Our Team

CEO + co-founder

Michele McNichol is the chief executive officer of Arion Blue LLC and one of the company's co-founders. Forming the company just over four years ago, she leads a fast-growing team who provides project services including engineering and design, project management, procurement, and construction support to the energy industry.

Michele McNichol

COO + co-founder

Edmund Lunde is the chief operating officer of Arion Blue LLC and is one of the co-founders of the company. From the very beginning, his breadth of leadership experience through several industry cycles has rooted Arion with a balance between long-term strategy and a pragmatic action-based approach to day-to-day operations.

Edmund Lunde

Cory McFarland | Chief Financial Officer

With 20+ years of experience in financial management, Cory McFarland has continually exhibited a knack for steering companies toward success. Prior to joining Arion, he gained diverse experiences across various industries, working in multinational, publicly listed companies, including Fortune 100-scale corporations.

Throughout his career, Cory has developed a particular interest and expertise in driving continuous improvement. He takes a comprehensive approach when serving people, processes, and technology. He has been a pivotal force in leveraging his technology proficiency to optimize operational efficiencies and has keen analytical skills to drive strategic decision-making.

Cory holds a BBA in Finance from Mays Business School at Texas A&M University.

Danny Anderson | VP Project Management

With over 40 years of expertise in the Oil and Gas industry, Danny Anderson is a seasoned professional renowned for his leadership in project management across diverse sectors, including Offshore, Upstream, Petrochemical, and Power and Utilities.

Danny's strategic insights and commitment to excellence have been instrumental in overseeing multimillion dollar initiatives, including the detailed engineering and execution of offshore platforms, gas facilities, and solar installations.

As the Vice President of Project Management at Arion, Danny spearheads teams, refines processes, and champions talent development initiatives. His dedication to ensuring consistent project delivery and adherence to high standards positions him as a key driver of success.

Danny holds a Project Management Professional certification from the Project Management Institute, a testament to his expertise and strategic effectiveness.

Elaine Lisenbe | VP Finance

Elaine is a VP of Finance who partners with business leaders to optimize business performance and profitability. Ensuring business leaders have the relevant information to focus on improving performance while taking care of clients is of paramount importance to her. Elaine has a proven track record of identifying and implementing strategies to optimize profitability, including capturing cost improvement opportunities while ensuring a strong control environment exists.

While having spent her career in positions of increasing responsibility working in major publicly traded companies focused on optimizing shareholder value, Elaine enjoys the challenge of fiscal leadership in a privately held venture like Arion.

Elaine holds a BS in Accounting from Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi.

Matt Neal, P.E. | VP Engineering Services

Matt has over 26 years of experience in both onshore and offshore projects. He has served as Lead Electrical Engineer, Project Engineer, and Project Manager and is currently serving as the VP of Engineering. Matt graduated from Texas A&M with a BS in Electrical Engineering and has a heart for servant leadership. His upbeat personality and can-do attitude have shaped his approach to managing both people and projects. Matt is a great communicator who leverages the knowledge gleaned from his time managing the Electrical / Instrument / Automation disciplines and seeks to apply this knowledge across the organization.

Matt is committed to seamless collaboration between disciplines in an effort to achieve excellence in project execution. His strong passion for innovating tools and work processes furthers his commitment to providing high-quality engineering with the highest efficiency.

Tyson has over 17 years of versatile experience in the Oil and Gas sector. Prior to his current role, he excelled as Arion's Department Manager for Mechanical and Piping Engineering since joining the A-Team in 2018. In addition to his position as Department Manager, Tyson served an active role in project execution, managing onshore projects in West Texas and leading offshore brownfield programs in the Gulf of Mexico. His proven leadership and hands-on approach were instrumental in enhancing facility capacities, implementing CO2 re-injection strategies, and driving efficiency improvements.

Tyson's strategic thinking and innovative approach are built on a history of solid industry experience. During his 12 year tenure at Wood, Tyson served as a project discipline lead for the Mechanical Facilities Engineering team. His contributions spanned diverse onshore facilities and global offshore platforms, culminating in serving as Discipline Section Lead for Wood's Onshore Business Unit. In this role, Tyson leveraged his strategic insights and innovative approach to drive impactful outcomes.

Tyson's servant leadership style and commitment to Arion’s People pillar have enabled him to build strong teams that execute successful, high-quality projects.

Tyson Thomas, P.E. | VP Onshore Business Unit

Alex Hague | VP Subsea Business Unit

Alex Hague has over 24 years of extensive experience in all facets of subsea engineering within the offshore oil and gas industry. His career spans from initial conceptual studies to the execution of detailed engineering, integration testing, and installation phases. With a remarkable track record, Alex has successfully delivered complex subsea engineering scopes and managed projects for both greenfield and brownfield developments.

Having worked across various roles in both contractor and client capacities, Alex possesses a unique vantage point that allows him to expertly lead and oversee cross-discipline engineering activities throughout diverse project stages. His comprehensive expertise extends from business unit setup and management to the successful execution and delivery of a multitude of subsea initiatives, showcasing his exceptional leadership and technical capabilities.

Uwe Kurfurst | VP Automation Business Unit

Uwe Kurfurst brings over three decades of engineering and manufacturing industry expertise coupled with more than 15 years of executive management experience to his role as Vice President of the Automation Business Unit. With a collaborative management style that emphasizes participation and ownership, Uwe has a proven track record of leading successful initiatives across various sectors.

Having managed the creation, growth, and operations of a US-based startup, Uwe excelled in coordinating virtual engineering teams and driving simultaneous projects of varying complexity. His ability to re-engineer project engineering processes has invigorated new product pipelines and restored project design disciplines, utilizing cost-effective technical resources to deliver advanced automation solutions globally.

Throughout his career, Uwe has demonstrated adeptness in business management, administration, business development, and project management. His extensive skills span from strategic planning and negotiations to resource management and software proficiency across various platforms.

As a mentor and guide, Uwe is dedicated to fostering professional growth and advancement through adaptability and dedication.

Business Development Team

Sarah Hoelzen | VP Business Development

With over 12 years in the Business Development space, Sarah’s various roles in locations across the United States have given her a unique perspective on the challenges that affect customers on a national and global scale. In her immediate past role, she was instrumental in helping her engineering and field services team grow from a start-up to a well-established mid-size company. Sarah currently serves on the board of directors for Houston GPA. Before graduating from the University of Bridgeport with a B.S. degree, she served as the Women’s Soccer Team Captain.

Kyle Lednicky | VP Business Development

Kyle has over 20 years of industry experience in the energy and chemicals space, primarily focused on the process automation field. Prior to joining Arion, Kyle spent time with Emerson Automation Solutions as well as Yokogawa Corporation of America in various sales and sales management roles within their automation, electrical, and instrumentation departments. Kyle is a graduate of Texas A&M University where he received his B.S. degree in Industrial Distribution.

Kalee Nixon brings over a decade of diverse global experience in business development, marketing, and strategic account management to our team. With a forward-thinking mindset and a knack for creative solutions, Kalee has established herself as a dependable professional in the Oil & Gas, Chemicals, and new energy sectors. Prior to joining our team, Kalee held key business development management positions in project services and construction. Kalee has a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University.