Executive Team

Gary Conway is one of the three founding partners of Vaquero and is the firm’s CEO/President. He has more than 24 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry and a track record of success. Prior to co-founding Vaquero, Gary served as Vice President of Engineering and Operations at TEAK Midstream LLC, and was a key participant in the board’s analysis and decision making. His role involved all aspects of the engineering and operations of more than 300 miles of high and low pressure gathering systems, a grassroots 262-mile high pressure gathering pipeline, and a 200 MMSCFD processing facility with an additional 400 MMSCFD planned on the complex.

Prior to his tenure with TEAK, Gary served as Vice President of Treating and Construction for Petrohawk/Hawk Field Services, completing the midstream assets in the Fayetteville Shale, establishing a major footprint of midstream assets in the Haynesville Shale and the initial assets for the Eagle Ford Shale.

Prior to Petrohawk/Hawk Field Services, Gary was Director of Processing for Energy Transfer. In this role he was instrumental in guiding Energy Transfer into the Barnett Shale, leading the construction and operations of the 500 MMSCFD Godley Cryogenic Complex.

Previously, Gary was Manager of Engineering at Crosstex Energy Services in the Treating Division, where under his execution management Crosstex grew to more than 120 operating amine plants. Prior to joining Crosstex, he was employed by consulting firms as a chemical engineer working for major and independent natural gas and petrochemical companies in the United States and abroad.

Gary received his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Bryant Patton is Chairman, Chief Financial Officer and founding partner of Vaquero. He has over 42 years’ experience in the oil and gas industry, including 20 years as a principal in two oil and gas exploration and production companies, eight years as an institutional portfolio manager investing approximately $350 million, and ten years providing value-added management extension and capital formation strategy to upstream and midstream energy companies. Bryant has participated in hundreds of transactions and has established relationships with industry players, capital providers, investment bankers, lawyers, and third-party support professionals.  Bryant majored in accounting at Texas Christian University and the University of Texas at Dallas.

Prior to his effort at Vaquero, through Brycap Investments, he worked with TEAK Midstream, Crosstex Energy, Oakspring Energy, LLC, Vendera Resources, Abraxas Petroleum, Camden Resources, Cinco Resources, and Primexx Energy Partners.  Previously, Bryant was Senior Vice President of Associated Energy Managers, managing two funds for The Common Fund and Energy Income Fund, L.P.

Bryant has been deeply involved in the industry, serving as Regional Director of the IPAA, past President of the Dallas Petroleum Club, past Chairman of the Dallas Wildcat Committee, and various energy company boards. Bryant is the 2020-2021 Chairman of the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association.  Bryant and his wife of 38 years, Darlene, live in Dallas.

Brian Best serves as Vaquero’s Executive Vice President of Business Development. He is responsible for the acquisition of new business and development of relationships for Vaquero’s strategic growth initiatives.

Prior to joining Vaquero Midstream, Brian most recently served as Vice President of Commercial for J-W Energy Company where he was responsible for all commercial activity for the company’s midstream assets. During his tenure at J-W, he led several aspects of the midstream functions, including third-party business development, pipeline commercial operations, acquisition and divestitures, new project expansions, capital planning, and banking and finance management. Brian brings a blend of engineering and finance with a focus on value to producers.

Prior to his time at J-W Energy Company, he spent nine years in the defense industry at Lockheed Martin in both technical and project management roles in the development of the F-16 Fighting Falcon and the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

Brian has an MBA with a Finance Concentration from Southern Methodist University and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas Christian University.

Sandra Fendley joined Vaquero Midstream in June 2015 as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, with over 20 years of experience in the midstream, oil and gas and utilities industries. She previously served as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Matador Resources and also as Controller of J-W Midstream, a subsidiary of J-W Energy Company.

Prior to joining J-W Midstream, Sandra held a number of financial roles with Crosstex Energy, including serving as Corporate Controller, Director of Financial Accounting and Director of Financial Reporting from 2006 until her departure in 2013. She also held numerous and varied accounting roles with TXU (currently Energy Future Holdings) from 1991 to 2006.

In her many roles, Sandra has had responsibility for leading a financial accounting group, SEC reporting group for a publicly traded Master Limited Partnership, crude oil operational accounting group, financial planning and analysis group, fixed asset accounting, inventory, and accounts payable. She has also provided leadership on multiple process improvement projects resulting in significant cost and time savings and improved controls.

Sandra is a licensed certified public accountant. She received an MBA from Tarleton State University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Texas A&M University-Commerce.

Clayton Hewett is the Executive Vice President of Engineering at Vaquero Midstream. He brings with him over 15 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.  Prior to joining Vaquero Midstream, Clayton most recently served as Director of Engineering and Operations for Texas Energy Midstream where he was responsible for the daily operations of all midstream assets. During his time at Texas Energy Midstream, Clayton focused on developing operationally efficient processes and policies to maximize profits while always keeping employees’ safety the top priority.

Prior to his time at Texas Energy Midstream, Clayton served as Operations Manager at Medallion Midstream and as Engineering Manager at Tristate Midstream. He spent time managing the construction and installation of natural gas pipelines and facilities. Clayton began his career in North Texas at Crosstex Energy Services where he served as the engineer on projects in both North Texas and Northern Louisiana.

Clayton received his Master of Business Administration degree from Texas Christian University and Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University – Kingsville.

Gary Wauson is the Vice President of Operations for Vaquero Midstream. With more than 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, Gary has been an essential driver in helping the company grow, putting operational strategies in place that have taken Vaquero far beyond a traditional midstream company approach. He currently oversees construction and engineering on a 200 MMSCFD gas processing complex with more than 100 miles of high-pressure gathering pipeline in the Southern Delaware Basin. Once the plant is completed in spring of 2016, Gary will manage the development and implementation of general operations policies and safety procedures.

Before Vaquero, Gary worked as an area manager for TEAK Midstream, where he was instrumental in the building of a cryogenic gas processing plant and high-pressure gas gathering systems in South Texas. Previous to his work at TEAK Midstream, he worked as a systems superintendent for more than 10 years with Western Gas Resources (later acquired by Anadarko Petroleum) where he made decisions regarding large gathering and compression systems.

Prior to Western Gas Resources, Gary worked for Tipperary Corporation where he was the operations superintendent. He also worked for LoVaca Gathering, where he was the plant operator and started one of the earliest cryogenic plants. Gary began his career as an operator for Exxon.

Besides his extensive experience in oil and gas, he worked for more than 10 years as a general manager of fabrication facilities, building compressors, plants and production equipment.