Aubrey McClendon
Encyclopedia
Aubrey Kerr McClendon is the chief executive officer
, chairman, and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK). He is an outspoken advocate for natural gas as a cleaner and safer alternative to oil and coal fuels. He was the highest-paid CEO at all S&P 500
companies in 2008, receiving a compensation package totaling $112 million.
, a former Oklahoma governor, U.S. Senator and founder of Kerr-McGee Corporation (an Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas company founded in 1927 and acquired by Anadarko Corporation in 2006).
McClendon graduated from Duke University
in 1981 with a B.A. in history and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
fraternity. He met his wife Katie, a 1980 Duke graduate, while attending college there. They married in St Joseph, Michigan, in 1981 and have three adult children.
with the company's former president Tom L. Ward
, currently the CEO of Oklahoma City-based Sandridge Energy Corporation
(NYSE:SD), in 1989 with a $50,000 initial investment. They took the company public in 1993, and today Chesapeake is the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 15 oil producer and the most active driller in the United States.
Focusing its operations onshore in the U.S., Chesapeake has pioneered development of unconventional natural gas and oil plays that require high-technology drilling and completion techniques and very large land positions. McClendon, who began his energy career as a landman, led the company to hold significant positions in the nation’s largest shale gas plays, the discovery of which has radically changed estimates of the U.S. supply of natural gas and reduced natural gas prices by 50% to American consumers since 2008, while providing a daily economic stimulus to the U.S. economy of approximately $300 million.
McClendon is chairman of the Chesapeake Board of Directors, which, among others, includes prominent Oklahoma politicians Frank Keating
and Don Nickles
. In 2005 McClendon was named one of America's
top-performing executives by Forbes Magazine. He was the highest paid CEO at all S&P 500 companies in 2008, receiving a compensation package totaling $112 million, which included a one-time payment of $75 million in recognition of the role he played in developing multiple joint ventures with foreign industry partners, which started a trend of foreign investment in the U.S. natural gas industry that has lowered natural gas costs for consumers and created thousands of new jobs in the natural gas industry. Chesapeake is the largest leasehold owner in the U.S. with approximately 14 million net acres under lease, and owns a Top 2 position in each of the Barnett, Haynesville/Bossier, Marcellus and Utica natural gas plays and in each of the Granite Wash, Cleveland, Tonkawa, Mississippian, Avalon, Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Utica oil and natural gas liquids plays.
It was announced on October 10, 2008, that McClendon sold approximately 33.4 million shares, approximately 90% of his stock in Chesapeake Energy (stock symbol CHK), for $16.52 per share to meet a margin call after the drop in the U.S. stock market that week. The stock had been worth as much as $74.00 per share in the year prior to the sale, a loss of nearly $1.92 billion. McClendon was shortly thereafter awarded a controversial one-off $75 million 'Well Cost Incentive Award' by the board of directors. The award was subsequently challenged by way of a shareholder proposal and a number of lawsuits.
In 2010, McClendon began directing the company’s transition toward more balanced production, with the goal of having 50% of its revenues come from oil production by the end of 2013. In 2010, McClendon was a finalist for the Platts Global Energy CEO of the Year Awards, with the company a finalist for awards in the categories of Deal of the Year, Industry Leadership, Energy Producer of the Year and Community Development Program of the Year. Platts
also awarded Chesapeake Energy with Producer of the Year and Industry Leadership awards in 2009; and Hydrocarbon Producer of the Year in 2007.
In early 2011, McClendon was named to the Forbes “CEO 20-20 Club,” a group of eight American chief executives who have a minimum of 20 years of service as CEO and produced at least 20% annual returns to shareholders during their tenure.
In November 2011, McClendon was named the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2011 Energy, Cleantech and Natural Resources Award winner. According to the Ernst & Young, McClendon was recognized for redefining Chesapeake’s focus and strategy, taking it from its small-time Oklahoma origins to its current position as the second-largest producer of natural gas and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S.
, making a case for natural gas as a clean fuel and a significant job-creating industry. He also defended the natural gas and oil industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing
techniques for well completion.
McClendon is the chairman of the board for American Clean Skies Foundation
, a non-profit foundation that educates the public on clean energy sources. He also is a founding member of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization of independent natural gas producers.
(PBC), which owns the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder
club, as a 20% investor.
In 2008, the NBA had fined McClendon $250,000 for comments he made in The (Oklahoma City) Journal Record about his hopes of moving the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City. PBC Chairman Clayton Bennett
stated that McClendon does not speak for the OKC Thunder franchise (then the Seattle Supersonics) in any official capacity, and therefore was simply stating his own personal opinions. Subsequently, PBC and the City of Seattle settled their disagreements, and the team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season where it was renamed the Thunder and has become one of the NBA’s leaders in attendance and has developed into one of its best young teams, led by 2011 All-Star forward Kevin Durant
and point guard Russell Westbrook
.
in Saugatuck Township, Michigan
, for $39.5 million with plans to build luxury homes, 28 condos, a hotel, a marina and a golf course. In 2006, the Saugatuck Township Board rezoned the land, making McClendon unable to build his planned project. The Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance opposes McClendon's plans, citing environmental concerns. In 2009, McClendon sold 171 acres of the land to a conservancy in order to alleviate the group's concerns. In March 2010, McClendon sued the township in federal court to overturn the zoning.
This case was settled and in July 2011, McClendon and the Township Board submitted a proposed Consent Judgment to the court for approval.View the filing.
Between 2000-04, McClendon donated $700,000 to a variety of Republican candidates and conservative interest groups. Most notable of these was a $250,000 donation to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth
, a group whose purpose was to oppose John Kerry's candidacy for the presidency in 2004. McClendon's donation made him the eighth-largest contributor to the group. In 2006, McClendon announced that he would no longer make personal contributions to advocacy groups involved in political elections.
In 2007 McClendon bought several full-page ads supporting the Duke men's lacrosse
team in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case. The case was ultimately dismissed, and the Durham County prosecutor who brought the case was forced to resign and was disbarred.
McClendon is one of the nation’s 100 largest land owners according the magazine Land Report and is the largest investor in Bloomington, Indiana-based ProCure Treatment Centers, the world's leader in commercializing a revolutionary cancer treatment using proton therapy.
He also is owner of the iconic POPS restaurant located on historic Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma, which features the world's largest collection (more than 500 varieties) of soda pops for sale at one site. POPS has won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in a wide variety of magazines and television shows since it opened in 2007.
In addition, McClendon is noted for his philanthropic generosity, having donated more than $75 million in the past 15 years to a variety of institutions, most notable of which have been Duke University
in Durham, N.C.; Heritage Hall and Casady
college preparatory private high schools in Oklahoma City, and the University of Oklahoma
, where in 2008 the university’s Honors College was named in honor of his parents.
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
, chairman, and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK). He is an outspoken advocate for natural gas as a cleaner and safer alternative to oil and coal fuels. He was the highest-paid CEO at all S&P 500
S&P 500
The S&P 500 is a free-float capitalization-weighted index published since 1957 of the prices of 500 large-cap common stocks actively traded in the United States. The stocks included in the S&P 500 are those of large publicly held companies that trade on either of the two largest American stock...
companies in 2008, receiving a compensation package totaling $112 million.
Early life and education
McClendon was born on July 14, 1959, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Joe Conner and Carole Kerr McClendon, and is a great-nephew of Robert S. KerrRobert S. Kerr
Robert Samuel Kerr was an American businessman from Oklahoma. Kerr formed a petroleum company before turning to politics. He served as the 12th Governor of Oklahoma and was elected three times to the United States Senate...
, a former Oklahoma governor, U.S. Senator and founder of Kerr-McGee Corporation (an Oklahoma City-based oil and natural gas company founded in 1927 and acquired by Anadarko Corporation in 2006).
McClendon graduated from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1981 with a B.A. in history and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon
Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South...
fraternity. He met his wife Katie, a 1980 Duke graduate, while attending college there. They married in St Joseph, Michigan, in 1981 and have three adult children.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
McClendon started his first oil and natural gas investment company, Chesapeake Investments, in 1982 at the age of 23. He co-founded ChesapeakeChesapeake Energy
Chesapeake Energy is the second largest producer of natural gas in the United States, a top 15 producer of U.S. liquids and the most active driller of new wells, according to an November 2011 investor presentation. It recorded 3Q 2011 natural gas production of an average of approximately of...
with the company's former president Tom L. Ward
Tom L. Ward
Tom L. Ward is a prominent Oklahoma City businessman. He is the chairman and CEO at SandRidge Energy and is the former President, COO and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy...
, currently the CEO of Oklahoma City-based Sandridge Energy Corporation
SandRidge Energy
SandRidge Energy is an oil and natural gas exploration company headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.SandRidge was founded in 1984 as Riata Energy, Inc. In 2006, the company changed its name to SandRidge Energy. The company concentrates its exploration efforts in the West Texas Permian Basin...
(NYSE:SD), in 1989 with a $50,000 initial investment. They took the company public in 1993, and today Chesapeake is the second-largest producer of natural gas, a Top 15 oil producer and the most active driller in the United States.
Focusing its operations onshore in the U.S., Chesapeake has pioneered development of unconventional natural gas and oil plays that require high-technology drilling and completion techniques and very large land positions. McClendon, who began his energy career as a landman, led the company to hold significant positions in the nation’s largest shale gas plays, the discovery of which has radically changed estimates of the U.S. supply of natural gas and reduced natural gas prices by 50% to American consumers since 2008, while providing a daily economic stimulus to the U.S. economy of approximately $300 million.
McClendon is chairman of the Chesapeake Board of Directors, which, among others, includes prominent Oklahoma politicians Frank Keating
Frank Keating
Francis Anthony "Frank" Keating is an American politician from Oklahoma. Keating served as the 25th Governor of Oklahoma. His first term began in 1995 and ended in 1999...
and Don Nickles
Don Nickles
Donald Lee Nickles is an American businessman and politician who was a Republican United States Senator from Oklahoma from 1981 until 2005. He was a fiscal and social conservative.-Early life:...
. In 2005 McClendon was named one of America's
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
top-performing executives by Forbes Magazine. He was the highest paid CEO at all S&P 500 companies in 2008, receiving a compensation package totaling $112 million, which included a one-time payment of $75 million in recognition of the role he played in developing multiple joint ventures with foreign industry partners, which started a trend of foreign investment in the U.S. natural gas industry that has lowered natural gas costs for consumers and created thousands of new jobs in the natural gas industry. Chesapeake is the largest leasehold owner in the U.S. with approximately 14 million net acres under lease, and owns a Top 2 position in each of the Barnett, Haynesville/Bossier, Marcellus and Utica natural gas plays and in each of the Granite Wash, Cleveland, Tonkawa, Mississippian, Avalon, Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Eagle Ford, Niobrara and Utica oil and natural gas liquids plays.
It was announced on October 10, 2008, that McClendon sold approximately 33.4 million shares, approximately 90% of his stock in Chesapeake Energy (stock symbol CHK), for $16.52 per share to meet a margin call after the drop in the U.S. stock market that week. The stock had been worth as much as $74.00 per share in the year prior to the sale, a loss of nearly $1.92 billion. McClendon was shortly thereafter awarded a controversial one-off $75 million 'Well Cost Incentive Award' by the board of directors. The award was subsequently challenged by way of a shareholder proposal and a number of lawsuits.
In 2010, McClendon began directing the company’s transition toward more balanced production, with the goal of having 50% of its revenues come from oil production by the end of 2013. In 2010, McClendon was a finalist for the Platts Global Energy CEO of the Year Awards, with the company a finalist for awards in the categories of Deal of the Year, Industry Leadership, Energy Producer of the Year and Community Development Program of the Year. Platts
Platts
Platts is a provider of energy and metals information and a source of benchmark price assessments in the physical energy markets. Platts was founded in Cleveland, Ohio in 1909 by Warren C...
also awarded Chesapeake Energy with Producer of the Year and Industry Leadership awards in 2009; and Hydrocarbon Producer of the Year in 2007.
In early 2011, McClendon was named to the Forbes “CEO 20-20 Club,” a group of eight American chief executives who have a minimum of 20 years of service as CEO and produced at least 20% annual returns to shareholders during their tenure.
In November 2011, McClendon was named the Ernst & Young National Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2011 Energy, Cleantech and Natural Resources Award winner. According to the Ernst & Young, McClendon was recognized for redefining Chesapeake’s focus and strategy, taking it from its small-time Oklahoma origins to its current position as the second-largest producer of natural gas and the most active driller of new wells in the U.S.
Natural gas advocacy
McClendon is known as an outspoken advocate for the expanded use of natural gas as a cleaner alternative than oil for transportation fuel and coal electric power generation. On November 14, 2010, McClendon appeared on 60 Minutes60 Minutes
60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
, making a case for natural gas as a clean fuel and a significant job-creating industry. He also defended the natural gas and oil industry’s use of hydraulic fracturing
Hydraulic fracturing
Considerable controversy surrounds the current implementation of hydraulic fracturing technology in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of utilizing pressurized water, or some other liquid, to fracture rock layers and release petroleum, natural gas, or other...
techniques for well completion.
McClendon is the chairman of the board for American Clean Skies Foundation
American Clean Skies Foundation
American Clean Skies Foundation is a 501 nonprofit organization devoted to research and debate on clean energy. ACSF's mission is to promote understanding and discussion of issues related to energy--to expand America's energy options....
, a non-profit foundation that educates the public on clean energy sources. He also is a founding member of America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade organization of independent natural gas producers.
NBA Oklahoma City Thunder
McClendon is affiliated with The Professional Basketball Club LLCProfessional Basketball Club LLC
Professional Basketball Club LLC is an investment group headed by Clayton Bennett that owns the Oklahoma City Thunder and Tulsa 66ers....
(PBC), which owns the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Oklahoma City Thunder are a professional basketball franchise based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. They play in the Northwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ; their home court is at Chesapeake Energy Arena....
club, as a 20% investor.
In 2008, the NBA had fined McClendon $250,000 for comments he made in The (Oklahoma City) Journal Record about his hopes of moving the Seattle Sonics to Oklahoma City. PBC Chairman Clayton Bennett
Clayton Bennett
Clayton "Clay" Ike' Bennett is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder NBA franchise that was formerly the Seattle SuperSonics...
stated that McClendon does not speak for the OKC Thunder franchise (then the Seattle Supersonics) in any official capacity, and therefore was simply stating his own personal opinions. Subsequently, PBC and the City of Seattle settled their disagreements, and the team moved to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season where it was renamed the Thunder and has become one of the NBA’s leaders in attendance and has developed into one of its best young teams, led by 2011 All-Star forward Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant
Kevin Wayne Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association . A 6'9" small forward/shooting guard who is also capable of playing power forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the...
and point guard Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook is an American professional basketball player currently playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. He was drafted by the Thunder's former incarnation, the Seattle SuperSonics, which relocated from Seattle, Washington to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma...
.
Saugatuck Township Settlement
From 2004 to 2006, McClendon bought 400 acres of undeveloped duneland fronting Lake MichiganLake Michigan
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America and the only one located entirely within the United States. It is the second largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron...
in Saugatuck Township, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, for $39.5 million with plans to build luxury homes, 28 condos, a hotel, a marina and a golf course. In 2006, the Saugatuck Township Board rezoned the land, making McClendon unable to build his planned project. The Saugatuck Dunes Coastal Alliance opposes McClendon's plans, citing environmental concerns. In 2009, McClendon sold 171 acres of the land to a conservancy in order to alleviate the group's concerns. In March 2010, McClendon sued the township in federal court to overturn the zoning.
This case was settled and in July 2011, McClendon and the Township Board submitted a proposed Consent Judgment to the court for approval.View the filing.
Other interests
McClendon has been highly involved in the architecture of Chesapeake’s headquarters campus in Oklahoma City as well as his other private building endeavors in Oklahoma City. Working exclusively with Oklahoma City-based award-winning architect Rand Elliott, Chesapeake’s 50-acre Oklahoma City headquarters campus has won more than 24 national and international design awards since 2003.Between 2000-04, McClendon donated $700,000 to a variety of Republican candidates and conservative interest groups. Most notable of these was a $250,000 donation to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth
Swift Vets and POWs for Truth
Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, formerly known as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth , was a political group of United States Swift boat veterans and former prisoners of war of the Vietnam War, formed during the 2004 presidential election campaign for the purpose of opposing John Kerry's candidacy...
, a group whose purpose was to oppose John Kerry's candidacy for the presidency in 2004. McClendon's donation made him the eighth-largest contributor to the group. In 2006, McClendon announced that he would no longer make personal contributions to advocacy groups involved in political elections.
In 2007 McClendon bought several full-page ads supporting the Duke men's lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
team in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case. The case was ultimately dismissed, and the Durham County prosecutor who brought the case was forced to resign and was disbarred.
McClendon is one of the nation’s 100 largest land owners according the magazine Land Report and is the largest investor in Bloomington, Indiana-based ProCure Treatment Centers, the world's leader in commercializing a revolutionary cancer treatment using proton therapy.
He also is owner of the iconic POPS restaurant located on historic Route 66 in Arcadia, Oklahoma, which features the world's largest collection (more than 500 varieties) of soda pops for sale at one site. POPS has won numerous architectural awards and has been featured in a wide variety of magazines and television shows since it opened in 2007.
In addition, McClendon is noted for his philanthropic generosity, having donated more than $75 million in the past 15 years to a variety of institutions, most notable of which have been Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in Durham, N.C.; Heritage Hall and Casady
Casady School
Casady School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory school located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma founded in 1947 by Bishop Thomas Casady and the Episcopal Diocese of Oklahoma. Casady serves children in grades pre-kindergarten through 12th. Casady believes in educating mind, body, and...
college preparatory private high schools in Oklahoma City, and the University of Oklahoma
University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...
, where in 2008 the university’s Honors College was named in honor of his parents.