at Shell.

Today, Mr. Gerber is actively involved in Pennsylvania leadership initiatives. He serves as chair of the Pennsylvania Business Council and is a board member of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, as well as the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He serves on the board of BlackRock, Inc. He is on the Board of Trustees of Augustana College, his alma mater and of Carnegie Mellon University.

Mr. Gerber holds both a bachelor’s degree in geology from Augustana College and a master’s degree in geology from the University of Illinois.

 

David L. Porges
President and Chief Operating Officer

David L. Porges became senior vice president and chief financial officer of EQT in 1998 and was promoted to executive vice president in 2000. He was elected to the Board of Directors of EQT in May 2001. In January 2005, Mr. Porges was named vice chairman and executive vice president, Finance & Administration. In 2007, he was promoted to president and COO.

Mr. Porges joined EQT from Bankers Trust Corporation, where he held various positions since 1987. Most recently, he led Bankers Trust’s energy advisory efforts as managing director for the firm’s BT Wolfensohn Mergers & Acquisitions unit. Prior to joining Bankers Trust, Mr. Porges spent seven years with Exxon Corporation in various managerial positions, first with the Asian headquarters in Houston and later with its Esso Australia unit in Sydney and Melbourne.

A Chicago native, Mr. Porges holds a master’s in business administration from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and operations research from Northwestern University. He is the President/Chairman of the board of City Theatre and a member of the Independent Producers Association of America.

 

Philip P. Conti
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Philip P. Conti was elected as senior vice president and chief financial officer in 2007. He became vice president of Finance and treasurer at EQT in 2000. Since joining the company in 1996, Mr. Conti has also served as director of Planning and Development and assistant treasurer.

Prior to joining EQT, Mr. Conti was vice president in the Natural Resources department at PNC Bank from 1992-1996. Previously, he was a banking officer in the energy and utilities department of Mellon Bank, and before that, senior production engineer at Tenneco Oil Company. Mr. Conti is also a member of the board of directors for the River City Brass Band.

Mr. Conti earned a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Pittsburgh and a bachelor’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Pennsylvania State University.

 

Steven T. Schlotterbeck
President, Production

Steven T. Schlotterbeck was elected president of EQT Production in January 2008. EQT is Appalachia’s largest exploration and production company. Under Mr. Schlotterbeck’s leadership, EQT Production is now at the forefront of applying innovative technologies to the development of EQT's vast natural gas resources. Mr. Schlotterbeck previously held the positions of managing director of E&P Planning & Development, executive and senior vice president of Production Management and Planning, and vice president and director of Engineering.

Mr. Schlotterbeck, a Pennsylvania native, joined EQT when it acquired Statoil Energy in 2000, where he had held various engineering and management positions. From 1994 to 1996, he was employed by Eastern American Energy as Engineering Manager.

Previously, Mr. Schlotterbeck spent seven years with Marathon Oil Company, working a variety of engineering positions in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska.

Mr. Schlotterbeck is a member of the Independent Producers Association of America. He holds a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from Penn State.

 

Randall L. Crawford
Senior Vice President and President, Midstream and Distribution

Randall L. Crawford was elected senior vice president and president of EQT Midstream and Distribution in January 2008. At the end of 2008, EQT Midstream owned or operated nearly 10,500 miles of gathering lines, 63bcf of storage capacity, and 253 compressor units comprising 132 compressor stations with approximately 230,000 horsepower of installed capacity. Previously, Mr. Crawford was vice president of EQT and president of Equitable Utilities since 2004, and served two years as vice president and president of Equitable Gas.

Prior to joining EQT, Mr. Crawford held various financial and regulatory management positions with Consolidated Natural Gas Company (CNG) in Pittsburgh, and had originally started his career with Price Waterhouse Utility Services Practice. He is also a licensed Certified Public Accountant.

Mr. Crawford serves as a director of the American Gas Association, the Energy Association of Pennsylvania, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America. He also is a director of the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh and a West Virginia Wesleyan College Trustee.

 

M. Elise Hyland
EQT Vice President and President, Equitable Gas Company

M. Elise (“Lisa”) Hyland became president of Equitable Gas Company in July 2007. She joined the company in April 2000 and held positions in finance, strategic planning, and customer service before being named President of Equitable Gas.

Prior to joining EQT, Ms. Hyland was with Alcoa, Inc. for 18 years. She held various positions in product and process development and served as manager of the Alloy Design Division. She is the holder of five U.S. patents.

A western Pennsylvania native, Ms. Hyland earned a master’s in business administration from the Tepper School and holds a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University.

Ms. Hyland serves on the board of the Manchester Bidwell Corporation.

 

Martin A. Fritz      
EQT Vice President and President, Midstream

Martin A. Fritz was elected vice president of EQT and president of EQT Midstream in January 2008. Under Mr. Fritz's leadership, EQT Midstream completed three major projects that year: the Big Sandy pipeline, the Mayking corridor and the Langley Processing Plant and constructed more than 600 miles of pipeline and 70,000 horsepower of compression. These projects and construction provided the platform for significant natural gas sales volume growth, which began in fourth quarter 2008. During his 10 year career at EQT, Mr. Fritz has held several positions, including vice president and chief administrative officer; vice president and chief information officer; and deputy general counsel.

Prior to joining EQT, Mr. Fritz worked for the full service, international law firm of Duane Morris, LLP and for Ernst & Young as a CPA.

Mr. Fritz serves on the EQT Foundation board of directors, is president of the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council, and is on the board of directors of United Way of Allegheny County. He is an active member of the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Accounting Advisory Board.

Mr. Fritz was recognized as a presidential scholar and graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in business and economics. He holds a juris doctorate degree from the Pennsylvania State University, Dickinson School of Law where he graduated in the top 10 percent of the class and was associate editor of the law review. Mr. Fritz also holds a certificate from the Utility Executive Institute of the University of Idaho.

 

Lewis B. Gardner
Vice President and General Counsel

Lewis B. (“Lew”) Gardner was named Vice President and General Counsel in March 2008.  In this capacity, he oversees legal and external affairs, which includes the governmental relations and corporate communications functions.  He joined the company in March 2003, and held positions in Human Resources/Labor Relations before taking on his current assignment.

Prior to joining EQT, Mr. Gardner was a partner in the Houston and Austin, Texas offices of Brown, McCarroll & Oaks Hartline, General Counsel to General Glass International Corp. (GGI), a privately held glass manufacturing and trading company, and Senior Counsel, Employment Law with Northrop Grumman (formerly TRW, Inc.).

Mr. Gardner earned a bachelor's degree in history from Duke University and a law degree from the Wake Forest University School of Law, where he was Notes & Comments Editor of the law review. Mr. Gardner serves on the board of the YMCA of Greater Pittsburgh.

 

Charlene G. Petrelli, SPHR
Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

Charlene G. Petrelli became director of corporate human resources of EQT in October 2000. She was promoted to vice president of Human Resources in January 2003 and, later that year, was named president of the EQT Foundation. In February 2007 she was promoted to vice president and chief human resources officer. Her current responsibilities include developing and executing the human capital and talent management strategies for EQT’s 1,700 employees, and directing more than $3 million in annual giving through the EQT Foundation.

Ms. Petrelli came to EQT from Fisher Scientific, where she held the position of director of human resources. Previously, Ms. Petrelli held human resources positions with the Merck Human Health Division, Johnson & Johnson Medical, Tenneco Automotive and Westinghouse Electric Corporation.

A Pittsburgh native, Ms. Petrelli holds a master of business administration degree from Temple University and a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Duquesne University. She is a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) and a graduate of the Strategic Human Resource Management Program at Harvard Business School. Ms. Petrelli was named Duquesne University’s 2007 Business School Alumni of the Year.

She served on the 2008 Athena Award Program Selection Committee and will again serve for 2009. She also is a member of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera board of directors.