Our Advisors
RBWEA has assembled a team of experts whose education and careers have been focused on the energy industry - primarily oil, gas and refined products. Our combined experience spans decades of operational expertise from well-head and gathering systems, to gas plants, refineries and pipelines, including transmission and distribution.
Contact us: customersolutions@rbwea.com
Click here to watch "Meet the Advisors: Dick Williamson"
Dick Williamson - President
After earning a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma and an MBA from Northwestern University, Dick worked as an HT&P technician. He has credited those early experiences — working alongside people who cared for pipelines as their vocation and whose days and nights revolved ensuring pipeline safety and customer service — with inspiring him throughout his career.
Dick formally joined TDW as a plastics engineer in 1971. A decade later, he was named executive vice president and chief operations officer, becoming president and CEO in 1992. Under Dick’s leadership TDW grew to more than 35 operating locations based in 14 countries. He became chairman of the board in 1994 and chairman emeritus in 2016.
Dick was a founding executive committee member and chairman of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pipeline System Division (PSD). He helped form and then served as vice president of ASME’s International Petroleum Technology Institute (IPTI) and was instrumental in expanding ASME’s global industry outreach through the formation of the ASME/Pipeline System’s Sister Conferences: Rio Pipeline (Rio de Janeiro), The International Offshore Pipeline Forum (Houston, Texas) and the India Oil and Gas Pipeline Conference.
Among other achievements, Dick participated in framing the core elements of the U.S. in-line inspection (ILI) system and helped build the foundational elements of the Distribution Integrity Management Program (DIMP) pipeline standard.
Alan Morton, PE - Industry Advisor
Following a decade in the aerospace industry, where he developed the primary controls and structures for full-flight simulations, in 1999 Alan earned his professional engineer’s license and joined T.D. Williamson (TDW) as a project engineer. He supported the development of the world’s largest tapping machine, the 2460XX, and was granted six product patents in the U.S. and other countries, helping to improve the company’s position in the market.
In 2012, Alan joined Williams Companies as an integrity engineer, eventually being promoted to group manager. At Williams, Alan’s innovations helped crews pig and inspect the company’s regulated pipelines between Wyoming and Kansas at lower cost and with less impact on right of ways.
Alan returned to TDW in 2017 to lead the pigging and closure product teams. He helped streamline product development and reduce costs by using advanced engineering techniques. As the company’s chief engineer during his last two years at TDW, Alan developed global seminars on systems engineering and design of experiments that helped reduce product time to market and costly project overruns.
Alan has volunteered on various American Society of Mechanical Engineer (ASME) code committees, including PCC-2 non-metallics while TDW was developing its composite repair and rehabilitation system. He is currently a sub-group chair for the B31.4 code where, he says, he enjoys living in the “grey area:” the places of code and regulation interpretation when multiple standards are applied to an application and resolutions both preserve the intent of legacy professionals and set reference for future generations.
Alan’s technical papers are published in industry magazines and in ASME proceedings. He has presented at trade events and industry conferences in global locations and presented code interpretations in a World Pipeline webinar.
Alan is a graduate of Oklahoma State University.
David Turner - Industry Advisor
Recognized as a critical thinker and problem solver, David Turner has been bringing innovation to the energy industry for more than 30 years.
His technical leadership has resulted in both higher revenues and considerable cost savings. That includes managing the development of a cutting-edge product that generated $25 million in sales during the first five years after commercialization.
David also worked with internal teams on projects, contract negotiations and on-boarding of new solutions providers to save one company $500,000 year-over-year. He helped another company maximize manufacturing flexibility and optimized speed to market by leading a team to develop modular designs for configured-to-order products.
Dixit Kadakia - Industry Advisor
Integrity management keeps people, pipelines and the planet safe — and also protects profits.
Throughout his long career in the oil and gas industry, Dixit has helped operators achieve their integrity goals by delivering hot tapping and plugging solutions, including writing the specifications for some of the best-known and most widely used fittings.
His expertise isn’t limited to one area, however. An advocate of engineering- and solutions-based selling, Dixit managed a products and services portfolio with annual sales of as much as $62 million, reducing operational expenses and increasing profit margins by 5%. He has executed turnkey projects from inception to completion, including the construction of a 100,000-square-foot factory in India.
Dixit’s broad-based experience also includes leadership development and technical training, creating a process for revenue forecasting, and implementing a CRM system.
Dixit has been actively involved in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for four decades, primarily in the area of codes and standards. He served as both vice chair and chair of ASME-PSD, the organization’s Pipeline Systems Division.
A graduate of Sardar Patel University, Dixit also hold’s a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Detroit.
Robert Bockmeulen - Industry Advisor
Most companies say the customer comes first. Robert’s background in international sales and marketing shows how to put those words into practice.
Leading by example, Robert trained internal sales teams to completely get to know the products and services they’re selling and how they meet customers’ needs. He has worked with key accounts and corporate engineering, production control and logistics to ensure fit-for-purpose products meet rigorous quality and delivery specifications. Robert has also been responsible for effective (and award-winning) marketing communications campaigns.
Outside of sales and marketing, Robert co-sponsored a strategic relationship between a downhole products supplier and a major energy company that represented a significant revenue stream of annual sales.
Robert has a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Tulsa and participated in their mini-MBA program.
Emily Williamson Perkins - Change Management Advisor
Change management and corporate communications departments are often intertwined, and Emily has built both from the ground up.
Her change management expertise helps people at all levels flourish in their jobs so they can contribute more fully to operational excellence. A certified change manager and trainer, Emily is experienced in advising senior management on effective strategies, creating cross-functional, collaborative teams, developing training and leadership development initiatives, and turning lessons learned into continuous improvement.
As an award-winning communicator, Emily understands that to be meaningful, the message and the medium must work together. That helps her eliminate communication chaos, which is more prevalent than ever in an era where new channels are always popping up yet tried-and-true methods still exist.
Emily also has experience in trade show management, global manufacturing and supply chain management and benefits administration.
Emily holds a Master of Energy Business degree from the University of Tulsa and bachelor’s degrees in both marketing and management from Oklahoma State University.
Jim Kay - Industry Advisor
Jim helps pipeline, midstream and gas distribution operators work out their toughest challenges and future-proof their businesses with “good-better-best” technical product and service solutions. To date, he has collaborated with customers to develop nine game-changing products. These successes stem in large part from his ability to understand operators’ needs and the opportunities and pressures they face.
Jim has particular expertise in hot tapping and plugging (HT&P) applications, including in the APAC region. His experience enables operators to create safe work zones for repair and maintenance projects while minimizing downtime and avoiding emissions.
Jim is a member and former officer of the Texas Gas Association. He also served on that group’s board of directors and as a contributor to the transmission committee. In addition, Jim was a member of the American Gas Association’s distribution, construction, maintenance and plastic pipe committees
Jim Sweat - Industry Advisor
From the machine shop floor — where he created instructions to ensure efficiency, quality, and safety —to process engineering and technical leadership positions, Jim’s career in the oil and gas industry reflects his strengths in manufacturing, production and process improvement.
Among other accomplishments, Jim was responsible for setting and managing the first cellular manufacturing “cells” for a global pipeline services company, which enhanced material flow and efficiency. He also reduced excess and obsolete material by finding ways to use it in standard and engineered to order product, which also streamlined product delivery schedules.
As a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, Jim has particular expertise in making data-driven decisions to eliminate defects and overproduction, reduce lead time and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Larry Alspaugh - Industry Advisor
Larry has been involved in the energy industry since 1976. He is experienced in the development, testing, field trial and roll-out of innovative products and services that have reduced the environmental impact of drilling, production, and gas distribution, gathering, midstream and transmission.
Throughout his career, Larry has pursued the role of energy industry ambassador, listening, learning and growing one conversation at a time. He has volunteered as an instructor for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the Oklahoma Gas Association, the Midwest Energy Association, the American Gas Association (AGA) and numerous operating companies.
Larry has also been an active volunteer: He currently serves on the Oklahoma Gas Association Advisory Board and was chair of both the AGA Operations and Engineering Services Associates Managing Committee and the Midwest Energy Association Associates Committee. In addition, Larry was a member of various AGA technical committees.
Larry graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in management.
Darrin Turner - Engineering Intern
A senior majoring in mechanical engineering at Oklahoma State University, Darrin has more oil and gas experience than many young career engineers. He has worked on the development of isolation equipment for the natural gas distribution market and was part of a team commercializing high pressure fittings. Darrin has also participated in sustainable engineering initiatives and tested and evaluated new product designs using finite element analysis/computer-aided modeling. His current interests include rapid prototype/fabrication, non-traditional materials and testing/validation.
Darrin is an Eagle Scout, Boy Scouts of America.