A logo for a company called pedevco in orange letters on a white background.

Management Team

photo of Dr. Simon Kukes

Dr. Simon Kukes - CEO

Dr. Simon Kukes is a global investor and executive with over 40 years’ experience in the oil industry. He served as the principal of his personal investment company, SK Energy LLC, from April 2013 until its dissolution in December 2022. From January 2005 to April 2013, Dr. Kukes was an investor and CEO of Samara-Nafta, a joint venture with the U.S.-based international oil company Hess Corporation, and from 2003 to 2004 he served as CEO and Chairman of Yukos Oil Company. From 1998 until it combined with British Petroleum in 2003 to create TNK-BP, Dr. Kukes served as Chief Executive of Tyumen Oil Company (TNK). From 1979 to 1986 he served as Technical Director and Vice President of Business Development for Phillips Petroleum and Amoco. Dr. Kukes (who is a dual citizen of the United States and Israel) currently serves on the board of directors and is an investor in numerous international companies, including Leverate Technological Trading Ltd., an Israel-based technology company and trading platform provider (since October 2014 and as Chairman for two years), Fletschhorn, a Swiss-based hotel and restaurant company (as Chairman since June 2014), and GLAMZ Ltd., a privately-held Israel-based booking platform for the beauty industry (as Chairman since June 2018). In addition, from 1999 to 2007 Dr. Kukes served on the board of directors of global pharmaceutical company Amarin Corporation (Nasdaq: AMRN), and from 2000 to 2003 on the board of directors of Tulsa, Oklahoma-based Parker Wellbore (formerly NYSE-listed Parker Drilling Company), a global provider of contract drilling and drilling-related services.

Dr. Kukes holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and he attended Rice University in Houston, Texas, where he was a Postdoctoral Fellow. Dr. Kukes has also served as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Delaware and on the Editorial Board of Fuel Magazine, and is also the holder of more than 130 U.S. patents. Dr. Kukes has been recognized for many of achievements over his lifetime, including being voted by the Wall Street Journal as one of the Top 10 Central European Executives in 1999, and named by The Financial Times and PricewaterhouseCoopers as one of the 64 most respected business leaders in the world in 2003.

Photo of J. Douglas Schick

J. Douglas Schick - President

Mr. Schick has over twenty years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Schick was employed by American Resources, Inc., a Houston, Texas-based privately-held oil and gas investment, development and operating company which he co-founded and continues to serve as Chief Executive Officer (from August 2017 to the present) and formerly as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Business Development (from August 2013 to August 2017). Prior to starting American Resources, Mr. Schick served as the founder, owner and principal of J. Douglas Enterprises, a Houston, Texas-based energy industry focused business development and financial consulting firm (from June 2011 to August 2013) as Vice President of Finance (from January 2011 until its sale in June 2011) for Highland Oil and Gas, a private equity-backed E&P company headquartered in Houston, Texas, as Manager of Planning and then Director of Planning at Houston, Texas-based Mariner Energy, Inc. (from December 2006 until its merger with Apache Corp. in December 2010), and in various roles of increasing responsibility in finance, planning, M&A, treasury and accounting at The Houston Exploration Company, ConocoPhillips and Shell Oil Company (from 1998 to 2006).


Mr. Schick holds a BBA in Finance from New Mexico State University and an MBA with a specialization in Finance from Tulane University.

photo of Clark Moore

Clark Moore - EVP & General Counsel

Mr. Moore has over fifteen years of experience in the oil and gas industry. Mr. Moore began his career in 2000 as a corporate attorney at the law firm of Venture Law Group located in Menlo Park, California, which later merged into Heller Ehrman LLP in 2003. In 2004, Mr. Moore left Heller Ehrman LLP and launched a legal consulting practice focused on representation of private and public company clients in the energy and high-tech industries. In September 2006, Mr. Moore joined Erin Energy Corporation (OTCMKTS:ERN) (formerly CAMAC Energy, Inc.), an independent energy company headquartered in Houston, Texas, as its acting General Counsel and continued to serve in that role through February 2011, when he left to serve as a co-founder of PEDEVCO.


Mr. Moore received his J.D. with Distinction from Stanford Law School and his B.A. with Honors from the University of Washington.

Share by: