Benjamin (“Benjy”) Johnson is the president and CEO of BlueCrest Energy. He is an engineer and business executive with over 45 years’ experience in profitable development and leadership of large U.S. petroleum assets. He grew up in Kenai, Alaska. In his senior year of high school, the Alaska Governor's office named him the "Outstanding Teenager of Alaska." He worked his way through college on Cook Inlet platforms and Alaska's North Slope. Studying petroleum engineering at the University of Kansas, he graduated "With Highest Distinction" (4.0 GPA) and was president of the senior honor society (Omicron Delta Kappa), and the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Benjamin was the sole recipient of the international Society of Petroleum Engineers' annual PESA scholarship awarded to a single college Junior, and the next year was one of two college Seniors to receive the award. As a young engineer for ARCO Alaska, he coordinated the early waterflood surveillance plans for Prudhoe Bay and programmed the world’s first commercial supercomputer to design the initial full-field development model for Kuparuk. As ARCO’s Area Engineer for the Gulf of Mexico, he managed the world’s largest offshore enhanced oil recovery project at the time. As ARCO’s West Coast manager of reservoir engineering, he envisioned and initiated the acquisition and highly successful re-development of California’s Long Beach Unit. As ARCO’s Eastern U.S. Crude Oil Marketing Manager, he co-managed the largest crude oil sales volumes in the United States. He retired from ARCO in the 1990's prior to its merger with BP and co-founded a consulting firm advising independent producers, led nationwide crude oil pricing reforms, and testified twice before the U.S. Congress. In the early 2000’s, he joined other seasoned industry leaders to found BlueCrest Energy, exploring and developing Alaska’s Cook Inlet resources. After making a large discovery of both oil and gas in the Cook Inlet in 2013, the company is currently engaged in its long-term development. He holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Kansas and an MS in Engineering Management from the University of Alaska, Anchorage, and he is a Registered Professional Engineer. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association for over 10 years and served four terms as its Board Chairman. He has been active in music throughout his life. He now plays trumpet in the Dallas Millennial symphony and in a large North Texas church orchestra. He and his wife recently celebrated their 47th wedding anniversary.