XGS Energy, Inc. (XGS), a developer of next-generation geothermal power systems, today announced two new senior leaders: Al Vickers, Chief Operating Officer, and Kurt Fricker, Chief Procurement Officer. Alongside these appointments, Dr. Ghazal Izadi steps into the role of Chief Growth Officer, charged with expanding XGS’s global geothermal resource portfolio. These changes come close on the heels of the recent hiring of CFO Richard Chong, former Vice President of Finance at Calpine.
Together, Vickers and Fricker bring decades of experience building, operating, and supplying large-scale energy infrastructure, rounding out an operations team built to execute at scale. These new leaders join as XGS advances execution on one of the largest geothermal development platforms in the nation, with over 150,000 acres of site control across the western U.S., 300 MW of offtaker commitments including Meta and CC Power, and execution and supply chain partnerships with Baker Hughes and Vallourec. XGS’s proprietary water-independent system is uniquely designed for factory-model permitting and deployment to deliver at scale with speed.
“We are thrilled and humbled to welcome such superstars to our leadership team,” said Josh Prueher, President & CEO of XGS. “Our data center and utility customers demand rock-solid execution, on time and on budget, and our infrastructure investors value XGS’s combination of transformative geothermal technology with proven operational expertise.”
Al Vickers joins XGS as Chief Operating Officer, bringing 30 years of energy industry experience to the role responsible for the integrated delivery of XGS’s portfolio of projects. At bp, he led world-scale drilling and completions and oil and gas production organizations across five continents. He is also a proven developer and builder of large-scale clean energy projects, serving as CEO of bp’s US Low Carbon Energy business and most recently as COO of Grid United, where he planned and developed numerous complex HVDC interregional transmission projects.
“I have spent my career developing, building, and operating large, complex energy infrastructure, and I am excited to work with XGS’s proven technology, which is ready to deliver clean, round-the-clock power at the scale the grid and customers need,” said Vickers. “XGS sits at the intersection of innovation, affordability, demand growth, responsible infrastructure development, and long-term energy resilience. I’m excited to roll up my sleeves and apply best practices from both oil and gas and infrastructure development to deliver gigawatt-scale geothermal projects.”
Kurt Fricker joins XGS as Chief Procurement Officer, responsible for contracting and partnering with XGS’s core suppliers. He arrives at XGS after leading Hess Corporation’s Global Supply Chain Asset Operations and Strategic Commercial teams, where he managed roughly $4 billion in annual spend and transformed the supplier relationship, category management, asset operations, and contractor safety and performance teams that asset-intensive construction demands.
“Great projects are built with great partners,” said Fricker. “My career has focused on turning ambitious energy plans into consistent, reliable, value-adding project execution – building strong supplier relationships and the procurement discipline that keeps complex, high-stakes execution on track. XGS has the technology and the demand. My job is making sure we have the partners and processes to deliver at scale.”
With this team in place, XGS advances from proven technology to proven delivery, combining execution discipline, operating depth, and resource expertise to accelerate the construction of clean, baseload energy at scale. To learn more about XGS Energy, please visit https://www.xgsenergy.com.
About XGS Energy
XGS Energy provides Clean, Round-the-Clock Energy Everywhere, Forever. The company’s proprietary heat harvesting technology and enhanced closed-loop well architecture enable global deployment of terawatt-scale geothermal heat and power. The XGS system decouples geothermal energy production from its historical dependence on natural water resources and geological conditions, unlocking low-risk power project development, geographic flexibility, easier permitting, and faster deployment. XGS’s scalable, financeable geothermal energy approach is supported by leading investors globally including AE Ventures, Aligned Climate Capital, Anzu Partners, BlueScopeX, B Current Impact Investment, ClearSky, ClimateIC, Constellation Technology Ventures, Eagle Global Advisors, H&P, MIH Capital, Sahsen, Thin Line Capital, Valo Ventures, VoLo Earth Ventures, WovenEarth Ventures, and Xplor Ventures. Learn more and explore our open roles at https://www.xgsenergy.com.
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