Our Board

Russell Bennett is a Managing Director and Head of Oil & Gas at Starwood Capital Group, with responsibility for leading the Firm’s expansion into the oil & gas sector. In November 2013, Mr. Bennett closed Starwood Capital’s first investment in the industry—a $35 million investment in Northeast Natural Energy. In June 2015, Mr. Bennett led a $110 million investment in EagleRidge Energy and a $20 million follow-on investment in June 2017.  In January 2017, Mr. Bennett led a $65 million equity commitment in Ventana Exploration & Production and a $70 million follow-on equity commitment in February 2019.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2013, Mr. Bennett worked as an investment professional at Metalmark from 2004 to 2013 and played an active role in 15 investments, including portfolio add-on acquisitions. Mr. Bennett has served as a member of Northeast Natural Energy’s Board of Directors from 2010 to present, Chairman of EagleRidge Energy since June 2015 and a member of Ventana Exploration & Production’s Board of Directors from January 2017 to present. He began his career in the leverage finance and private equity coverage groups at JPMorgan.

Mr. Bennett received a B.S. degree in economics from Northwestern University. 

Matt Lumpkin is a Vice President at Starwood Oil & Gas, with responsibility for due diligence and the underwriting of new investments, as well as for monitoring the performance of portfolio investments.

Prior to joining Starwood Capital in 2014, Mr. Lumpkin worked at Tortoise Capital, where he was responsible for making investments in the public E&P and pipeline sectors across the firm’s $14B asset platform. Before that, Mr. Lumpkin worked closely with SOG’s Managing Director, Russell Bennett, on a variety of energy transactions during his four-year tenure at Metalmark.  Mr. Lumpkin is a board observer at Northeast Natural Energy and EagleRidge Energy and a board member of Ventana Exploration & Production.  Mr. Lumpkin began his career at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in the firm’s leverage acquisition finance/ financial sponsors and energy groups. 

Mr. Lumpkin received B.S. and M.S. degrees in accounting from the University of Missouri.

As a Managing Director at EGI, Mike applies over 20 years of operational experience across industries to manage existing assets and evaluate potential new investments. He serves on the boards of Cross Border Xpress, Paper Transport, and Ventana Exploration and Production.

Mike specializes in organic and M&A growth, integrations, turnarounds, restructurings, and asset optimization. Prior to joining EGI in 2019, Mike served as Senior Director of Mergers and Acquisitions for Oracle Corporation, where he led due diligence and business integration for acquisitions across Oracle’s global portfolio. Previously, he was the head of Global Marketing at BigMachines, which was acquired by Oracle.  

Earlier in his career, Mike served in a number of business development roles, including Head of Product and Marketing for Envoy Global, Business Unit Chief Revenue Officer for Entertainment Cruises, Business Development Director for ServiceMaster, and Business Unit Director for Budget Rent a Car.  

Mike holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame and completed the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Emerge Global Program. 

As an Associate at EGI, Yaakov evaluates potential new investments and works directly with existing assets. Yaakov supports EGI’s investments in CIT Trucks, Paper Transport, and Ventana Exploration and Production. 

Prior to joining EGI in 2022, Yaakov was a Valuation Analyst at Duff & Phelps.

Yaakov holds a BBA in finance and entrepreneurship with distinction from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business.

The youngest of five, born to tenant farmers in rural Oklahoma, Mo Anderson was the first in her family to earn a college degree.  She taught music in the public schools before entering the world of real estate.  Her first Century 21 franchise quickly rose to the third-highest producing out of 7,500 locations in North America.  She served on the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission, including 2 terms as chairman.  

She convinced Keller Williams Realty Co-founder, Gary Keller, to expand his franchise company outside of Texas.  Anderson became the regional owner for Keller Williams Realty Oklahoma.  In 1995, Mo became the first CEO and co-owner of Keller Williams Realty International.  The Company is now the number one Real Estate Franchise company in the world in size, units, and volume.  She currently serves as Vice Chairman of the Board.  Deemed one of America’s top 25 Influential Thought Leaders by REALTOR magazine and One of Real Estates Most Influential People, Anderson continues to cultivate the firm’s culture, inspiring 200,000 agents in 33 countries to maintain high standards of character.

A member of the OK Hall of Fame (class of 2018), Mo is the author of A Joy-filled Life: Lessons from a Tenant Farmer’s Daughter Who Became a CEO, and she launched MoAnderson.com, an online mentoring community.

Anderson’s greatest legacy will be her philanthropic giving.  Her local community, charitable organizations, and ministries around the world have been richly blessed by her belief that the higher purpose of business is to give, care and share.