John is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s Global Project and Infrastructure Finance Team covering a diverse portfolio of project financings, public private partnerships (PPPs), and municipal infrastructure issuers in the transportation, energy and social infrastructure sectors. John chairs Moody’s Global PPP Task Force and is the sector lead for US toll roads, PPPs and generic project financings. John authors research across multiple sectors and annually leads several new rating assignments for new PPPs and project financings in the US and Canada. John was selected as one of the Bond Buyer’s 2017 Rising Stars. Before joining the Infrastructure and Project Finance Team in 2010, John spent two and a half years as a lead analyst for local governments and enterprises in the Eastern Regional Local Government Ratings Team where he was the lead for municipal issuers in Pennsylvania and New York while also covering New Jersey, Virginia, and Florida. Prior to joining Moody’s, John worked as a risk management analyst, a property and casualty insurance account manager, and a health care claims auditor. John is a founding member and was the first co-chair of Moody’s NY Multicultural Employee Resource Group and is a founding steering committee member of Moody’s NY LGBTA Employee Resource Group. John earned his BA degree in Health Care Economics and Policy from Stanford University and his MPA in Health Care Public Finance from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.

John Thieroff is a Senior Analyst in Moody’s Oil and Gas Team, currently assigned to Moody’s ESG initiative. His ESG efforts are focused on carbon transition risk for sectors within the Corporate Finance Group that are considered to have significant exposure.

Prior to joining Moody’s, John worked for more than 20 years in energy credit in a variety of capacities including commercial lending at Chemical Bank and Christiania Bank, as a Director in Standard & Poor’s Oil and Gas group and as a Ratings Advisor at GE Capital. He also advised on transfer pricing for multi-national oil companies as an independent consultant.

John graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Central Michigan University and has a Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo.

Pete Speer is an Associate Managing Director in Moody’s Oil and Gas Team, covering a portfolio of investment grade and high yield energy companies. His portfolio includes integrated oil, exploration and production, drilling, oilfield services and midstream companies. He joined Moody’s in 2003 in the Accounting Specialists Group, working alongside energy rating analysts and helping them to assess the reliability and quality of issuers’ financial reporting and controls. Before joining Moody’s, Pete was a senior manager in the national office of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. For two years he consulted with audit engagement teams on a variety of complex financial accounting and reporting issues. Prior to his assignment in the national office, Pete was resident in the Houston office and served as the audit engagement senior manager for several multi-national energy industry clients. Pete is a Certified Public Accountant and is licensed in Texas and Michigan. Pete graduated from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Ryan Wobbrock is a Vice President - Senior Credit Officer in the Global Infrastructure Finance Group at Moody’s Investors Service. His responsibilities include conducting industry research and supporting the credit analysis of various U.S. electric utility companies. Prior to joining the Utilities Group as a Senior Associate in December 2004, Ryan worked at Moody’s in the Public Finance Group and spent time in Investment Accounting at Ambac Financial Group. Ryan graduated as an Honors Program Participant and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in finance and a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Colorado State University.

Evan M. Friedman is a Senior Vice President – Head of Covenant Research in Moody’s Ratings Corporate Finance Group. Evan specializes in covenant analysis and research, with particular focus on leveraged loans and high yield bonds.

Prior to joining Moody’s in September 2013, Evan was of counsel in the banking and finance practice group at Otterbourg P.C. and was previously an associate in the banking and finance practice group at Bryan Cave LLP and Emmet, Marvin & Martin, LLP. His practice focused primarily on representing agents and lenders in asset-based lending and other commercial transactions.

Evan holds a BA summa cum laude from S.U.N.Y. Stony Brook and a JD from New York University School of Law.

Paloma San Valentin is Head of the Corporate Finance Group (CFG) in North America for Moody’s Ratings, based in New York, overseeing the development of rating opinions and research on corporates in the region. Paloma previously served as Co-Head for US and Americas CFG. From 2010 to 2014, she was a Managing Director in CFG in London, where she was in charge of the analytical teams covering a diverse portfolio of mostly consumer-facing industries including telecom, media, airlines, food processors, real estate, packaged goods, or business services. Paloma joined Moody’s in the summer of 2008, bringing 15 years of international corporate credit and banking experience. Prior to joining Moody’s, Paloma was Country Credit Risk Officer for Bank of America in Spain and responsible for the bank’s Iberian corporate credit portfolio and French general industrial clients. During her career, Paloma also spent three years at Credit Suisse, in different credit risk and investment banking capacities. Ms. San Valentin holds an MBA from Instituto de Estudios Superiores de la Empresa (IESE), Barcelona, Spain, and a BA in Business and Economics from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium.

Elena Nadtotchi is a Senior Vice President in Moody’s Energy Team and a lead analyst on a portfolio of investment-grade and high-yield energy companies. Elena is an experienced credit professional with sound risk judgement, underpinned by 20+ years of investment and rating portfolio management. She is also an energy industry expert with extensive experience in other key commodities markets. Elena is Moody’s coordinator for oil and gas price assumptions and a leading contributor to credit and industry-focused research and an expert presenter at various investor and industry forums and media.

Before moving to New York in 2017, Elena was based in London. She rotated coverage of various commodity sectors, including North American energy companies and energy infrastructure (since 2017), EMEA Integrated Oil and Gas and Mining; and EMEA chemical, nutrition and nuclear energy services industries. She also helped to initiate rating coverage in industrial and commodity sectors as Moody’s expanded in the emerging markets, including through support of acquisitions by Moody’s. Elena is a co-author of Moody's Integrated Oil and Gas rating methodology and was a coauthor of earlier Chemicals and Metals and Mining industry methodologies in previous years.

Before joining Moody’s, Elena worked as a project finance and corporate banker for various international banks. She started her career at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in London, where she originated financing for the roll out of telecom infrastructure in Central Europe, as well as infrastructure projects in EMEA and Central Asia. Elena’s first degree is in Applied Mathematics, and she also holds MA degree in Economics and MSc degree in Investment Management.

William (Bill) Foster is a Senior Vice President in Moody's Sovereign Risk Group in New York, where he currently serves as lead analyst on a portfolio of sovereign and supranational credits that include: the United States, Canada, Israel, Dominican Republic, Bolivia, Honduras, the IFC and FONPLATA. He previously served as lead analyst for India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Chile and the World Bank. Bill is global head of Moody's Sovereign and Sub-Sovereign Cyber Risk Working Group and also serves as co-host of fv/oody's Talks- The Big Picture podcast series.

Bill joined Moody's in August 2016, following 10 years at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He most recently served as Senior Advisor for International Financial Markets based in New York, where he was the Office of International Affairs' first dedicated liaison to New York's international financial community. From August 2012 to March 2015, he served as U.S. Financial Attache to India at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. Bill joined Treasury's Office of International Affairs as an international economist in 2006 and covered a range of geographies during his tenure, including Latin America, South and East Asia. Prior to joining Treasury, he worked as a management consultant at Accenture.

Bill holds a Master of International Affairs degree in International Financial and Economic Policy from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Laura Demman is president for Northern Natural Gas and Kern River Gas Transmission, which are owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Laura has more than 20 years of experience in the natural gas industry and regulatory environment. Northern Natural Gas’ 14,200-mile system extends from the Permian Basin in southwest Texas to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Kern River’s 1,400-mile system is a direct link between the Rocky Mountain natural gas-producing basins and western markets. Laura’s responsibilities also include BHE Compression Services, an industry leader in environmentally clean, low-emission, large-horsepower contract compression services in the Permin Basin of Texas.

Laura earned a B.A. from Creighton University and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law.

Co-Head of V&E’s Global Finance practice group, David Wicklund advises clients on complex acquisition and leveraged financings.

David’s clients include top-tier private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, as well as corporate borrowers, lead arrangers and underwriters in a variety of domestic and cross-border acquisitions financings. In addition, he advises corporations and underwriters on debt offerings for general corporate purposes. Many of his clients are focused on the oil and gas industry as well as the industrial, infrastructure and technology sectors.

David is experienced in advising on syndicated loans, high-yield bond offerings, reserve-based facilities, asset-based facilities, distressed debt, mezzanine facilities, and direct lending.