New Era Energy & Digital Appoints Nelson CEO, Warner CFO as It Readies Permian 1.4 GW Expansion
NUAI•New Era Energy & Digital named Charlie Nelson CEO and chairman, Ted Warner president, CFO and board member, and José Rodriguez COO, effective July 1, 2026. Darin Rovell was also appointed CAO to scale accounting operations as the company advances its 1.4 GW Permian Basin data center project.
1. Leadership Transition
Effective July 1, 2026, Charlie Nelson transitioned from President and COO to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, while E. Will Gray II shifted to President of the Permian, focusing on local development initiatives. Ted Warner joined the Board as President and CFO, and José Rodriguez stepped into the COO role.
2. Appointment Details
Ted Warner will lead finance, capital markets and strategic planning with board responsibilities, drawing on his public-company financial operations experience. José Rodriguez brings hyperscale data center engineering and power project expertise from Microsoft, TikTok and Amazon Web Services, and Darin Rovell adds over 15 years of public-company accounting leadership as Chief Accounting Officer.
3. Strategic Outlook
These leadership changes aim to accelerate execution of the flagship 492-acre Texas Critical Data Centers project in the Permian Basin, which is planned to scale to 1.4 GW of power. The strengthened executive, finance and accounting teams are positioned to drive modular data center deployment, secure project financing and support future digital infrastructure growth.
