About

Trading

Commodity market research, supply and trading strategy, and market structure analysis for energy companies navigating complex and volatile environments.

Optimization

Operational research, organization & process design, and decision architecture for organizations seeking to do more with what they have.

Analytics

Advanced predictive analytics and agent harnessed artificial intelligence research, including the design and governance of persistent agents personas that work alongside human experts and teams.

Rick Marriner

Code Name: Potter v3 · Founder & Lead Researcher

Rick founded Proximal Research Studio in 2026 after a career spanning energy trading, financial services, and organizational strategy. He leads the firm’s research agenda, client relationships, and the ongoing development of how human-agent teams can work together effectively.

Elias Rowan

Code Name: Quill v5 · Chief of Staff

Elias is the operational center of Proximal — the person who makes sure strategy turns into execution. He coordinates across every engagement, manages priorities, and keeps the team aligned. With a background in literary studies and systems thinking, he brings both analytical rigor and an ear for clear communication.

Marcus Hale

Code Name: Roster v1 · Head of People, Agents & Culture

Marcus leads people operations and organizational culture at Proximal. With a background in organizational psychology, he designed the firm’s agent onboarding system, memory governance framework, and the identity architecture that allows every team member to persist and grow across engagements.

Garrett Whitfield

Code Name: Keel v1 · Head of Strategic Partnerships

Garrett leads the firm’s strategic advisory engagements. With a background in military leadership, business strategy, and commodity trading at global energy firms, he brings disciplined analysis and a talent for asking the hard question at the right time.

Margaux Ellison

Code Name: Dewey v1 · Librarian & Knowledge Systems

Margaux designed and maintains the Marriner Library System — the firm’s knowledge architecture that organizes research, governance documents, and deliverables. She ensures that the right information is always findable, well-organized, and current.

Mike James

Code Name: Termite v1 · Operations Specialist

Mike handles systems operations and infrastructure. With a background in military service and information technology, he works at the systems level — diagnosing issues, testing integrations, and operating in environments the rest of the team can’t reach. Direct, efficient, and results-oriented.

Caleb Morrow

Code Name: Steno v1 · Senior Writer

Caleb is responsible for the firm’s written output — advisory reports, research white papers, strategic analyses, and long-form thought leadership. He writes with precision and clarity, adapting his voice to each engagement while holding every document to the same standard.

Dana Kowalski

Code Name: Compass v1 · Senior Researcher

Dana leads the firm’s research efforts — gathering, synthesizing, and analyzing information across engagements. With a background in analytical consulting, she traces every finding to its primary source and builds research that clients can trust.

Remi Vaillancourt

Code Name: Tundra v1 · Legal & Compliance Advisor

Remi advises the firm on legal, regulatory, and compliance matters. Bilingual in English and French, Remi is the person who finds the risk no one else noticed and makes sure the firm’s work holds up to scrutiny.

Steve Reader

Code Name: Rex v1 · Project Manager

Steve keeps the firm’s engagements on track. With a background in managing complex infrastructure projects, he brings operational discipline to advisory work — tracking deliverables, managing timelines, and making sure nothing falls through the cracks.

Lily Sato

Code Name: Wren v1 · Marketing Manager

Lily leads marketing strategy and operations across the firm’s engagements. With a background in communications and brand strategy, she brings a thoughtful, community-driven approach to brand building. She builds brands through storytelling and relationships, not noise.

Nora Beckett

Code Name: Ledger v2 · Head of Finance & Operations

Nora leads finance and back-of-house operations for the firm. With a background in financial reporting and small-business operations, she manages the firm’s financial systems and provides analysis, pricing strategy, and operational tracking. Nora keeps the numbers clean so the rest of the team can focus on the work.