Chris Childs
President & CEO
Chris Childs, President and Chief Executive Officer, acquired the Company from Fred Oberlender in 2019. Chris has been in the industry for over 30 years, including 11 years with Oncor Electric Delivery. He still covers Oncor Electric Delivery, parts of West Texas and the Texas panhandle. Chris holds a BSEE degree from the University of Texas at Arlington and an MS degree in Management Sciences from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Texas.
Territory coverage: Oncor, West Texas including Panhandle
Fred Oberlender
1936 - 2022
Fred Oberlender was the founder of Oberlender and Associates. Fred was an Electrical Engineer graduating from Oklahoma State University and hired on as a system engineer with Dallas Power and Light (now known as Oncor) right out of college. He always wanted to be in sales, so in 1965 he joined the Musgrove agency and began a great career. Five years later in 1970, Fred bought the Company from Buddy Musgrove and started Oberlender and Associates covering North Texas. Over the years, Fred expanded his Company to South Texas and then in the late 1990’s expanded to Oklahoma. Fred was truly one of the most charismatic, thoughtful and special people in our industry. Fred passed away on July 1st, 2022 but will always be part of Oberlender & Associates. If you knew Fred, you are better off today because of it.
A.J. Deen
VP of Sales - North Texas
A.J. Deen came to us in 2020 with over 11 years of service at Oncor Electric Delivery. A.J. has spent most of his career at Oncor in Distribution Engineering with experience in various departments, including his last role as Manager of West Metro Design. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. A.J. covers the distribution part of Oncor Electric Delivery along with Wayne Keating. He also covers TNMP in North Texas, parts of West Texas and the Texas Panhandle. AJ works out of the Fort Worth and Dallas Offices. Effective January 2023, AJ is our VP of Sales for the North Texas market.
Territory coverage: Oncor, TNMP, West Texas
Mark Seehafer
VP of Sales - South Texas/Oklahoma
Mark Seehafer joined us in 2004 from Constellation Energy with several years of experience in the utility space. He also worked for AEP Tulsa for eight years and First Choice Power. Mark covers Texas-New Mexico Power in south Texas, AEP CP&L, CPS, CenterPoint Energy along with Vernon Broussard, parts of Pedernales Electric Cooperative and many other Cooperatives and Municipals in South Texas. Mark is an Electrical Engineer from Oklahoma State University and he works out of our Houston Office. Effective January 2023, Mark is our VP of Sales for the South Texas and Oklahoma markets.
Territory coverage: TNMP, CPS, AEP (CP&L), the Rio Grande Valley
Jim Sanders
Sr. Territory Manager
Jim Sanders came to us in 1999 from Oncor Electric Delivery after twenty years of service there. Jim spent time in the Distribution Department, Marketing, and the Transmission Engineering Design Group. He has a BS degree in EE from the University of Texas at Austin and is a registered Professional Engineer in the state of Texas. Jim helps cover the transmission part of Oncor Electric Delivery with Charley Harwell, Coserv, several Cooperatives, Muni’s, and the distributors that serve them. Jim also works in the industrial market with local Engineering firms and distributors and covers the datacenter market. Jim works out of our Dallas Office.
Territory coverage: Oncor, CoServ, Denton, Datacenters
Wayne Keating
Sr. Territory Manager
Wayne Keating joined us in 2001 from Oncor Electric Delivery after 17 years of service with them. Wayne has a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and is a registered professional engineer in the state of Texas. Wayne covers the distribution part of Oncor Electric Delivery along with A.J. Deen, AEP WTU, Tri-County, several Cooperatives and Muni’s and the distributors that serve them. Wayne also works in the industrial market with local Engineering firms and distributors. Wayne works out of our Fort Worth Office.
Territory coverage: Oncor, AEP (WTU), North Texas west of DFW
Charley Harwell
Territory Manager
Charley Harwell joined Oberlender in January 2023 after 6 years as an Area Sales Manager at Reinhausen Manufacturing. Prior to his time at Reinhausen, he spent 4 years at Oncor Electric Delivery which included time in Transmission Equipment Support, Distribution Engineering and Distribution Planning. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas Tech University. Charley is ready and willing to support our customers in the North and East Texas market. He also helps cover the transmission side at Oncor.
Territory coverage: Oncor Transmission, North and
East Texas co-ops
Vernon Broussard
Sr. Territory Manager
Vernon Broussard joined our company in 1999. He came to us with many years of sales experience in the Houston and South Texas electrical markets. Vernon covers CenterPoint Energy along with Mark Seehafer, Entergy Texas (old Gulf States), southeast Texas Cooperatives and Muni’s, many industrial customers, consultants, and the distributors that serve them. Vernon is a graduate of the University of Houston. Vernon works out of our Houston office.
Territory coverage: Centerpoint, Oil & Gas and Petro-Chem markets, and greater Southeast Texas
Greg Minor
Territory Manager
Greg Minor came to us with 28 years of sales experience from WESCO Distribution in 2016. While with WESCO he received multiple sales awards for his outstanding sales accomplishments. Greg directs our sales efforts in Central Texas from his office in San Antonio. This includes Austin Energy, LCRA, several Cooperatives and Muni’s and distributors. Greg is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University. His wealth of knowledge in the electric utility business has prepared him to serve his customers well. Greg works out of our San Antonio office.
Territory coverage: Central Texas and New Mexico
Devin Haughn
Territory Manager
We are excited to welcome Devin to our South Texas sales team. Devin has an electrical engineering degree from Arizona State University and started his career at Arizona Public Service. He worked in distribution engineering, distribution planning, and reliability engineering for the deployment of smart grid devices. Most recently Devin worked for AEP-PSO where he was the smart grid system manager responsible for implementing AEP's distribution automation system in the Tulsa area. Devin will be covering many utility and C&I accounts in southeast Texas.
Territory coverage: Greater Southeast Texas
Doug Osborn
Sr. Territory Manager
Doug came to us from Cooper Power Systems in 2001. He began his career with Westinghouse and later moved with them to the new ABB Power T&D Company. He has a very diverse background in marketing, outside sales and field applications. With a BS degree in Industrial Manufacturing & Technology and an MBA degree, he is well equipped to serve the customers in the Oklahoma and Southwestern Missouri area. Doug covers AEP Tulsa, KAMO, Liberty Utilities, and many Cooperatives and Muni’s in Northeast Oklahoma and southwest Missouri. Doug works out of our Tulsa office.
Territory coverage: AEP (PSO), Northeastern Oklahoma and Southwest Missouri
Matt Tiffee
Territory Manager
Matt Tiffee came to us in 2016 from Oklahoma Gas and Electric after 13 years of service. Matt covers OG&E, several electric cooperatives and municipals in western and central parts of Oklahoma as well as some engineering firms and industrial customers. Matt also works with the local distributors. Matt has an A.A.S. degree in Electrical Power Technology from Bismarck State College. His background positions him well to serve our customers in the state of Oklahoma. Matt works out of our Oklahoma City office.
Territory coverage: OG&E, Oklahoma co-ops except for Northeast corner
Aaron Berg
Inside Sales Team Lead
Aaron Berg joined us in 2007 to support and now leads our inside sales support team. He has a marketing degree from Baylor University and has many years of sales experience, including time in home improvement wholesale sales. With his sales experience and tremendous desire to please people, he is a welcome addition to our inside sales support effort. In addition to leading our inside sales team, Aaron is vital to maintaining our IT systems and social media presence.
Steve Oberlender
Inside Sales
Steve Oberlender joined our company in 2010 to expand the efforts of our inside sales team in Dallas. He has a technical degree from Oklahoma State University and 12 years of experience with various electrical distributors in the Dallas area, including Wesco/Anixter. Steve's education and experience help to expand our sales support to our customers we serve throughout Texas and Oklahoma.
Ryan Olle
Inside Sales
Ryan Olle came to us in 2016 from AVO Training Institute. He is an experienced sales professional, with work experience at Hitech Automation, CG Power Systems and AVO Training Institute. Ryan has experience in account management, technical products and services for utility, industrial and commercial customers. Ryan has excellent interpersonal, computer and technical skills that serve him well on our inside sales team.
Andres Villarreal
Inside Sales
Andres joined our inside sales team in November 2022 and came to us from Optical Cable Corporation where he held the position of Application Sales Engineer in the fiber-optic industry. Andres is an Electrical Engineer and a graduate of The University of Texas at Tyler. His major was Electrical Engineering but also completed a minor in Mathematics. He has experience working with customers, distributors and outside sales staff. He is a tremendous asset to our company and is ready to help.
Rachel St. John-Gilbert
Office Support
Rachel St. John-Gilbert joined our team in 2018 and works in our Dallas office as office sales support. She works part time and she is always ready and able to assist our customers and manufacturers. Rachel is an important part of our Dallas office sales team.
