Meet Our Team

We provide our clients with exceptional service and unmatched insight.

Corner Capital is a leading national advisory firm providing transactional, financial, and industry-related services to constituents in Retail, Business Services, Distribution/Logistics industries, and offers expanded expertise in Downstream Energy businesses across the United States. With over 150 years of direct industry experience, we serve clients across the country with offices in Santa Barbara, Texas, and Florida. We provide our clients with exceptional service and unmatched insight, covering all products and distribution channels in Downstream Energy. Our team below consists of entrepreneurs, lenders, Fortune 50 executives, and former operators dedicated to delivering meaningful and successful results to our clients.

P.A. (ANDY) WEBER

Founder
Office: (805) 965-5510

Andy Weber began his career at Shell Oil Company, serving in various sales and marketing management capacities, responsible for Shell’s investments in dealer and company-operated retail markets including New Orleans, Birmingham, and Chicago. Subsequent to Shell Oil, Andy served as an international consultant in Arthur D. Little’s Global Energy Practice, with a principal responsibility for the downstream strategy practice. He and his team developed the Dynamic Brand Management practice model for ADL’s marketing practice, and utilized the methodology for country and market entries for multi-national energy companies including BP, Mobil, and Kuwait Petroleum in Asia and the United States.

Full Bio

Prior to founding Corner Capital, Andy spent 10 years at Roundtree Capital, a private equity group in Santa Barbara. During this time, Andy was a principal in the company and served as CFO and President with overall responsibilities for the growth of the business from 100 to 230 convenience stores, while distributing motor fuels for Chevron, BP, Fina, Mobil, and Marathon. Outside the retail industry, he conducted Roundtree’s M&A and Treasury activity in its food manufacturing investments.

Andy earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas and his MBA from Rice University. He is active in the Austin and Santa Barbara communities, having served on the Boards of Old Spanish Days, Montecito YMCA, All Saints by the Sea Episcopal Church, the Santa Barbara Historical Museum, and currently Bee Creek United Methodist Church.

CARL RAY POLK

Managing Director
Office: (805) 965-5510

Carl Ray began his career with his family business Polk Oil Co., Inc., located in Lufkin, Texas and founded in 1937. Through his early career, Carl Ray ran a number of business units including lubricants distribution, convenience retailing, QSR management, and wholesale fuels distribution for Exxon, Mobil, and Texaco.

Full Bio

Carl Ray conducted a buyout of the family company, and later sold the company to Brookshire Brothers, LTD in 2007. Subsequent to the sale, Carl Ray served as Executive Vice President and as a member of the Board of Directors.

He is the Past Board Chair of the Texas Petroleum Marketers Association, a member of Coca Cola’s National Retailers Council, served on several national committees for the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS), and is Past Chairman of the Board of Lufkin’s Chamber of Commerce. He has been appointed by Governor George W. Bush to the Angelina Neches River Authority where he served a six year term.

Carl Ray received his education from Kilgore College and The University of Texas-Austin, with additional studies in the Mergers and Acquisition Program through the Anderson School of Business at UCLA.

Juan Kemp

Managing Director
Office: (281) 235-3882

Since starting with Shell in 1995 learning the fuel retailing business, Juan has managed many fascinating global opportunities for Shell in addition to stewardship of Shell's Retail & Lubricants businesses in the U.S. Throughout this progression, Juan has held more than a dozen roles and responsiblities.

Full Bio

Since starting with Shell in 1995 learning the fuel retailing business, he has managed many fascinating global opportunities for Shell in addition to stewardship of Shell's Retail & Lubricants businesses in the U.S. Throughout this progression, Juan has held more than a dozen roles and responsibilities. Juan's team building and intellectual skill sets led Shell to assign him oversight positions of some of its most complicated business units including Wholesale, Lubricants, Corporate Mergers & Acquisitions, Shell Joint Ventures, and company-operated retail assets also balanced with strong functional skills in Operations, IT and Strategic Planning.

"Juan had several options upon his retirement from Shell," said Carl Ray Polk "and we believe Corner Capital is a great place for Juan to leverage his experience for our customers' benefit. His passion for and intimate knowledge of energy and its transition, coupled with the respect he earned with his prior customers across the industry makes a perfect fit. Our entire team is thrilled about what Juan will bring to our clients and projects."

While at Shell, Juan engaged his businesses with a relentless commercial mindset while empowering a team culture of leadership and strategic partnerships with stakeholders. His proven track record of delivering results balanced with innovative ideas on how to provide "win-win" outcomes will be beneficial to the continued success of Corner Capital. Juan firmly believes strong relationships are forged through trust and respect with his colleagues and business partners.

"The opportunity to help lead a growing firm trusted by its clients for exceptional service and advice," Juan stated, "aligns strongly with my values, business passion, and drive for excellence in all areas of investment banking to our industry"

"We look forward to Juan's passionate drive for growing business relationships, and our ability to successfully expand Corner Capital's investment banking platform to our new service verticals in Forestry/Agribusiness/Agronomy and Residential/Business Services in 2024", added Andy Weber.

Juan graduated with a BBA-Marketing from the University of Texas and 8 years later I received his MBA from the University of Miami. He is a Board Member for the Boys & Girls Club of Houston where Juan is very passionate about mentoring and providing resources for young boys and girls.

SEAN STEWART, CFA

Director
Office: (805) 965-5510

Full Bio

Sean Stewart, Director, began his career in Hall Capital's New York City portfolio management group, managing investment portfolios for high net-worth families and institutions across various strategies including fixed income, equities, hedge funds, private equity, and real assets. Subsequently recruited to Advent Capital to work with institutional investors in their long-only convertible strategies, Sean advised on performance drivers for Advent's strategies including benchmarking, portfolio positioning and projected outlook. He also built quantitative tools to help portfolio managers analyze client portfolios and conducted research that aided the company's marketing efforts. During his time at Advent, Sean became Product Manager for Advent's domestic long-only convertible strategies.

Sean also spent a year training with the US Army, where he created geospatial intelligence products. Sean finished Geospatial Engineering School at the top of his class as the Distinguished Honor Graduate and continues to serve in the Army Reserve for the foreseeable future. Mr. Stewart received his undergraduate degree in Finance from the University of Arkansas, and he is a CFA Charterholder.

Nick Stricker, CPA

Associate
Office: (805) 965-5510

Nick Stricker serves as an Associate at Corner Capital, where he is responsible for underwriting each project, managing the overall transaction process, providing execution support, and various other financial advisory services. At Corner Capital, Nick has developed specific experience in downstream energy industry, working on projects with convenience retailers, wholesale fuel distributors, and commercial fuels and lubricants distributors.

Full Bio

Prior to joining Corner Capital, Nick worked in KPMG’s audit group, focusing primarily on privately held financial services and energy clients.

Nick graduated cum laude from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and earned a Master’s degree in finance. Nick is licensed as a CPA in the state of Texas and holds an active Series 63 FINRA license.

Ben Achilles

Senior Analyst
Office: (805) 965-5510

Ben Achilles, Senior Analyst, provides comprehensive support to Corner Capital clients across all aspects of project management and transaction processes. His key responsibilities include managing project underwriting, detailed financial modeling, in-depth market research, and providing strategic support throughout the transaction closing process. Ben’s sharp attention to detail and growing expertise ensure his work is executed with precision at every stage.

Full Bio

Prior to joining Corner Capital, Ben began his career as a financial analyst for Public Consulting Group, managing client relationships, developing financing models for client projects, producing financial statement forecasts, and strategy scenario modeling. He was also responsible for developing internal financial systems utilized by clients to assist in projecting strategy options.

While attending Texas Tech University, Ben was one of ten students selected to manage the university's Student Managed Investment Fund as a consumer discretionary industry analyst. He earned his undergraduate degree in finance from Texas Tech and is currently qualified as a FINRA Uniform Securities Agent (Series 63).

Grant Connnelly

Analyst
Office: (214) 300-5607

Grant joined Corner Capital Partners in 2024 from Grant Thornton, where he worked as an Associate in the Transaction Advisory Practice. While at Grant Thornton, Grant provided sell-side and buy-side financial due diligence services to middle market companies across a variety of industries, including energy, food and beverage, and consumer retail. Grant specifically assisted on multiple Shell transactions, including the acquisition of Brewer Oil Company in New Mexico, providing Quality of Earnings (QoE) and Net Working Capital (NWC) reports. Previously, Grant completed an internship with Ernst & Young and Ridge Pointe Commercial Real Estate.

Full Bio

Grant earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Master’s in Accounting from Texas Christian University.

ROB THOMAS

SVP, Business Development
Office: (805) 965-5510

After 34 years of service with both Shell Oil Company and Motiva LLC, Rob recently retired from his position as Sales Manager in the Southeast U.S. Early in his career Rob served in numerous capacities in the field for Shell, responsible for petroleum product sales and managing retail districts from Louisiana to Florida to the Carolinas, as well as Delaware to Maine in the Northeast. Rob also held management positions in Shell’s Houston corporate office, including Manager, Credit Card Products and Services and Manager, Retail Supply and Logistics

Full Bio

Rob earned an undergraduate degree in Nautical Science & Transportation from the United States Merchant Marine Academy and subsequently spent several years working as a marine deck officer on cargo ships, offshore drilling rigs, and shipyard marine construction. Having become familiar with the energy sector through their family petroleum distribution business in New Mexico, Rob joined Shell Oil Company in 1986. Rob also earned an MBA from Florida State University.

DON MITCHELL

SVP, Business Development
Office: (805) 965-5510

Full Bio

Don Mitchell, Senior Vice President of Business Development, began his career with Exxon in 1971. After managing several different retail markets in North Carolina, Georgia, and Texas, Don was instrumental in Exxon’s national entry into convenience retailing in the 1980’s. In the early 1990s, Don managed Exxon’s state and federal public, legislative, and regulatory affairs activities (including API) and also served as their Western Area Public Affairs Manager. From 1995 until retirement, Don was involved in numerous key branded distributor activities on a regional and national level and served as Area Manager and Market Development Coordinator for ExxonMobil’s Western Distributor Area until his retirement.

As a leader within ExxonMobil and throughout the state and local marketing associations, Don developed deep relationships in the distributor community and industry overall. Don is a graduate from Lenoir-Rhyne University in Hickory, NC, with a degree in Economics and Marketing, and offices in Houston, Texas.

STEVE LANCIA

SVP, Business Development
Office: (805) 965-5510

Steve Lancia, Senior Vice President of Business Development began his career in the oil industry in 1989 with Getty Petroleum Corp. During his six years at Getty, he held various retail and marketing positions, showcasing his versatility in different aspects of the business which covered the Northeast area.

Full Bio

In 1995, Steve transitioned to Shell Oil Company, where he continued to make significant contributions until his retirement in 2020. Over his 26-year tenure at Shell Oil and Motiva Enterprises LLC, he demonstrated expertise in various facets of business development. Steve’s role included managing commercial sales and marketing activities, facilitating new business development and maximizing sales volume and profitability. He also oversaw capital brand development and co-branding initiatives.

Notably, Steve consistently exceeded sales goals, emphasizing his effectiveness in driving performance and achieving results. His role also involved executing and negotiating contracts, as well as identifying and developing growth opportunities within his market. His broad experience and adept relationship-building skills positioned him as a top producing leader in the oil industry in the Northeast.

Steve graduated from State University of New York, College at Brockport with a Bachelor of Science degree.