Paula Waggoner-Aguilar Bio

Paula Waggoner-Aguilar Energy Managing Chief Financial Officer at The Energy CFO Office in

Honors and Awards
 

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  • Winner C-Suite Executive Awards "BEST CFO" for Private Companies, San Antonio Business Journal in 2014. 

Paula's LinkedIn CFO Profile
@energycfo

Energy CFO | Strategic Advisor | CPA

Paula Waggoner-Aguilar is an experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO), strategic advisor, and founder/CEO of The Energy CFO. She has dedicated more than 25 years helping companies develop, construct, start-up, grow, change, and revitalize their investments in energy (oil & gas, oilfield energy services, LNG divisions, midstream, gas distribution, power plants, and renewables), chemicals, operating technology and software, engineering and construction, and manufacturing (various oilfield equipment and even recycling old pipelines). 

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Paula has always focused on helping people solve challenging problems that are inhibiting their businesses. She is a broad strategic thinker with an understanding of markets and has a strong business and financial acumen having run global, foreign, domestic, family-owned, and her own businesses. Paula really loves looking at companies, understanding the big picture and building a plan to synchronize the functional and operational parts of the business. Through her entrepreneurial work, as well as her career as a corporate executive, she has developed institutional knowledge that enables her to pivot in and around organizations and customize a solution for each of her clients. Her insights help guide owners and executives to grow their businesses and take them to the next level.

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Over the last decade, Paula has served as a CFO Advisor and/or Interim CFO to 15+ private clients. Her clients range from large private companies with pre-COVID annual revenues exceeding $200 million, family-owned middle market companies, management backed startups seeking private equity or raising funds directly from investors, and energy infrastructure developers seeking project finance (from concept to large integrated projects raising > $3 billion). Her consulting work includes recommending various business and pricing strategies, introducing new corporate governance, advising negotiators behind the scenes on financial and commercial aspects of agreements and/or transactions, and special projects for public companies such as analyzing sales data for products/markets/customer insights.

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Paula started her career in the 1990’s working in the oilfield as an internal auditor in Latin America. She has since worked in business planning, investor relations, finance, finance planning and analysis, and accounting senior leadership roles for several Fortune 100 and Fortune Global 500 public companies including Buckeye Partners LP and GP Holdings (pipelines and storage), BHP Billiton Petroleum (oil and gas), Suez Energy formerly Tractebel (LNG Division including terminals tankers and supply, power, gas, trading, greenfield energy development, and EPC), Duke Energy International (power including renewables), Enron International (power and gas), Halliburton formerly Dresser Industries (oilfield services, oilfield products, petroleum equipment manufacturing), and most recently for Lewis Energy Group (one of the largest private vertically integrated shale gas producers in the US and first US company to explore and drill in Mexico since 1938), owned by the billionaire wildcatter Rod Lewis. Paula is also an Ernst & Young Alumni.  Paula's corporate experience includes working as a Vice President and Business Controller, CFO, Interim CFO for a foreign joint venture, Director of Financial Planning and Analysis, Director of Investor Relations, Corporate Controller, Financial Controller, Mexican Controller and Officer, and even Director of Technical Accounting Research and Derivative Accounting.

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Paula is a Texas CPA (1999). She obtained her Masters of Science in Taxation (MST) from the University of North Texas and her Bachelors of Business Administration (BBA) in Accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington. In addition, she has completed post-graduate studies in an employer-sponsored intensive "MBA type" program administered by INSEAD & Emory University. 

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Board Experience

Board Service

  • Women's Energy Network South Texas, Chapter Co-founder, President of the Board (2013-2014), Board Member (2013-2015), Advisory Board Member (2016-2017), and Nominating Committee (2021). 

  • San Antonio Global Chamber, Advisory Board Member since 2018.

  • Houston, Texas based Pink Petro (now ALLY Energy), Corporate Executive Advisory Board Member from 2016 to 2018.

  • ACG Central Texas, ASA Board of Directors from 2018 to 2019.

  • Shale Oil and Gas Magazine, Advisory Board Member from 2015 to 2016.

  • San Antonio Techboosters, Co-founder and Non-Profit Board Member from 2014 to 2015.

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Corporate Board Governance Projects (2007-2009)

  • ​Following $72.5 million impairment of midstream investments, Paula designed a new investment process to promote corporate growth initiatives by placing more emphasis on strategic alignment, planning, competitor and market analysis, deal discipline, accountability, and coordination. She authored guidelines for both organic projects and MAD transaction along with corporate governance documents to be used by the MLP board of directors for a NYSE public company.

  • Drafted a Delegation of Authority for a global gas business carve out for a SBU of a Fortune Global 100 company. The DOA was approved by the board and incorporated into the parent companies global corporate governance. 

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Business Planning and Financial Advisor to Strategic Business Units, Executive Committees, and JV Operating Boards (1999-2009)

  • BHP Billiton Petroleum Executive Leadership Team

  • BHP Billiton Petroleum Finance Leadership Team 

  • Suez Energy LNG North America Board

  • Distrigas of Massachuetts North America Board

  • Suez Energy Development North America Board

  • Suez Energy North America Board and Excom

  • Suez Energy's Board in Mexico (gas utilities)

  • Pantanal Energia Joint Venture owned by Enron International, Shell, and Transredes

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CPA CFO Certificates

The Energy CFO Outsourced CFO Services Board Advisory Services for Oil & Gas Energy Petroc

What People Say

Corporate Board Advisor
Former Energy Client
“Paula is an A++ professional to have at your side. Having an experienced corporate and entrepreneurial CFO on the Advisory Board has been instrumental as the company has experienced triple-digit growth in a short period of time. Paula's knowledge of finance and operations helped me navigate the company through key decisions in our early stages of growth.”  
Outsourced CFO
Former Technology Client
“Paula conducted a financial analysis of our company and implemented a host of best practices which I found to be valuable.  She demonstrated a high degree of expertise and her meetings were clear and immediately actionable.  She was sensitive to personalities and positions. In addition, her style was open and inviting to questions (and expressed appreciation for them).  Paula is extremely enthusiastic about her work which is infectious. I certainly would recommend her for any growing organization.” 
Virtual CFO
Pipeline Services Client
"Not sure how I got through 60 years of life without Paula."
Corporate Controller
Former Shale & Oilfield Employer
"Paula was instrumental in a company-wide assessment and successful reorganization of finance and accounting processes.  I recommend Paula in the areas of finance and accounting without reservation.”  
Read More Testimonials

Publications

​Published Industry Articles

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Panels and Speaking Engagements

Paula has spoken on a range of topics to various organizations and participated in a number of event panels over the years. Highlights include:

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  • "Professional Women in the Texas Oil and Gas Industry" one of four panelists for a join event hosted by the Women's Energy Network South Texas and the San Antonio Pipeliner's Association at the Valero Campus in San Antonio April 16, 2019. 

  • "Change is Imperative. It begins NOW!" one of four panelists for the Women's Global Leadership Conference in Energy held by Gulf Publishing and World Oil in Houston on November 1-2, 2016. 

  • Guest speaker for the Council of Petroleum Accountants Society (COPAS) Fall Convention in Corpus Christi on September 19, 2018.

  • "Financial Leadership for Energy and Technology Companies" guest speaker for the Society of Petroleum Engineers Speaker Series at the Houston Technology Center on August 5, 2016.

  • "Weathering the Storm of the Economic Downturn" guest speaker for the San Antonio Pipeliner's Association monthly meeting in San Antonio on April 14, 2016

  • “Perspectives on South Texas Economy – Economic Drivers, Energy, and the Healthcare Industry” one of three guest speakers and panelists for the North San Antonio Chamber of Commerce’s Quarterly CFO Forum on June 4, 2015.     

  • “Corporate Finance Panel”, one of four presenters for the Women’s Energy Network Biennial Conference in New Orleans on April 9, 2015.

Panel on Supplier Diversity at Pink Petro now ALLY Energy's HERWORLD

Photo: Paula leading the panel “Workforce Development, Supplier Diversity, and the Rise of Petro-preneurship in a Downturn” for Pink Petro's (now ALLY Energy) HERWORLD Energy Forum held at Halliburton in Houston and broadcast to 14 other cities on March 1, 2016.

Professional Organizations

AICPA Member
Independent Petroleum Association of America IPAA
Women's Energy Network
AIPN Association of International Petroleum Negotiators
International Women's Forum Member
the Global Chamber