Delivering energy for what’s NEXT

Tarik Skeik joined NextDecade as Chief Operating Officer in July 2024. He has over 20 years of experience delivering global complex mega projects in LNG, oil and petrochemicals working across North America, the Middle East, and Asia. Before joining NextDecade, Tarik was an executive at ExxonMobil where he led the completion and startup of six greenfield assets exceeding $50 billion in investments. Tarik spearheaded the planning and execution, through initial operation, of critical industry leading projects such as Huizhou Chemicals Complex in China, Gulf Coast Growth Ventures in the U.S., Banyu Urip in Indonesia, Kearl Expansion in Canada, and QatarGas 2 in Qatar. Tarik earned a Bachelor’s of Electrical Engineering from McGill University and an Executive MBA from Northwestern Kellogg-Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

James MacTaggart is Chief Marketing Officer of NextDecade Corporation and is based in Singapore. He has over 25 years of experience delivering large and complex deals in the LNG and natural gas industry, working across Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the United States. He has executed long-term LNG sale and purchase agreements supporting seven positive final investment decisions on greenfield LNG projects. Before joining NextDecade, James worked for more than 20 years with Shell in various marketing and trading positions, with his last role as General Manager of Shell’s Gas and LNG Markets business in Asia, India, and the Middle East where he set up Shell’s energy trading business in India. James completed his undergraduate studies in classical and modern Chinese at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London and holds an MBA with distinction from Bayes Business School.

Vera de Gyarfas joined NextDecade as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in July 2021 and is responsible for all legal, contractual and regulatory matters affecting NextDecade. De Gyarfas is a skilled corporate attorney with more than 30 years of experience in the areas of energy and natural resources, LNG, general corporate law, contract negotiations, negotiations with host governments, and mergers and acquisitions. Before joining NextDecade, de Gyarfas was a partner in Mayer Brown’s Houston office and a member of the Oil & Gas industry group. Previously, she was a partner at King & Spalding in the global transactions practice group where she focused on the development and financing of LNG projects. She was also a partner at Travieso, Evans, Arria, Rengel & Paz, a large Venezuelan law firm. She was recognized in 2025 under the GC Powerlist Texas by Legal500, and in 2024 as a Distinguished Negotiator by the U.S. Chapter of the Association of International Energy Negotiators (AIEN). De Gyarfas was AIEN’s US Regional Director in 2020 through 2022 and named a 2016 Women in Energy Honoree by Texas Lawyer. De Gyarfas holds a J.D. from Universidad Católica Andrés Bello (Venezuela) and a Master of Laws from the University of Houston. She is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese and is a frequent author and speaker on energy topics.

Raquel Couri serves as Executive Vice President of Human Resources & Administration at NextDecade, a role she assumed in May 2025. Since joining the company in 2018, Raquel has led the HR and Administration functions with strategic vision, driving organizational growth and positioning NextDecade as an employer of choice within the energy sector. With more than 20 years of international experience in human resources—primarily in the energy industry—Raquel brings deep expertise in talent strategy, organizational development, and global workforce management. Her leadership has been instrumental in guiding NextDecade through critical phases of development, ensuring alignment between business objectives and people strategies. Prior to NextDecade, Raquel held senior HR leadership roles at BG Group, where she oversaw human resources operations for its Houston office and Global Energy Marketing and Shipping business, managing teams across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. She began her career in Brazil, leading HR for BG Group’s upstream asset division, gaining extensive experience in complex, multinational environments. Raquel holds an Executive MBA in General Business Management from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora (UFJF). Her academic foundation, combined with her global perspective and proven leadership, underscores her commitment to fostering a high-performing, inclusive workplace culture.

Ariel Handler was appointed Executive Vice President, Commercial and Carbon Solutions in May 2025. He joined NextDecade in March 2018 as Vice President, Finance and Market Analysis, and has served in various leadership roles including Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations; Senior Vice President, Commercial Structuring; and Senior Vice President, Finance and Market Analysis. Prior to joining NextDecade, Ariel served as Manager of Strategic Planning at Apache Corporation where he played a key role in developing Apache’s short- and long-term financial and operational plans, capital allocation strategy, and portfolio and scenario analysis. Prior to his departure, Ariel oversaw all of Apache’s planning activities in the Permian, Midcontinent (Scoop/Anadarko Basin), and Gulf Coast regions. He holds a Bachelor’s with Honors in Mathematical Economic Analysis from Rice University.

Paul Bruner was appointed Senior Vice President, Operations in August 2023. He joined NextDecade in September 2019 as Vice President, Operations. Paul is responsible for pre-operations readiness and will become responsible for the asset management of the RGLNG facility as each train reaches substantial completion. He has over three decades of LNG operations management experience working at facilities around the world. Prior to his role at NextDecade, Paul served as Asset Manager of Egyptian LNG (Egypt) and Queensland Gas Company (Australia) for BG Group. Prior to that, he was Production Manager for ConocoPhillips at Darwin LNG (Australia), held commissioning/startup roles at Atlantic LNG (Trinidad) and was in operations at Kenai LNG Plant for 15 years. Paul graduated from Bismarck State College in North Dakota.

Graham McArthur joined NextDecade as Senior Vice President, Treasurer in December 2022. Prior to joining NextDecade, he was the Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Tellurian Inc. Prior roles include Chief Financial Officer of Venture Global LNG, Inc. and Vice President and Treasurer of Cheniere Energy, Inc. Graham began his career in commercial banking and holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Houston.

Michael Mott was appointed Senior Vice President, Enterprise Transformation at NextDecade in July 2024 and named Interim Chief Financial Officer in October 2025. He joined the company in June 2021 as SVP, Corporate Strategy, later serving as SVP, Carbon Solutions. Prior to NextDecade, Mott held leadership roles across start-up, growth, and mature-stage companies in both domestic and international markets. From 2014 to 2020, he was Chief Financial Officer at LNG Limited. Before that, he spent over a decade at BG Group, where he led strategy, finance, and operations in the Global LNG business, oversaw upstream to downstream operations across the Americas, and served as SVP – Health, Safety, Security and Environment, responsible for BG’s global workforce. Earlier in his career, Mott held senior risk management and accounting roles at Dynegy Inc., including SVP – Chief Accounting Officer and Controller from 2001 to 2003. He began his career at Price Waterhouse LLP, focusing on multinational energy majors and North American upstream independents. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Oklahoma.

Marc Palazzo joined NextDecade in April 2025 as the Senior Vice President, Policy & Corporate Affairs. Marc has over 25 years of experience in the energy sector, along with political and government service. He joined NextDecade from South Bow Corporation, a TC Energy spin-off, where he served as Vice President of External Relations. Prior to South Bow, Marc served as Vice President of U.S. External Relations at TC Energy and held various leadership positions at Koch Industries. He has also served in senior-level positions for a member of the U.S. Congress, the governor of Rhode Island, and as a member of a U.S. presidential transition team. Marc brings extensive public affairs experience in the corporate and political arenas where he has developed strategies to mobilize allies for global corporations and industry associations across a broad spectrum of public issues relating to government and regulatory affairs, public policy, media relations, and corporate communications. He graduated from Central Connecticut State University with a Bachelor of Political Science and holds a Master of Public Administration from the University of Rhode Island.

Alexander Thompson joined NextDecade in October 2018 and was appointed Senior Vice President, Engineering & Construction in August 2023. Prior to joining NextDecade, he held multiple leadership positions within the energy industry, most recently as Project Manager of Fabrication for the >$37bn TCO Future Growth Expansion Project at KPJV Limited. Another significant accomplishment of Alexander was holding pivotal roles on the Gorgon LNG project for eight years, contributing to the full cycle of the development of the project from FEED through to stable operations. He has a proven track record of engineering and execution performed both in the home office as well as at the construction site in support of commissioning, start-up, and operations. He holds a Master of Engineering Degree (1st Class Honors) in Control Systems Engineering with Business Management from the University of Warwick.