Deborah L. Byers joined Excelerate's board of directors in July 2022. Ms. Byers retired as a Partner from Ernst & Young LLP (EY), a multinational professional services partnership on July 1, 2022, after 36 years of service in Public Accounting, while holding multiple leadership roles. From July 2018 until her retirement, she was EY's Americas Industry Leader overseeing the market and growth strategy across its primary industry markets including Energy, Industrials & Automotive, Consumer, Technology, Telecom, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare & Life Sciences, Real Estate, Private Equity, and Government. Ms. Byers was EY's Houston Office Managing Partner and U.S. Energy Leader from July 2013 to July 2018 and Managing Partner of the Southwest Region Strategy & Transactions business unit from July 2008 to July 2013. In these roles, she was a leader in the global energy market and worked with corporations and investment funds in all phases of energy investment across the sector. She was admitted to the EY Partnership in October 1997 after joining the firm in July 1986. Ms. Byers has served as a director of Kinetik Holdings Inc., a midstream energy company, since July 2022, and of DTE, a public utility since May 2023. She previously served as a director of Civitas Resources, Inc., an upstream energy company, from February 2023 to Q1 2026. She also serves as a Senior Advisor to Veriten, an energy research and strategy firm. Ms. Byers holds a BBA from Baylor University and is a Certified Public Accountant.