John Schiller
Chairman and CEO, Energy XXI
Houston, Texas
How do you grow an energy company from startup to nearly 50,000 barrels a day equivalent — and do it in less than a decade? If you're Houston-based Energy XXI, you move fast, and you partner with a financial institution with deep expertise in your industry. According to company chairman and CEO John Schiller, "When you work in an area like the Gulf of Mexico and high-pressure situations around the world, you've got to have a group of bankers who understand you. One of the things Regions brings to the table is they have internal petroleum engineers, so they're very familiar with looking at complex oil and gas reservoirs like ours. Because of that expertise, when we need Regions to step up, they're there for us."
Regions has created specialized lending groups for several different industries that include energy, healthcare, technology, transportation, franchise restaurant, real estate corporate banking and asset-based lending. These banking teams are comprised of specialists with deep expertise in their respective fields. That knowledge base is a key differentiator, helping create value for both partners in the relationship.
"A financial relationship starts with trust and credibility. When you work in an area like the Gulf of Mexico and high-pressure situations around the world, you've got to have a group of bankers who understand you. That's what Regions brings to the table."
Regions' head of energy banking, Kelly Elmore, brings extensive industry experience to his role of managing the relationship with Energy XXI. Notes Schiller, "With Kelly and Regions, we have a team of seasoned bankers that has known us for a long time, and as we have grown, they have grown with us."
Kelly's work helped improve management of Energy XXI's line of credit, simplifying processing of payables and strengthening cash management. Adds Schiller, "We wire money a lot less frequently than we used to. That's just one place where the specialized groups and what Regions does were able to come in and make us a better-run company."