Gene Soltero is available for expert witness consulting, public company board seats, and strategic advisory roles in the petroleum, oil & gas, and energy sectors. He is a veteran energy industry executive and board-level advisor whose career spans more than five decades in executive management of upstream and midstream oil and gas, refining, corporate finance, capital markets, and international exploration. His leadership roles include President, CEO, COO, and sometimes concurrent CFO of multiple public and private energy companies, as well as founder of numerous ventures across the petroleum value chain.
Mr. Soltero has directed the acquisition, development, and monetization of petroleum assets in more than 30 domestic basins and numerous international markets. His leadership resulted in more than 50 new oil and gas field discoveries, numerous acquisitions, cross-border transactions and project financings, as well as listings on the American Stock Exchange, NASDAQ National Market, NASDAQ Small Cap Market, the OTC Market, the Canadian Dealing Network and the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Other Highlights
- Orchestrated a comprehensive exploratory and development drilling program, complemented by targeted acquisitions, that transformed an oil & gas reserves base from $12 million to over $1.5 billion (in present-day value), and achieved this with less than $150 million in equity investment (in present-day value), over a period of six years.
- Orchestrated the growth of refined petroleum products trading from sales of $18 million/year to over $3.6 billion/year (in present-day value) over a period of six years.
- Conducted onsite exploration prospect management and producing property acquisition evaluation, concession negotiations, and/or exploration finance meetings in 27 different countries in South America, Central America, Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Far East.
- Conducted economic evaluations using risk analysis for numerous exploratory drilling prospects and producing property acquisitions in 25 additional foreign countries.
- Organized, led and completed over $1 billion (in present day value) of private placements of common stock, convertible preferred stock, coalbed methane royalty interests, convertible notes, production payment notes as well as a registered stock exchange for receivables.
- Prepared a report on national energy policy that was delivered to the U.S. Congress during the 1970's, complete with a section on fracturing oil shale for enhanced recovery.
Current Focus
Today, Gene Soltero provides expert witness and strategic consulting services to law firms, public and private companies, and institutional investors in technically complex and financially sensitive energy matters. His expertise spans dispute resolution, contract negotiation, economic modeling, risk analysis, and board-level advisory for both domestic and international clients. He is available as a testifying or consulting expert for litigation, arbitration, and technical dispute resolution, and serves as a senior advisor to executive teams and boards seeking deep sector expertise and seasoned financial judgment.
Personal Profile & Lifelong Performance
At age 82, Gene Soltero remains physically and intellectually active, embodying the resilience, discipline, and leadership that he brings to every boardroom and client engagement.
Gene learned to sail as a freshman in college and by the end of his senior year he had participated in more than 1,000 intercollegiate races against sailors from Navy, Penn, Army, Princeton, Cornell, Columbia, Stevens, Webb, Coast Guard, Yale, Merchant Marine Academy, and many others along the U.S. East Coast. By his senior year he was named sailing team captain and All Sports Player of the Year. Since then he has competed primarily in the Snipe Class international sailboat - a 15.5-foot technical racing sloop known for precision, athleticism, and tactical mastery, with some recent Snipe Class results:
- Winner of Grand Master Division (age 65-74) at the 2010 U.S. Masters Championship.
- Winner of Legends Division (age 75+) at the 2023 U.S. Masters Championship.
- Reigning Regatta Series Champion for Snipe District 2 (Mid-continent U.S.)
- Reigning Champion of the Lake Ontario Championship for the Briody Trophy, the Fire on the Water Snipe Regatta, the Missouri Valley Championship and the Texas State Championship.
- Class winner of more than 100 sailboat regattas between 1963 and 2025.
Gene is a regular golfer at Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas, the home of the #1 golfer in the world, Scottie Scheffler, walking at least one 18-hole match every week. He also holds trophies in tennis from Royal Oaks and the Dallas Petroleum Club, and was awarded a blue sash (black belt equivalent) in the Wu Chi Chuan system of Shaolin Kung Fu, attained at age 60
Education
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management: Master of Science in Industrial Management, 1966; Sinclair Foundation Research Fellowship in Petroleum Economics; M.I.T. Research Assistantship in Labor Economics; Vice-President of Graduate Management Society.
- The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art: Bachelor of Engineering in Civil engineering, 1964; Scholastic Honors List; New York State Regents Scholarship; 1963-64 Player of the Year.
Professional Affiliations
- Registered Professional Engineer, State of Texas
- Registered Securities Professional, FINRA Series 22, 63, 79, and 82 (Attained at age 75)
- Society of Petroleum Engineers – Council of Economics
- American Petroleum Institute
- National Petroleum Refiners Association – Director (1990–91)
- Texas Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
- Independent Petroleum Association of America – Director, North Central Texas Area (1981–84)
- Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners – Director (1981–84)
- Dallas Petroleum Club
- Dallas CEO Lunch Group – Executive Secretary (2002–2025)
- Dallas Wildcat Committee
Civic and Community Roles
- Baylor Healthcare Center – Keepers of the Flame
- Soltero Cardiovascular Research Center at Baylor University Medical Center – Contributor and Financial Advisor
- Children's Medical Center Development Council
- St. John's Episcopal School Board of Trustees – President (1984–85)
- Riverside National Bank – Organizer, Director, Chairman of the Finance Committee (1984–86); Chairman of the Interim Board of Directors (1985-86)
- Snipe Class International Racing Association-USA – National Secretary and President of the Board of Directors (2011–12); Vice President (2010–11)
Recognitions & Listings
- Marquis Who's Who Listings: World; World Oil and Gas; Business and Industry; Southwest, South and Southeast
- Publications and presentations on risk analysis, decision theory, economic evaluations, national energy policy, natural gas legislation, and complexity science
