Our Team

Clients tell us that they utilize Watson Millican & Co. because of our talented and responsive people, who have helped achieve successful results over the years. The deep knowledge and expertise of our people comes from years of “hands on” hard work as operations, technical, commercial and management employees inside operating and EPC companies. This has been polished by subsequent years of close collaboration with a wide array of domestic and international clients.

A consulting company is only as strong as their people. As summarized in the biographies linked to this webpage, Watson Millican & Co. offers our clients a team of experienced energy professionals. Watson Millican & Co. consultants average over 30 years of experience.

Our firm also maintains a network of other energy industry professionals who are utilized to help with specific needs of our clients on a job by job basis. Such flexibility allows us to extend the breadth of expertise and capacity to handle the largest and most complex assignments. We look forward to discussing your challenges, learning about your needs, and offering our solutions to you. Contact any of our consultants by e-mail or phone.

Jim Watson

Jim helped found Watson Millican & Co. in 2007. He has over 40 years of operating and consulting experience in the energy industry including oil and gas production, pipelines, refining, chemicals, power generation, logistics, economics, and project management. He has worked for international energy companies in engineering, maintenance and operations, economics and supply management. Jim has provided expert testimony in domestic matters and international arbitrations.

David Millican

David joined Watson Millican & Co. as a partner in January 2008. He has more than 40 years of operating and consulting experience in the energy industry working for operating companies and as a consultant. He has worked in areas including pipelines, refining, chemicals, and petroleum product supply and transportation logistics. David has provided expert testimony in domestic matters and international arbitrations.

Darrin E. Hunt

Darrin joined Watson Millican & Co. in July 2021. Darrin has over 35 years of manufacturing, operating and commercial experience in the oil and gas industry. Darrin has extensive project management experience both as an Owner and an EPC Contract Manager, as well as EPC contractor claims management. Darrin has testified on EPC matters in various venues.

Thomas Doody

Tom began working with WMC in 2016. He has more than 40 years of experience as a welding engineer and metallurgical engineer in the petroleum industry. This includes experience in both refining and oil-field applications, offshore platforms, and pipelines. This includes broad and detailed knowledge of welding processes and problems, welding codes and standards, steel specifications, and failure analysis. Tom has testified in court and in international arbitrations.

John W. Emory

John joined Watson Millican & Co. in February 2008. He has over 40 years of engineering, management and commercial experience in the natural gas, pipeline, refining and power generation industries. John has testified as an expert in numerous construction disputes, oil & gas royalty cases, and contract claims in federal and state courts, and international arbitrations.

Scott A. Fraser

Scott joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2009. He has over 45 years of development, design, technical assessment, and operating and commercial experience in the electric power generation industry. Scott has testified in disputes in international arbitrations involving power plant design, construction and commissioning.

Karl J. Hroza

Karl joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2025 and has more than 30 years of international engineering, project and construction management experience working for both owners and EPC(M) contractors. He has worked in project planning and development, project execution and management, constructability, supply chain, project controls and risk management, with experience working globally on mega-projects and operations readiness.

Chad Kirlin

Chad began work with Watson Millican & Co. as a Senior Consulting Associate in September 2023. He has over 25 years of experience, primarily in large EPC projects for the energy sector. His experience is across a variety of projects, including oil and natural gas gathering and processing, pipelines, bitumen upgrading, refining, polysilicon manufacturing, LNG regasification, and power generation.

Mark R. Lambert

Mark joined Watson Millican & Co. in August 2010. He has over 35 years of engineering and commercial experience in the natural gas, refining, and petrochemicals industries. Mark has advised on acquisitions and investments, analyzed royalty payments and deductions for oil and natural gas production, developed cost allocations for natural gas processing and transportation systems, and has expertise in process engineering, construction disputes, startups, and incident investigations. Mark has testified as an expert in a construction dispute, an oil & gas royalty case, and a safety incident in federal and state courts, and international arbitrations.

Jonathan L. McFarland

Jonathan joined Watson Millican & Co. in February 2016 as a Senior Analyst. Jonathan has over 7 years of experience in the energy industry, focused primarily in the areas of accounting, finance, and operations in natural gas processing. He has provided assistance with project feasibility studies, valuation of oil and gas processing facilities, cash flow projections, natural gas purchase contracts, and managed field operations of a gathering and compression system.

Jeff S. McReynolds

Jeff joined Watson Millican & Co. in July 2013. He has over 30 years of manufacturing, operating, and consulting experience in the energy industries, including refining, chemicals and industrial equipment manufacturing. Jeff has addressed industrial incident investigations, construction disputes, business interruption and property damage claims, and worldwide refinery performance assessment and improvement. Jeff has provided expert testimony in arbitration and civil court.

Jay Norcross

Jay joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2025. Jay brings nearly 50 years of experience in the petrochemical and LNG industries. Jay has extensive experience and expertise in facility operations, project execution, with a specialization in LNG and petrochemical technology, facility operations, and the delivery of petrochemical and LNG projects with successful outcomes. This experience and expertise spans the entire project life cycle, from concept to completion, and – where required – Warranty and Claims support.

Homero Russares

Homero joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2020. He has over 25 years of development engineering, project development, contracting, procurement, operation and maintenance in the power, upstream and refining industries. Homero has on-site project experience in the North Sea, Latin America, United Kingdom and the Caribbean and is fluent in Spanish. Homero has provided expert testified under various arbitration venues.

Fiona Rutherford

Fiona joined Watson Millican & Co. in July 2016. She has over 30 years of manufacturing, operating and commercial experience in the oil and gas industry. Fiona’s experience includes construction, commissioning and troubleshooting refinery and chemical plants, and negotiating EPCM and natural gas supply contracts. Fiona has provided expert testimony in international arbitrations.

Gale Slocum

Chip joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2019. He has over 40 years’ experience in power generation equipment including design, manufacture, operation and maintenance. Chip has performed engineering and project execution for turbine projects for a major SME along with supplier development in Mexico and South America. Chip has been head of engineering providing technical support for power generation facilities. Chip has provided expert testimony in various venues.

Kenneth Sumner

Over fifty years of experience in engineering and management positions for major oil and engineering companies. Ken has worked in areas including LNG, oil & gas drilling and production and pipelines. Ken has provided expert testimony in domestic matters and international arbitrations.

Richard Swanson

Richard joined Watson Millican & Co. in 2016. Richard has over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas sector and worked for an international integrated oil company in a number of roles. He worked in the USA, Bahrain, the UK, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand. He was involved in major construction projects as well in operating facilities. Richard has authored expert reports and testified as an expert in various construction disputes, under various arbitration rules.

Joe Zimmermann

Joe joined Watson Millican & Co in 2025 after retiring from UOP LLC in 2023 as a Fellow in UOP’s Engineering Department. He has over 44 years of experience in process design and operations of processes related to light olefins, detergents and petrochemical technologies. Joe holds over 28 patents covering refining, light olefins, and petrochemical technologies.

Laura M. Galloway

Laura joined the firm in 2007 as the firm’s Administrative Manager. She has over 32 years experience in energy consulting administration. In addition to her administrative duties, Laura also supports the firm with her analytical and research experience in valuations and litigation support. Laura also serves as the firm’s contact person for accounts receivable, accounts payable, and benefits administration.