Executive Leadership at Hearthstone

Morgan O'Brien
Chief Executive Officer
In those roles, he was the face and voice of the hardworking employees who dedicated each day to helping the families and businesses they serve. He successfully helped grow both companies in terms of employment, customer base and in total investor value. He has positioned both Peoples and Duquesne Light as the true community partners and champions they are today. They both continue to invest and partner with many organizations that drive economic development and improve the quality of life in the regions they serve.
O’Brien earned his college degrees from Robert Morris University. O’Brien is active in civic organizations, including serving as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of his alma mater. He also serves on many boards, some which include Matthews International, Watt Fuel Cell Company, Dollar Energy, Co-chair of Pittsburgh Works Together and African American Chamber.

Melissa Dykes
Chief Financial Officer
While at JEA she led operational improvements that resulted in best-in-class reliability and safety performance. As CFO, she provided leadership to ensure the financial health of JEA, resulting in access to capital at low cost on behalf of JEA’s customers. Her efforts as CFO helped JEA deliver more than $1 billion dollars in cost savings to the community.
Prior to joining JEA, Ms. Dykes was CFO at a portfolio company of a large energy private equity firm and a principal in a renewable energy development company, where she was responsible for origination, commercial structuring, development and capital raising for renewable energy projects. She also was Vice President of Investment Banking at JPMorgan, where she was responsible for providing capital solutions for clients, including more than $26 billion in financings for many municipal electric and water systems across the country, risk management product delivery, and mergers and acquisitions. Prior to joining JPMorgan, Ms. Dykes worked for The World Bank Group, where she researched and published on private participation in infrastructure industries in developing countries.
Ms. Dykes serves or has served on a number of Boards, including the United Way of Northeast Florida, the Association of Edison Illuminating Companies, and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. She received a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Florida and holds a certificate in Advanced Management from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

Kevin Degenstein
Head of M&A and Integration
As of February 2022, he is in charge of Mergers and Acquisitions.

Ken Oostman, P.E.
Chief Operating Officer
Ken currently lives in central Ohio with his wife and family.

Jed Henthorne
Vice President of Finance

Michael Loeffel
Vice President of Human Resources
Prior to joining Hearthstone, Mike was the Senior Vice President (SVP) for Carriage Services, a Houston based funeral and services provider and prior to Carriage, he was the SVP for Veolia North America, a water, waste and energy management solutions firm.
Mike is a Wisconsin native and was transferred to the Houston area in 2014 where he currently lives. He and his wife Brenda enjoy spending time with their two children, William (13) and Samuel (12), at swim meets and soccer games. He also enjoys golfing and volunteering at his church and local food bank.

Nagy Nagiub
Vice President of Corporate Services
Prior to joining Hearthstone, Nagy was the Senior Director of Corporate Services for Peoples Gas (Pittsburgh). In that role, he helped lead the transition of Peoples Gas from being an operating utility supported by Dominion Energy to an independent utility, achieving improvements in technology and customer service through the transition. Prior to Peoples, Nagy was Lead of Voice Systems for Duquesne Light Company.
Nagy is originally from Egypt and moved to the United States in 1999 when he married his wife Lynda, a Pittsburgh native. They are currently preparing to send their daughter Maya off to college this fall. In his free time, he enjoys working out, spending time with his three dogs, and teaching Syrian refugees English.

Jeff Nehr
Senior Vice President of Gas Supply and Development
Prior to joining Hearthstone, Jeff has more than 30 years of combined work experience with the Peoples Natural Gas and Equitable where his most recent role was VP of Business Development at Peoples Natural Gas Company implementing corporate market strategy to help drive revenue growth. He developed the Peoples Expansion Program, which focused on offering service to more than 300,000 customers and worked with commercial customers to install on-site generation to more cost-effectively and reliably meet their electric needs. Jeff also led the Peoples Joint Development Program with WATT Fuel Cells creating efficient, environmentally responsible power systems for residential homes. Jeff led efforts on Carbon Offsets, Renewable Natural Gas and Hydrogen initiatives at Peoples as well. Prior to that he was VP of Commercial Operations, and previously worked at EQT Midstream and Equitable Gas.
Jeff is a native of Pennsylvania and lives in the Pittsburgh area. Jeff is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. He is a member of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, Renewable Natural Gas Coalition and American Gas Association.
Jeff has volunteered his time to Miracle League Baseball, an organized baseball league for special needs children and adults, as a coach. Jeff is also a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh XXXIV.

Lynne Rhode
General Counsel
Lynne is a Virginia native now living in Florida. She and her husband Bryan enjoy travelling and spending time with their two boys. Lynne is an avid soccer player and is passionate about animal rescue, often fostering dogs and cats for local rescue organizations.
