In this episode of Big Swing Podcast, Jeremy Funk and Corey Scott sit down with Josh Carlisle, an EHS and regulatory leader at BKV, whose career journey took him from rural Wisconsin to the energy industry by way of geology, a climbing trip through the American West, and the coalbed methane boom in Wyoming. A father, grandfather, and advocate for the next generation of energy professionals, Josh has spent more than two decades in environmental, health, safety, and sustainability roles. He also helped establish a scholarship at his alma mater to encourage students to apply their geology degrees in the field rather than retreating into academia, a reflection of his belief that the industry needs fresh talent willing to get their hands dirty.

The conversation takes a deeply personal turn as Josh shares the story of his diagnosis with classic Hodgkin's lymphoma earlier this year, the six months of chemotherapy that followed, and the lessons he learned about vulnerability, faith, family, and the power of community. He speaks candidly about the financial toxicity that can accompany a cancer diagnosis, the importance of long-term disability coverage, and how his company's culture and benefits made it possible for him to focus on healing. Josh also discusses his decision to share his journey publicly, first in a company town hall and then through LinkedIn posts that resonated far beyond his network, and explains why he chose to write a book, Who Shows Up, which explores what cancer teaches you about yourself and the people who rally around you in a crisis.

Listen to the full conversation for a powerful and inspiring look at resilience, leadership, and the human side of the energy business from a man who faced an unexpected battle and chose to turn it into a gift for others.

In this episode of Big Swing Podcast, Jeremy Funk and Corey Scott sit down with Rhett Newberry, President and CEO of Service Compression, for a wide-ranging conversation on building a compression powerhouse from the ground up, navigating extreme market volatility, and the critical role of compression in the energy supply chain. Rhett’s journey into oil and gas was anything but planned—growing up in Arlington, Texas, with no industry exposure, he moved to Midland to support his spouse’s education and joined Basic Energy Services during its IPO. From there, he went on to build Service Compression into a company with roughly one million horsepower in its fleet, growing through strategic machine shop acquisitions, the pivotal purchase of Service Compression in 2017, and the transformative acquisition of Active.

The conversation covers the company’s evolution from a small overhaul shop to a dominant rental operation, the near-impossible timing of its largest acquisition closing on February 29, 2020—just days before the Russia-Saudi price war and COVID-19 sent oil prices negative—and how positioning compression as an essential production utility enabled survival when capital markets froze. Rhett also discusses the critical role of backend technology and operational infrastructure, the value of elite field personnel in acquisitions, and the persistent supply chain constraints that make rapid fleet expansion nearly impossible. The discussion turns to the broader market tailwinds reshaping the industry, including the explosive power demand from AI data centers, which solidifies compression as a vital artery in the energy ecosystem.

Listen to the full conversation for an inside look at building a scaled compression business, the art of strategic acquisitions, and why this often-overlooked sector is finally getting the attention it deserves.

In this episode of Big Swing Podcast, Jeremy and Corey sits down with Michael Atkin and Trevor Slade, the leaders behind WorkSync, a new operation prioritization system built for upstream oil and gas. The conversation traces the genesis of WorkSync from a successful hackathon pilot at Maverick, exploring how it evolved from an internal project into a standalone solution. Michael and Trevor explain how their approach to operations management is fundamentally different from traditional methods, driven by a belief in empowering the frontline workforce rather than simply layering on more oversight.

The discussion opens with a look at the industry’s long-standing challenge of managing declining production through "pump by priority." Trevor shares how Maverick leveraged their investment in telemetry and data to move beyond reactive alerts, while Michael emphasizes the importance of respecting the experience of field workers. The core breakthrough was building a system that equips operators with actionable information, rather than telling them how to do their job. This culminated in a daily 6 a.m. “hit list” that gives field personnel the clarity they need to work safely and efficiently.

Listen to the full conversation to hear how WorkSync is bridging the gap between corporate strategy and field execution, and why its founders believe that empowering the front line is the key to unlocking significant value in oil and gas operations.

In this episode of Big Swing Podcast, Jeremy Funk and Corey are joined by Mark Le Dain, Chief Revenue Officer at Fuelled (fuelled.com), the rapidly growing marketplace transforming how energy, mining, and power companies buy and sell used equipment. A Calgarian by upbringing with a background in investment banking at Barclays and experience scaling both SaaS and consumer fintech businesses, Mark brings a unique perspective on removing friction from one of the world's largest and most complex supply chains. His journey from finance to operating roles reflects a desire for greater ownership and impact, and he now channels that energy into building a platform that is redefining how physical assets are valued, listed, and transacted globally.

The conversation explores Fuelled's origins and its evolution from a relationship-driven brokerage to a tech-enabled marketplace with a powerful moat built on doing the unsexy work. Mark explains how the company catalogs equipment for free, takes on logistics and storage, and even builds roads when necessary to remove friction for clients. He discusses the network effects that make Fuelled sticky, the role of AI in accelerating pricing and cataloging, and the company's expansion into adjacent industries like data centers and mining, where supply chain constraints and accelerated project timelines create urgent demand for available equipment. The discussion also touches on the broader trends shaping energy markets, including the AI race as an energy race, Canada's shifting economic landscape, and why both Alberta and Texas are positioned for a strong decade ahead.

Listen to the full conversation for an inside look at building a marketplace in a traditionally offline industry, the power of focusing on customer friction, and how Fuelled is unlocking billions of dollars in dormant equipment value.

In this episode of Big Swing Podcast, host Jeremy and Corey sits down with Sean Hervo, co-founder and CEO of PrePad, for a wide-ranging conversation on engineering, entrepreneurship, and the future of completions optimization in the oil and gas industry. A mechanical engineer by training with nearly twelve years at Shell spanning Canada, the Permian, and international assignments, Hervo brings a unique perspective shaped by deep technical expertise, commercial experience, and a passion for solving complex operational challenges. His journey from completions manager to founder of a fast-growing software company offers a compelling look at what it takes to identify industry pain points and build a solution that resonates with both independent operators and the world's largest energy producers.

The conversation explores the origins of PrePad, which grew out of Hervo's frustration with fragmented planning processes and manual spreadsheet workflows while leading completions teams at Shell. He shares the story behind building the integrated systems model internally, the leap of faith required to leave a secure corporate role, and the validation that came when Devon Energy not only became a customer but led PrePad's seed round. Hervo discusses the critical role of completions as a discipline that touches reservoir engineering, drilling, production, finance, and land, making it uniquely positioned to understand the full business picture. He also reflects on the balance of entrepreneurship and fatherhood, the importance of being present, and how having a young child sharpened his focus and efficiency.

Listen to the full conversation for an inside look at building a disruptive technology in the energy sector, the power of cross-border validation, and how PrePad is leveraging AI to enhance its physics-based simulation platform rather than replace it.

In this episode of Big Swing, Jeremy and Corey sit down with Eric Anderson, CEO of SynMax, for a conversation that goes from Colorado roots and commodity trading to AI, satellite imagery, maritime intelligence, and the reality of building a company that is hard to put in one box.

Eric shares how his background as a quant shaped SynMax’s core mission: turning massive amounts of data into real intelligence. The conversation explores why AI is not just another checkbox, how subject matter expertise still matters, and why the best technology companies do not walk into industries assuming they know more than the people doing the work.

The episode also digs into SynMax’s work across energy, trading, and government, including how its maritime intelligence platform helped support one of the largest drug seizures in Irish history. From there, the conversation turns to entrepreneurship, the underrated value of operations, and the role Bill Perkins played in Eric’s path from hedge fund tools to building a company with global reach.

It is a wide-ranging episode about risk, intelligence, startups, and what happens when the right data finally becomes actionable.

In Episode 10 of Big Swing, Jeremy Funk and Corey Scott sit down with longtime oil & gas leader Barry Henderson for a conversation on leadership, entrepreneurship, technology, and the future of the energy industry.

Barry reflects on more than 40 years in oil & gas, from growing up in a small farming town in Alberta to building consulting and software businesses focused on solving operational problems and improving industry workflows. The discussion explores management consulting, relationship-driven business, software adoption challenges, AI and automation, and why the industry still struggles with change despite the need for modernization.

The episode also dives into the future of energy technology, the frustrations vendors and operators face with legacy systems, and how companies like Energy Payables are working to simplify workflows, improve transparency, and create better collaboration across the industry.

If you enjoy conversations around business building, operational leadership, energy technology, and challenging the status quo, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.

In this episode of Big Swing, Jeremy Funk and Corey Scott sit down with Emilio Faulmata, a 24-year-old energy creator, connector, and founder of Energy Executive 360.

Emilio shares how one conversation about Bolivia, natural gas, and geopolitics sparked his path into the energy industry, eventually leading him from London to Mexico, Kuwait, Ghana, South Africa, Paris, and beyond. With no traditional oil and gas background, Emilio built his way into the room through consistency, curiosity, and a willingness to take risks, starting with weekly LinkedIn newsletters and eventually landing in-person podcast conversations with major energy executives around the world.

The conversation covers personal branding, networking, energy storytelling, the value of taking small consistent steps, and why podcasts are not just marketing, they are relationship-building tools. Emilio also shares his mission to connect today’s energy leaders with the next generation of decision-makers, while helping the industry tell a more human, honest, and global story.

From “life is risk” to flying across the world for one conversation, this episode is all about betting on yourself, building credibility before anyone gives you permission, and taking big swings before the evidence is obvious.