Michael Erspamer

Michael Erspamer is the current President at Austin Opera. Prior to this, they served as Vice President Education, VP Internal Audit & Trustee for Austin Lyric Opera (April 2012 to January 2014) and Manager, JV Affairs for Saudi Refining Inc. (January 2001 to December 2006).

Before that, they were with Saudi Aramco for 31 years, from February 1975 to June 2006, where they started as Manager, Terminal/Refinery Operations. In this role, they headed the largest Marine Terminal Facility in the world as well as several of the largest refineries in the world. Michael was responsible for over 1300 employees including operators, maintenance technicians, plant engineering personnel and administrative staff. Additionally, they oversaw operating budgets of over $250 million per annum and directed employee training and development activities as well as capital programs for each facility. Michael also authored Saudi Aramco's Oil Spill Response Plan and was the on-scene commander responsible for clean-up of the 1991 Persian Gulf oil spill during Operation Desert Storm.

Michael Erspamer has a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University, and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame. Michael also has a background in mathematics.