Michael Barrett

Mr. Barrett is president and CEO of Whitespire Ventures, a private equity firm. He has 28 years of experience in the energy industry. As a senior partner for Vitol, he built a North American crude oil trading business worth over $50 million in annual profits. Vitol is the largest private energy trading company in the world. Barrett is also heavily invested in non-profits serving on various leadership teams and boards. He currently serves as vice-chairman of the board of Yes Prep Public Schools, a nationally acclaimed charter school network serving 14,000 underprivileged students. Barrett graduated from Oregon State University with a BS in Chemical Engineering. He started his career with Chevron rising to Area Manager of Crude Oil Trading before joining Vitol.