Mr. Piñon began his thirty-two year career in the energy sector when he joined Shell Oil Company’s supply and transportation organization in 1975. He was president and CEO of Transworld Oil USA prior to joining Amoco Corporation in 1991 as president of Amoco Corporate Development Company Latin America. In this position Mr. Piñon represented the business development and joint venture efforts in Latin America between Amoco Corporation and state oil companies.

In 1994 he was transferred to the downstream oil sector to serve as president of Amoco Oil de México and president of Amoco Oil Latin America, based in Mexico City. He was a member of the board of INROADS de Mexico, an organization developing underserved youth in business and industry and preparing them for corporate and community leadership. In 1997, while vice-president and member of the board of directors of the American Chamber of Commerce of Mexico -AMCHAM-, Mr. Piñon received the “Yiacatecutli” award for distinguished service in the promotion of U.S.-Mexico business relations.

After the 1999 merger between Amoco and BP, Mr. Piñon was transferred to Madrid, Spain, to manage BP Europe’s western Mediterranean petroleum supply and logistics operations. He retired from BP in 2003.

With international experience in business development, joint ventures and relationship management in emerging and transitional markets, and a network of senior energy contacts in Latin America; he is recognized as an independent analyst of regional energy issues, as well as the geopolitics of oil and natural gas in Latin America. He has conducted research and country risk assessments as a Visiting Energy Fellow at the University of Miami’s Center for Hemispheric Policy (2005-2010) and at Florida International University’s Latin American and Caribbean Center (2010-2011) prior to joining the University of Texas at Austin in 2012.

Mr. Piñon has testified before the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as before the Texas Senate and Texas House of Representatives committees on issues of energy policy and Latin America; he holds a degree in International Economics and a certificate in Latin American Studies from the University of Florida, Gainesville.

The University of Texas at Austin | College of Liberal Arts

The University of Texas at Austin | Cockrell School of Engineering