Executive Team

Greg Lalicker is the Chief Executive Officer of Hilcorp Energy Company. Prior to working for Hilcorp, Mr. Lalicker was with BHP Petroleum in Midland, Houston, London and Melbourne as well as McKinsey & Company where he worked in their Houston, Abu Dhabi and London offices. He originally joined Hilcorp’s leadership team in 2006 as Executive Vice President where he was responsible for all exploration and production activities. Mr. Lalicker graduated as a Petroleum Engineer from the University of Tulsa, he’s also earned his Masters of Business Administration and a law degree.

Spencer Kerr is Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Hilcorp Energy Company. Prior to joining Hilcorp in 2012, Mr. Kerr was an attorney at Bracewell LLP, focusing on energy, infrastructure and finance transactions.

Mr. Kerr earned a Bachelor of Arts in Plan II Honors and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from The University of Texas at Austin and his law degree from The University of Texas School of Law. He currently is a member of the Plan II Honors Program Board of Visitors, the Texas Exes Forty Acres Society, the Houston Producers’ Forum and the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators and is a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation.

Jillian Jopling is Senior Vice President of the Lower 48 for Hilcorp Energy Company. Ms. Jopling joined Hilcorp in 2004 and has served in various operations and reservoir engineering roles in Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico.

Ms. Jopling holds a Bachelor’s in Petroleum Engineering from The University of Texas at Austin.

Luke Saugier is Senior Vice President of Alaska for Hilcorp Energy Company. Mr. Saugier joined Hilcorp in 2003 and has served in various reservoir engineering and operational roles in Louisiana, Texas, and Alaska. He has experience in both conventional and unconventional assets.

Mr. Saugier holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University, and a Master’s degree in Petroleum Economics and Management from the Institut Francais du Petrol in Paris, France.

Mike Brezina is the Senior Vice President, Human Resources for Hilcorp Energy Company. Prior to joining Hilcorp in 2014, Mike was the Founder and President of Vantage HRO providing human resource consulting and executive coaching for businesses/leaders including Hilcorp. He has over 35 years of human resource related experience including leadership positions with David Weekley Homes, Hewlett Packard and Compaq.

Mr. Brezina holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Lamar University and Master’s Degree from the University of Houston.

Curtis Smith is Senior Vice President, Land of Hilcorp Energy Company. Mr. Smith joined Hilcorp in 2002 as Vice President, Land. Prior to working for Hilcorp, Mr. Smith held various land, international business development and commercial positions with Oxy, Bass Enterprises, Texaco and Santa Fe Energy where he served as commercial manager for Santa Fe’s subsidiary, Petrolera Santa Fe, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Mr. Smith graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Petroleum Land Management and is Advisory Council Emeritus Member of the Texas Tech Rawls College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. He is a member of the National Ranching Heritage Association, Texas Tech Chancellor’s Council, American Association of Professional Landmen, Houston Association of Professional Landmen, Independent Petroleum Association of America and Greater Houston Partnership.

J.P. Knox is Senior Vice President of Technical Services for Hilcorp Energy Company. He joined Hilcorp in 2011 and has served in various roles of increasing responsibility, including Operations Manager and Asset Team Leader. Prior to joining Hilcorp , Mr. Knox worked for ConocoPhillips in various engineering roles.

Mr. Knox is a graduate of Oklahoma State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Ben Knowles is Senior Vice President of Marketing of Hilcorp Energy Company. Prior to his current role, Mr. Knowles was the Vice President of Crude Oil Marketing. Before joining Hilcorp, Mr. Knowles worked for ExxonMobil, Tesoro and Hess in various management or operational roles of the downstream and upstream supply and marketing functions.

Mr. Knowles has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of the West of England.

William “Bill” Rothe is Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer for Hilcorp Energy Company. Prior to joining Hilcorp in 2018, Mr. Rothe retired from Hess Corporation after a 28-year career where he held various IT leadership roles, including Chief Information Officer for the downstream and corporate divisions and Vice President of Enterprise Systems.

Mr. Rothe holds a bachelor’s degree from The Cooper Union, School of Engineering and an M.B.A. in Finance and Investments from CUNY, Baruch College.