Every time Aera tackles a new strategic project, Sergio De Castro knows all about it. And as the longtime energy leader continuously innovates to help provide the oil and gas Californians need while helping California realize its bold climate goals, De Castro’s teams are behind the scenes helping ensure Aera is well positioned for the journey.
As Aera’s chief financial officer, De Castro oversees Aera’s sustainable-business strategies to boost revenue-generation at Aera – including all things relating to finance, technology, and business development.
“My teams are seeking to continuously innovate and find creative solutions to improve oil and gas cash flow generation in every way, while enabling Aera’s decarbonization goals,” De Castro says. “This is vitally important as Aera innovates to align with California’s energy transition as this bold step forward with the state will require significant capital investments. We will ensure Aera is financially positioned to handle it.”
De Castro has the experience for the job – more than 25 years of global experience through multiple executive roles in corporate finance, audit, internal control, and commercial industries — serving as chief financial officer and director on four continents.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Pontifical Javeriana University and studied accounting at Universidad Externado de Colombia – in Bogotá, Colombia where he was born and raised. De Castro received his master’s degree in business administration from George Mason University in Fairfax and completed his post-graduate studies at Columbia University. Virginia and joined the Arthur Andersen accounting firm and its subsidiary, Andersen Consulting, shortly after graduation. De Castro has served on numerous boards and is a member of the Latin American Association of Corporate Directors and the Association for Financial Professionals, which represents finance executives globally.
De Castro joined Exxon in 1994 holding multiple financial and commercial department roles, before moving to Houston, Texas where he oversaw Exxon’s global operations in Asia. He joined Aera in 2017 and most recently worked as the company’s senior vice president of strategy and chief financial officer.