Christopher Alfano

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Christopher Alfano is in a hurry to change the world, or, at least, the energy industry. Just five years out of college, he launched 360 Energy, his second startup. His company develops mobile gas offtake solutions that eliminate flaring and monetize previously wasted natural gas by using it to power data centers to mine Bitcoin. “I saw an opportunity to apply a new technology to aging, uneconomic upstream natural gas assets,” he says. “If successful, this technology had the potential to reshape overlooked assets through a new market for gas monetization.”

Describe a memorable professional experience—something that may not be typical for industry members or that is especially meaningful for you.
Having a one-on-one with Jeff Miller, the CEO of Halliburton, after Halliburton Labs invested in us. We went 30 minutes overtime and explored the implications of our technology on the broader oil and gas space. It was awesome to have Jeff’s validation and support for our unique product offering.

What has been your most challenging project to date, and how did you meet the challenge and accomplish your goal?
Our first deployment on our wells in Fort Worth, and the ensuing two years of R&D, was the most challenging project we’ve done at 360 and certainly the biggest challenge of my professional career. To meet this challenge, we had to invest more capital than planned, learn from our mistakes, withstand a collapsing commodity price environment and build a full standardized product stack across infrastructure, software and personnel. There were many periods during this time where I was not sure if the company was going to make it.

What qualities do you think are necessary to be a good leader in the oil and gas industry?
Communication and decisiveness are two of the more important qualities a leader must possess. The oil and gas industry is an ever-evolving landscape. You need to have a pulse on industry trends and listen to your customers, employees and key stakeholders to evolve with the market. You have to be willing and able to adapt quickly as the facts and feedback loops evolve.

How have you exercised leadership to help shape your company?
In 2023, we launched our gas offtake services to the broader upstream oil and gas space. In the early days, our sales team struggled to hit sales targets. As the CEO, I sat in on sales calls while tasking our team members to compile customer feedback and identify areas where we were succeeding and areas where were coming up short. Examining the data painted a clear picture. Our commercial model and go-to-market strategy was flawed. I acted decisively to lead our team to alternative approaches that directly led to an increase in sales volume and product traction.

What do you think young industry members (those under 40) as a group have to offer that is unique to them?
New perspectives and new strategies. The younger generation is digital native and data driven. I think we will see the younger generation leverage data and AI to enhance the efficiency of the industry.

What advice would you give other young professionals in the industry?
Invest in your network and surround yourself with people who are smarter than you. You never know where your career will take you. It is important to stay active, learn new things and meet new people. Effort you put in today will come back to benefit you in the future.

Get to know the rest of the Forty Under 40 class of 2025.