Enchanted Rock, a Houston-based provider of electric microgrids, brought in a new C-level executive with an eye on continuing growth during the energy transition.
Josh Shapiro joined the company as its new CFO, replacing Sanjeev Kumar. Kumar will remain an adviser to the board of directors and to Shapiro, the company said.
Shapiro previously served as senior vice president of finance and corporate development at Willow Park, Texas-based ProFrac Holding Corp. (NYSE: ACDC) and as CFO for Houston-based hydraulic fracturing services company U.S. Well Services (Nasdaq: USWS). According to his LinkedIn page, Shapiro joined ProFrac after it acquired U.S. Well Services in November.
Shapiro is Enchanted Rock’s first C-level hire since Kumar was brought in alongside Jayesh Goyal as chief revenue officer and Paul Froutan as chief technology officer last June. Those hires accompanied Enchanted Rock securing a contract with Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to build its renewable natural gas-supported microgrid, the largest in California.
Enchanted Rock sources RNG from facilities that recapture methane emissions, including food waste and agricultural operations. Interest and investment in RNG projects among companies in Houston has grown recently, and the Houston region is already a hub for some of the largest RNG facilities in the nation.
The company was founded in 2006 and focuses on developing microgrids powered by natural gas and RNG offsets. Its microgrid customers include San Antonio-based grocery retailer H-E-B, and its other services include installing backup generators for reliability purposes.
CEO Thomas McAndrew previously told the Houston Business Journal that Enchanted Rock works with no-notice gas contracts that require sellers to deliver no matter what, helping the company’s reputation for reliability.
Enchanted Rock was a finalist for the Houston Business Journal’s 2022 Best Places to Work awards in the Large Companies category, for employers with 100-399 employees. The company was also named to Inc.’s 2022 Best in Business list in the energy category, repeating its achievement from 2021.
Other recent financial appointments in Houston's energy industry include Talen Energy Corp. hiring a new CFO last month amid several other executive changes.
Meanwhile, Houston-based companies Coterra Energy (NYSE: CTRA) and Talos Energy (NYSE: TALO) shuffled C-level executives last month. Coterra hired Shannon Young from Talos to serve as executive vice president and CFO, and Talos promoted Sergio Maiworm to fill the resulting CFO vacancy.
