PwC Appoints Niloufar Molavi as U.S. Energy Leader

PwC US today announced that Niloufar Molavi has been appointed as the firm's U.S. Energy Leader and new Market Managing Partner (MMP) for Greater Houston. In her new role, Molavi leads a practice comprised of 920 professionals serving U.S. energy clients in the oil and gas industry and is responsible for all client services - assurance, advisory and tax - for the geographic markets of Houston, Tulsa and New Orleans.

"Having spent my entire career in Houston, I've had many opportunities to grow, to gain new experiences, and to make a difference here at PwC - and I've been fortunate to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals along the way to help serve our energy clients in the U.S. and abroad," said Molavi. "I'm excited to continue to build our robust energy practice, and as I take on this new role, I'm eager to give back to the market that has helped me gain so many great experiences."

She previously served as energy leader within PwC's Tax practice and as the firm's U.S. Chief Diversity Officer, overseeing the firm's diversity strategy and all of its related programs and initiatives. With over 20 years experience with PwC, Molavi has served a wide range of energy companies both in the U.S. and abroad, advising clients on international and U.S. tax structuring, mergers, acquisitions and potential public offerings. She began her career with PwC in 1991 and was promoted to partner in 2001. She joined the firm's U.S. Leadership team in 2009.

Molavi earned her degree in Accounting as well as a Masters in Professional Accounting with a concentration in Taxation from the University of Texas at Austin. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas and also serves on the non-profit board of Dress for Success Houston. She is a licensed CPA in Texas.

PwC has also appointed two new partners in the Greater Houston Assurance practice, focusing on Energy - Craig Friou and Jade Walle.

As a newly appointed Assurance partner, Craig Friou brings over 15 years of experience to clients in Houston and New Orleans. Friou has worked on audits of private and public companies, internal audit outsourcing projects and accounting advisory services in Houston, Dallas, Aberdeen (U.K.), and New Orleans. His clients have included multinational integrated oil and gas companies, independent exploration and production companies and oilfield services companies. Friou graduated from the University of Texas where he earned a BBA and a MPA degree in accounting. He is a licensed CPA in Texas and a member of the planning committee for the AICPA/PDI National Oil and Gas Conference, the Texas Society of CPAs and Rotary International.

Based in Tulsa, newly-appointed Assurance partner Jade Walle has worked on audits of both public and privately held energy companies in the natural gas industry, specializing in capital raising activities including initial public offerings (IPOs), public and private debt offerings, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and carve-outs. Walle joined PwC in 1996 and previously worked in the Houston and London offices. While in London, he provided consulting services assisting foreign private issuers in accessing the U.S. capital markets and in their recurring US GAAP filing requirements. He graduated from Oklahoma State University with an M.S. in accounting and a B.S. in business administration, with a major in accounting and a minor in international business. Walle is a member of the AICPA, the Texas Society of CPAs, and the Oklahoma Society of CPAs. He also serves on the Oklahoma State University School of Accounting Advisory Board. Walle is a licensed CPA in both Texas and Oklahoma.

Additionally, Chris Gilbert and Frank Saputo have also joined PwC and will be based in the Houston, TX office.

Chris Gilbert has joined PwC US as a partner in PwC's International Tax practice, based in Houston. Gilbert, who brings more than ten years of industry experience to PwC, has focused on international tax for manufacturing and industrial product companies, as well as for the financial services industry. In his new role, he will serve both the oil and gas industry sector and the financial services industry in the Greater Houston market. Gilbert spent the last five years as the tax director, first for GE Commercial Finance and then GE Capital Asia Pacific, based in Tokyo. Previously he was a senior director of International Tax for the Pepsi Bottling Group in New York and prior to that a tax attorney for Koch Industries in Wichita, Kansas. Gilbert has a JD/MBA from Washburn University and an LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Missouri in Kansas City.

Frank Saputo has joined PwC US as a managing director in PwC's risk assurance practice. Based in Houston, Saputo brings more than 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry to PwC. In his new role, he will serve health industries clients in the Greater Houston market. Saputo spent the last 11 years as an executive at US Oncology, the last 3 of which he served as the chief administrative officer, responsible for Internal Audit, Regulatory Compliance and Risk Management activities. He graduated from California State University at Fullerton with a B.A. in business administration finance. Saputo is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Health Care Compliance Association, the Association of Internal Auditors, and the Risk Insurance Management Association. He is a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

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