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Dennis G. McLaughlin III, Chairman and CEO of Earth Biofuels, Inc. (EBI) is a twenty year veteran of the energy industry. Under his leadership, EBI’s achievements exceed most start-up company early performances, including producing $10M in revenues for the quarter ending September 2006.
He has served as CEO and Chairman of Apollo Resources International, Inc., a publicly traded company, since October of 2004. Apollo is focused on the acquisition and development of upstream oil and natural gas production assets as well as the evaluation and development of existing and future alternative energy sources. He was CEO of Blue Wireless & Data, Inc. (BWDT), a publicly traded company, from June 2004 through April 2005 and continues as its Chairman. BWDT specializes in information technology services including but not limited to automation and remote monitoring in the oil and gas and alternative fuels industry.
Known as an entrepreneur and a biofuels energy industry leader, Mr. McLaughlin has guided a number of mergers and acquisitions while teaming with seasoned managers and investors to create value in a rapidly developing business arena.
Having worked in the oil and gas industry since the age of 20, McLaughlin gained experience at all levels of production and distribution. In 1993, with an initial investment of $77,000, he founded Aurora Natural Gas which was later celebrated as one of the Hottest New Small Businesses in America by Entrepreneur magazine. Our No. 1 (1995) entrepreneur, Dennis G. McLaughlin III, (has) changed the way the natural gas industry thinks about start-ups and emerging technology. Aurora Natural Gas succeeded in part because of the founders’ commitment to innovation, says author Laura Tiffany, in the article Told YOU SO! as found in Fastest Growing Entrepreneurial Businesses. She reports similarities in other successful entrepreneurs as characterized by McLaughlin. The owners love their industries. Nonstop innovation. Staying one step ahead of both the competition and the times. Strong investments and gratitude for employees. And, of course, the refusal to never stop thinking about where the future might lead the company. McLaughlin was able to negotiate the sale of a portion of Aurora for $26 million based on the application of technology. McLaughlin’s experience in emerging markets was further honed by directly enduring the effects from the much publicized commodity market manipulation by large natural gas companies. The market manipulation had a devastating financial affect on many energy companies, including Aurora.
In 1994, McLaughlin founded Aurion Technologies, a technology company that researched and developed a low-cost telemetric meter. This technology helped revolutionize the natural gas field data collection industry by replacing manual field data charts with data collection over the internet. By 2001, the company had an outside independent valuation of approximately $55 million. McLaughlin resigned from Aurion in 2001.
In January 2002, he formed MAC Partners, LP, a technology merchant bank established to provide restructurings, mergers, acquisitions and access to capital for small, high-tech companies. McLaughlin resigned from the company in 2004. MAC Partners, LP continues to provide services to clients.
Previously, McLaughlin was CEO and Co-Chairman of Ocean Resources, Inc., a publicly traded company, from September 2003 to January 2005. He redirected the focus of the company to engage in deep-ocean salvage of commodity metals. During McLaughlin's tenure, the company developed technologies that resulted in the lifting of tin ingots from the ocean depths. As Ocean Resources entered an operational phase, McLaughlin resigned in January of 2005 to focus his efforts in the energy industry. Immediately prior to his resignation, McLaughlin was assured by board members that the company had viable funding options and provided the board with an additional positive transaction option.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Oklahoma in 1992. He was presented with the OU Regents Outstanding Alumni Award in 1999.
"Success is about taking personal risks, says McLaughlin. and I have taken many risks in my career. I have taken the criticism shot at entrepreneurs like me for not following a traditional career path. With each tenure in every company, I have been proud of my work. The opportunity to work with Earth Biofuels in this emerging renewable fuels industry to reduce our dependence on foreign oil while seeking to broaden the domestic farming market is more than a career choice, it is a life mission."
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