Prior to founding Hawthorne in 2020, John was the Vice President of Business Development and a key member of the management team for Three Rivers Operating Company III (3ROC III) and Three Rivers Operating Company II (3ROC II), two private equity backed entities focused on the Permian Basin. Over several years, 3ROC II built a significant position in the Midland and Delaware Basins which was sold to Occidental Petroleum in December 2014. Following the success of 3ROC II, 3ROC III assembled a significant position in the Delaware Basin which was sold to two private entities (upstream and midstream) in 2018.

Prior to his time at Three Rivers, John held various energy private equity investing and finance roles for Riverstone and JPMorgan with a focus on the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors. John grew up in Dickinson, Texas, and received a B.B.A. in Finance from the Business Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin.