Dean founded North by Northwest in 2019 and has directed the development of artificial intelligence techniques and analyses to evaluate the profitability of wells to be drilled in shale and resource plays located throughout the continental United States. Much of his career in oil and gas has been focused on statistics and risk analysis as applied to mergers and acquisitions as well as exploratory and development drilling projects. Prior to founding North by Northwest, Dean was a Managing Partner at Canaan Resource Partners where he lead the development of statistical models in the evolving US shale and resource plays. He began his career as a reservoir engineer with Tenneco Oil Company in 1985, and held subsequent positions in technology research and management at Devon Energy during the early stages of horizontal well development drilling in the Barnett Shale. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Marietta College (1985), and an MBA from the University of Texas (1991).