Founding Partner
Christian Kanady is the founding partner of Echo. Whether investing in energy, life science, technology, entertainment, or national security, Christian understands how to build cutting-edge companies by aligning untapped resources.
Under his leadership, Echo has accumulated a stake in over 6,500 wells across Oklahoma and Texas as one of the largest private owners of oil and gas royalties in the world. Echo is also the leading investor in enterprises such as Zeno Technologies, Prairie Surf Media, and Wheeler Bio. His commercial real estate portfolio includes holdings across numerous U.S. cities. In all, Christian oversees more than $1.3 billion in assets under management.
A firm believer in giving back, Christian is an active philanthropist, forging long-term partnerships with nonprofits involved in community development, education, social services, youth athletics, and music and arts. His entrepreneurial spirit guides his vision to drive community growth and innovation.
Christian’s family is his most meaningful achievement, and he is a devoted husband to Kate and proud father to daughters Lily, Constantina, and Marie-Sistine. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.
Senior Partner, Chief Operating Officer
Drew Hoffman serves as Senior Partner and Chief Operating Officer at Echo, where he oversees day-to-day operations and works closely with Echo's portfolio companies. Prior to Echo, Drew was President and Chief Legal Officer at a US-based health and wellness company, where he drove a ten-fold increase in revenue, increased profit margins, and expanded the company’s global reach from one to 13 countries. He also established and managed an intellectual property portfolio that secured more than 30 patents.
Before his time in the health and wellness space, Drew founded a consulting and legal firm, DSH Consulting, where he and his team provided transactional, operational, risk management, and compliance guidance to companies ranging from startups to multibillion-dollar global entities in industries such as energy, healthcare, and manufacturing. Drew started his legal career at Bracewell, focusing on regulatory compliance and defense, investigations, and complex litigation.
Drew is a retired professional soccer player, having played in Germany and the Czech Republic, holds a bachelor’s degree from Pennsylvania State University, as well as a JD and MBA from Georgetown University.
Partner, Chief Financial Officer
Josh Hood is a Partner and Chief Financial Officer at Echo, leading the accounting, finance and treasury functions responsible for managing private equity and venture capital funds spanning energy, real estate, and life sciences. He was one of Echo’s first hires and has taken on positions of increasing responsibility in accounting and finance. Prior to becoming CFO, he was an Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer overseeing auditing, financial reporting, and compliance while managing more than 100 accounts across five banking institutions.
Earlier, he worked as a global commodities associate at Deutsche Bank where he provided insight into the effects of climate patterns on international energy and commodities markets. In addition to his background in finance and accounting, Josh is a trained meteorologist. He began his career as a forensic meteorologist with Weather Decision Technologies where he provided custom weather analysis reports and asset monitoring for clients across a broad range of industries including insurance, engineering, catastrophe, and construction.
Josh holds a bachelor’s degree and MBA from the University of Oklahoma.
Partner, Chief Investment Officer
Jeremy Rabinowitz is Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Echo. He serves on the firm’s investment committee, overseeing investment strategy and capital deployment.
Prior to Echo, Jeremy spent a decade with the Schusterman Family Office where he was responsible for investment sourcing, execution, and management of investment entities and foundations. Earlier, he was Treasurer of Samson Investment Corporation, the largest privately held upstream energy company in the U.S., until the company’s sale in 2011 to KKR for $7.2 billion.
Jeremy holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.
Senior Managing Director, Energy Investments
Steve Dixon is Senior Managing Director of Energy Investments at Echo. He leads the firm’s conventional and clean energy investments and has more than 40 years of energy industry leadership experience. Prior to Echo, Steve served as Chairman and CEO of Tapstone Energy where he spearheaded the effort to take the company public. During his tenure, the company more than doubled production from 5,100 barrels per day to approximately 12,000. He also oversaw the expansion of net-operated wells from 22 to more than 660. Diversified Energy purchased the company for $419 million in 2021.
Prior to Tapstone, Steve served as a board member of Rice Energy, at the time one of the nation’s fastest growing independent natural gas and oil producers. He also spent more than 20 years at Chesapeake Energy where he served as Executive Vice President of Operations and Geosciences and Chief Operating Officer, eventually serving as acting-CEO where he managed more than 10,000 employees. Under his stewardship, the company became the largest driller and second largest natural gas producer in the United States.
Steve has a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Kansas.
Partner, Finance & Investments
Sele Elens-Eigbokhan is a Partner for Finance and Investments at Echo. He is responsible for evaluating and sourcing new investments and monitoring the firm’s portfolio companies.
Prior to Echo, Sele was an Energy Investment Banker at Wells Fargo Securities in Houston, where he led the execution of more than two dozen mergers-and-acquisitions, equity, and debt financing transactions valued at more than $15 billion. Earlier, he worked as a corporate finance professional at The Nielsen Company and Avis Budget Group.
Sele has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Economics and Management from Cornell University and an MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business.
Partner, Research & Investments
Dallas Browning is a Partner for Research and Investments at Echo. He is responsible for the macroeconomic research that supports investments and spearheads public affairs and ecosystem building strategies. Dallas has crafted supportive legislation, workforce development, and public-private partnerships that make the firm’s “EchoSystem” effective for portfolio companies.
Before joining Echo, Dallas worked at the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation (KSTC), where he led the development of several strategic initiatives, including tech clusters in the defense and aerospace industry. He also created a first-of-its-kind workforce reskilling initiative focused on veterans and transitioning service personnel. Dallas has advised state government departments in Economic and Workforce Development, and worked with Heartland Forward, an economic renewal think tank.
Dallas has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky and an MPA from Princeton University.
Partner, Partnerships & Government Affairs
Brian Hackler serves as Echo’s Partner for Partnerships and Government Relations. He leads strategic relationships, including state and federal government affairs. Brian previously held a leadership role at a bipartisan consulting firm.
Earlier, Hackler served for 12 years on the staff of U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, including six as Deputy Chief of Staff. He helped advance legislation addressing economic and scientific development, environmental regulation, defense, infrastructure, transportation, tax policy, and a range of other issues.
Hackler served two combat deployments in Iraq as a member of the United States Marine Corps. He has a bachelor’s degree from University of Central Oklahoma and a JD from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.
