Leadership

Mark Ritchie

Co-Founder and Vice President

Mr. Ritchie has more than 25 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and has successfully planned and executed multiple high-profile oil and gas projects in Europe, North Africa, Asia and the Middle East. Ritchie has focused the last 13 years on permanent water infrastructure in North America. As Tallgrass Water’s co-founder, he has been involved with all aspects of the company’s growth, including capital acquisition, M&A processes and greenfield project execution. Prior to joining Tallgrass Water, Ritchie was Global Operations Manager for Halliburton’s Water Solutions Division. He holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Liverpool, England.

Eric Cook

Director Origination

Mr. Cook began his career in the water industry in 2005 and has extensive experience in Operational Management, Program and Project Management, and Construction Engineering. He has a history of successfully leading technical teams in both greenfield development and mergers and acquisitions in the energy and transportation industries. His experience managing assets through their entire life cycle – design, construction and operation – brings an unwavering focus on coordination and management at all project stages to successfully deliver projects safely, on time and within budget. Cook holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University.

Forrest Sewell

Director, Business Development

Mr. Sewell has served as Director of Business Development of Tallgrass water since November 2019. Forrest’s focus is on portfolio growth through greenfield development, acquisition, and further commercialization of existing assets. Forrest has over 15 years of experience leading teams in Business Development, Commercialization, and Acquisitions. Forrest has a B.S from Kansas State University, and holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Denver.

Mike Stahl

Director Operations

Mr. Stahl has more than 20 years of upstream oil and gas industry experience, focused on new well construction and field optimization. Prior to joining Tallgrass Water, he held various engineering and management positions with QEP Resources (formerly Questar E&P) and Whiting Petroleum, where he oversaw engineering, field operations, and production. In the last 15 years, Stahl has assumed a leadership role in developing various Rocky Mountain shale plays in North Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico, including constructing dedicated fresh water and SWD assets to optimize well spacing and field development. He is passionate about leveraging logistics combined with highly effective teams to maximize value. He began his career in 1997 as a field engineer with Halliburton Energy Services. Stahl holds a B.S. in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Colorado.

Eric Gopsill

Managing Director

Mr. Gopsill brings over 30 years of experience that includes heavy construction, water and wastewater projects and water solutions specific to the energy industry. Management skills cover project inception and design through construction and operations.  Experienced in alternative delivery including DBOO and P3. Specializes in building project teams and delivering challenging, fast-paced projects that have maximized client value.  He leads our water efforts in the emerging decarbonized energy space.  B.S. (Civil Engineering) with a minor in Environmental Engineering from The Colorado School of Mines.