PillarFour Capital is focused on Investing and Advising Small and Mid-Cap Energy Companies.
The PillarFour Capital team is made up of dedicated energy professionals who offer decades of operational, financial, strategic planning and capital markets expertise. We work closely with our clients and partner management teams, focussing on strategies that maximize growth potential and value creation by emphasizing operational excellence, prudent governance and efficient capital allocation.
Four Pillars support our strategy and investment thesis.
.
A unique approach to Energy Investing and Advisory.
Partner
Aligned with clients and committed to providing prudent, creative and sound financial advice.
Invest
Back superior management teams through the investment of structured and flexible capital.
Advise
Assist clients on execution of strategic mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, financings, and recapitalizations.
Realize
Define various exit strategies and maximize value for our stakeholders.
.
Meet the PillarFour Capital Team
The team at PillarFour have worked together in various capacities for over 15 years. We have a deep understanding of the energy markets and extensive, global relationships across the oilfield services and upstream E&P sectors.
Our proven expertise is backed by decades of experience operating, investing and advising Energy Companies across the globe.
Senior Team
Paul Colucci, CFA
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Paul co-founded PillarFour Capital in 2015 and has over 20 years experience investing and advising on M&A and corporate finance in the Energy sector. Prior to PillarFour, Paul was the CEO of Dundee Corp’s London office and Dundee Arabia-Asia in the UAE ('11 - '15). Paul spent the previous six years heading the European businesses of various Canadian and US investment banks. Prior to moving to London in 2006, Paul worked as an investment banker in Calgary and Toronto where he was focused on coverage of the North American Energy sector.
Paul holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) and is a CFA Charterholder.
Matt Colucci
Co-Founder and Managing Partner
Matt co-founded PillarFour Capital in 2015 and has over 12 years experience working in corporate finance with both North American and European Investment Banks. Prior to PillarFour, Matt spent the previous five years heading AltaCorp Capital Inc.'s Oilfield Services Investment Banking group. Matt has also worked at a number of U.S. and Canadian Investment Banks and has completed over $10 billion in equity financings and $4 billion in M&A transactions throughout his career.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) and studied economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Dana Benner, CFA
Managing Partner, Private Equity
Dana joined PillarFour as Managing Partner in 2016 and has over 20 years experience in Equity Research covering the Oilfield Services sector. Prior to PillarFour, Dana was the Head of Research at AltaCorp Capital Inc. ('11 - '16). Dana has worked in Calgary at a number of Canadian Investment Banks over the past 20 years, covering a large universe of Canadian Oilfield Service companies. Dana has been a #1 ranked Oilfield Services analyst by institutional investors throughout his career.
Dana holds an Honours BA degree, with majors in both Economics and English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dana was also a visiting student at Oxford University and is a CFA Charterholder.
Mick McNulty, FCCA
Managing Partner, Private Equity
Mick joined PillarFour as a Managing Partner in 2016 and has more than 40 years of management and operating experience in the Oilfield Services sector. Throughout his career, Mick has been directly involved in the acquisition and integration of over 20 Oilfield Service companies. Prior to PillarFour, Mick was the CFO at Calfrac Well Services (‘13–‘16). Prior thereto, Mick served as CEO of Saxon Energy Services (‘09 –‘13) and as Senior VP and CFO (‘05–‘08). Mick also held a number of roles at Precision Drilling (‘97 – ‘05), including VP, Finance and VP, Business Development. Mick started his career at Schlumberger and Nowsco as Corp Controller. Mick is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.
Patrick Onyekweli, MBA, CFA
Managing Director, Investment Banking
Patrick joined PillarFour Capital in 2018 and has more than 10 years of corporate finance experience primarily in the energy sector and more recently branching into select diversified sectors. Prior to PillarFour, Patrick was a Director at Canaccord Genuity Corp. where he was focused on M&A advisory and capital raising for the global upstream oil and gas sector. Patrick began his career at BMO Capital Markets as an investment banking analyst in the energy group.
Patrick holds an MBA from the Smith School of Business (Queen’s University), a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) and is a CFA Charterholder.
PillarFour Capital Team
Jesse Hardage
Principal
Prior to joining PillarFour Capital in December 2015, Jesse was Vice President, Investment Banking with AltaCorp Capital where he focused primarily on oilfield services M&A advisory and corporate finance. Jesse has more than 7 years investment banking experience. Prior to his time at AltaCorp, Jesse held positions in both corporate finance and research at a Canadian boutique investment bank. Jesse has a Masters of Economics from the University of Hong Kong and a BA, Economics from the University of Calgary.
Ameel Velji, CFA
Principal
Prior to joining PillarFour Capital in 2016, Ameel was a Senior Associate in Deloitte’s financial advisory practice where he focused on business valuation of Canadian E&P companies. Prior to Deloitte, Ameel worked as broker with a boutique advisory firm providing liquidity within the private equity secondaries market.
Ameel holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Sprott School of Business at Carleton University. Ameel is also a CFA Charterholder and also successfully completed the CFE (CPA) in 2016.
Travis Beekhuizen
Analyst
Travis worked at PillarFour Capital as a Summer Intern in 2017 and joined the firm in a full time role as an Analyst in 2018. Prior to PillarFour, Travis worked as an Accounting Assistant at an Oilfield Services Pipeline company.
Travis holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree (Finance) from the Haskayne School of Business (University of Calgary) and is working towards completion of his CFA designation, having completed Level I.