Fueling the Future: How Three Generations of Griffins Lead the Energy Industry

By Steve Griffin, Partner

Downstream Energy Group (DEG) and our newest company, Downstream Energy Properties (DEP), are legacy companies born from the ideals of original founders, Ruben and Ginny Griffin. A lot has changed in three generations, but the Griffin standard of “doing business the right way” has remained the cornerstone of every Griffin company.

My name is Steve Griffin. I am Ruben and Ginny’s son and DEG’s co-founding Partner. I built DEG upon our family’s heritage and strive to stay true to our core competencies while recognizing we must evolve to meet our clients’ growing needs. I’m happy to say the company has grown past my expertise alone. We are constantly adding the requisite knowledge to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the M&A industry.

Alongside co-founder Jeff Traub, I founded DEG to facilitate family legacy petroleum companies (convenience store chains and jobberships) determine their next move: what was best for them personally? What was best for the company? If it was the right time to exit, we prepared a pitch book and identified the best strategic buyers—ultimately identifying the one that provided the most value for our client while preserving the brand they spent years building.

Due to our deep industry ties, operators often approached us to sell their single sites. At the time, it wasn’t feasible for DEG to do so: there simply wasn’t enough manpower at the firm. But it always bothered me that there were hundreds of clients I had to turn away. In early 2024, Kodi Griffin, my son, approached me with an idea to alleviate the problem. He wanted to partner with DEG and help those single site operators to make their exit, just like the bigger petroleum companies do. With his commercial real estate acumen and knowledge, DEP was born. That makes the third Griffin generation to lead a company within the energy space, and I couldn’t be more proud.

All in all, DEG and DEP are focused to remain true to our heritage and advise the industry wherever it takes us. I anticipate ending 2024 on a strong note with multiple upcoming closings and look forward to the many clients we will help in 2025.

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