Energy sector bankers John C. Rice and George R. Ward were appointed as managing directors and group co-heads of the new energy advisory group at Peter J. Solomon Co. (PJSC), the private investment banking firm said May 18.

The new energy advisory group will expand the firm’s strategic advisory services into the energy sector, complementing the energy platform of French financial services firm Natixis, which will be combined with PJSC, according to Peter J. Solomon, founder and chairman of PJSC.

PJSC is opening a Houston office, where the energy advisory group will be based. Its CEO, Marc Cooper, said several more expansions are planned for PJSC.

Rice and Ward both most recently were managing directors at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. (TPH).

Rice and Ward hold more than 40 years of energy investment banking experience between them, and have been partnered since 2004 as leading advisers to the energy community. Prior to TPH, they were managing directors and co-heads of the energy group at Berenson & Co.

They have handled domestic and cross-border transactions including M&A, restructurings, bankruptcies, and public and private capital raisings for clients ranging from upstream to cleantech.

They have sector relationships with Southwestern Energy, Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK), Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC), BP Lower 48, Tallgrass, Energy Transfer, PennTex, Exelon, Avangrid and Cleco.

At PJSC, they will be joined by Thomas L. Gardner, the managing director and head of A&D. Previously, Gardner was managing director at Merrill Lynch's global energy investment bank, joining Natixis Americas in late 2015.