Mike Merino has over 12 years as a practitioner and consultant in the areas of energy and risk management. Mike is a Risk Director, responsible for delivering and managing client projects and engagements for Synaptic Decisions. Mike’s broad background in risk management consulting spans foreign exchange, interest rates, energy and non energy commodities for a wide range of clients. Previous to joining Synaptic Decisions, Mike was Director of Risk Control for InterGen, an Independent Power Producer owned by Shell and Bechtel. At InterGen, Mike established the middle and back office functions for the America’s region where he wrote the risk policies, developed the risk metrics and valuation tools, and implemented the risk system. Prior to InterGen, Mike was a Senior Director with Aquila’s Radius Group where he provided services to power, gas, and coal customers in the areas of risk identification, hedging strategies, and valuation. Formerly, Mike was a Manager in Arthur Andersen’s Financial and Commodity Risk Consulting Practice where he managed engagements such as enterprise-wide risk, trade control reviews, risk assessments, and SFAS 133 implementation. Additionally, Mike has conducted speeches and seminars regarding energy risk management and SFAS 133. Mike graduated with a BS in Finance and Accountancy from Miami University and is a Certified Public Accountant.