Leadership

Paul Butero Executive Chairman

Prior to joining Laney, Paul Butero was the President / CEO of Nine Energy Service. Paul also enjoyed over 32 years with Baker Hughes Incorporated serving as President of US Land Operations, Baker’s largest and most dynamic geomarket. He also served as President of Hughes Christensen Company (drill bits), President of Baker Atlas (wireline), and President of Baker Hughes Inteq (drilling systems). He has held Vice President role in operations, sales, and marketing as well as a number of operational management positions both domestically and internationally. Paul received his B.A. in Geography from the University of Colorado in Boulder.

Rahul Mangire President

Rahul Mangire was named President of Laney in January 2021. Rahul previously served as Laney’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO). As CAO, Rahul was responsible for managing group level administrative continuity and control, centralized supply chain management, and corporate services. Additionally, he led Laney’s strategic growth initiatives in domestic as well as international markets. He is also involved in identifying potential targets for acquisition or partnerships and performing due diligence. Rahul has 20 years of worldwide experience in the offshore construction and diving industry holding various management positions in sales & marketing, business development, estimating, project management, supply chain management, and commercial. Prior to joining Laney, Rahul spent most of his professional career at Cal Dive International, Inc. He was responsible for transforming and streamlining the supply chain management and commercial groups. He received his MBA from Rice University and MS in Mechanical Engineering from Lamar University.

Jim Katosic CFO and CCO

Jim Katosic manages all financial and administrative functions as well as the risks associated with Compliance which continue to increase as legal and regulatory oversight continues to expand and evolve. Jim is responsible for Laney’s Financial Reporting & Accounting, Taxes, Audit, Payroll and Compliance. Jim brings 39 years of global oilfield experience in both operational and financial management to the Laney team. He spent the first 23 years of his career with several divisions at Baker Hughes in both domestic and international assignments living and working on 4 continents in financial and operational positions. Subsequent assignments within the upstream oil & gas industry include the Corporate Controller at Hydril, Chief Accounting Officer at Trico Marine, Chief Financial Officer of Lone Star Fasteners, Chief Accounting Officer at Logan International, and Chief Financial Officer at W-Technology Link. Katosic received his B.B.A. in Accounting from Kent State University and his MBA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. Jim is a licensed CPA in the state of Texas.

Jimmy Maingot Vice President – Operations

Jimmy Maingot is President of JM Drilling Services International, Inc., which was acquired by Laney Group in December 2018. Jimmy established JM Drilling Services in 1999 and grew it into a multi-million-dollar corporation over the course of 20 years. Jimmy is an expert in diverse drilling conditions ranging from hard rock to soft soil environments and is arguably one of the most competent horizontal directional drilling (HDD) professionals in the industry. He has a wide range of experience in the HDD industry and has executed projects ranging from shore approaches, mountain crossings and other complex crossings. Jimmy has worked on over 500 projects on 6 continents and 22 countries. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

Rob Hotz, PE Vice President – Commercial

Rob Hotz leads Laney’s commercial group which includes Business Development, Engineering, and Estimating Teams. Rob also assists with the company’s growth initiatives, strategy development, and implementation. Rob is passionate about the trenchless industry, and has strong relationships with our client base. Rob previously served as Manager of Engineering, Division Manager and Vice President of Operations. Prior to joining Laney, Rob worked with GeoEngineers, Inc. as Project Manager/Engineer. Rob also worked as Director of Midwest Operations for Mears Group, Inc. At Laney, Rob gained valuable experience through his work in Engineering, Operations, and Project Management in various leadership positions. Rob has Master of Science in Geotechnical Engineering from Missouri University of Science & Technology and is a licensed professional engineering in 10 US States. He currently serves as co-chair of the Distribution Contractors Association (DCA) Trenchless Committee.

Ken Margerison Director of HSE&Q

Ken Margerison joined Laney in November 2021 as Director of Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality (HSE&Q). Ken’s focus will be on overhauling the HSE&Q programs and Laney’s journey as an industry thought leader in zero-incident safety culture. Prior to Laney, Ken served as Western Hemisphere HSEQ Officer at Ardent implementing a comprehensive safety program primarily focused on their expansion into offshore decommissioning and achieving ISO 45001 Certification. Before Ardent, Ken was HSEQ Manager- Americas at Fircroft with domestic and regional responsibilities driving their safety culture, case management, training, compliance and ISO accreditations. Preceding Fircroft, Ken was a Chevron HSE Advisor supporting the Jack / St. Malo Project Construction, Integration, Mooring, and Hookup & Commissioning Phases as a leader of Incident-Free Operations and client safety expectations for contractors. Preceding Chevron, Ken served as HSE Manager at Helix and Cal Dive International performing all facets of corporate, facility, and offshore construction safety including domestic & international capital project HSE support.

Andrew Sparks, PE Director of Engineering

Drew Sparks is geotechnical engineer with 25 years of experience and is a registered professional engineer in 27 states. He has 18 years of experience in designing Horizontal Directional Drill and Direct Pipe® projects up to 48-inches in diameter and lengths over 13,000 feet.   Drew worked on a team of engineers to develop a design procedure for Direct Pipe® design as well as developed a proprietary software program to evaluate the hydraulic fracture and drilling fluid surface release risk for Horizontal Directional Drill crossings.   Drew received his B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a M.S. in Geotechnical Engineering from Brigham Young University. Drew currently holds the position of Secretary for the ASCE Manual of Practice Committee for Direct Pipe®, serves as a Board of Director for the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT), and is the Director of Engineering for the engineering group of Laney Directional Drilling.