BOARD OF DIRECTORS
C. Scott Bartlett, Jr. Ralph F. Cox Franklin A. Burke Dennis E. Logue Harold D. Carter Paul A. Powell, Jr. Brian L. Melton Edward P. Russell
Audit Committee Compensation Committee Nominating & Governance Committee
Robert L.G. Watson, has served Chairman of the Board, President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of Abraxas since founding the Company in 1977. Prior to forming Abraxas, Mr. Watson was associated with the independent reservoir engineering firm of DeGolyer and MacNaughton and Tesoro Petroleum Corporation in various engineering, operations, administrative and management positions, including Assistant to the President of Tesoro Exploration and Production Company. Mr. Watson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Southern Methodist University in 1972 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 1974.
C. Scott Bartlett, Jr., a director of Abraxas since December 1999, has over 50 years of commercial banking experience, the most recent being with National Westminster Bank USA (prior to being acquired by Bank of America), ultimately serving as Executive Vice President, Senior Lending Officer and Chairman of the Credit Policy Committee. Mr. Bartlett attended Princeton University, and has a certificate in Advanced Management from Pennsylvania State University.
Franklin A. Burke, a director of Abraxas since June 1992, has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Burke, Lawton, Brewer & Burke, a securities brokerage firm, since 1964, as President of Venture Securities Corporation since 1971, and as President, Director of Research and Portfolio Management of BLB&B Advisors, LLC, since 2006. Mr. Burke also serves as Trustee and Treasurer of The Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades. Mr. Burke received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University in 1955, a Masters degree in Finance from University of Colorado in 1960 and studied at the graduate level at the London School of Economics from 1962 to 1963.
Harold D. Carter, a director of Abraxas since October 2003, has over 40 years of experience in the oil and gas industry and has been an independent consultant since 1990. Prior to consulting, Mr. Carter served as Executive Vice President of Pacific Enterprises Oil Company (USA). Before that, Mr. Carter was associated for 20 years with Sabine Corporation, ultimately serving as President and Chief Operating Officer from 1986 to 1989. Mr. Carter currently serves as a director of Brigham Exploration Company, a publicly traded oil and gas company, and Longview Energy Company, a privately-owned oil and gas exploration and production company. Mr. Carter also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. Mr. Carter received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Texas and completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard University Business School. Mr. Carter was a director of Abraxas from 1996 to 1999 and served as an advisory director from 1999 to October 2003.
Ralph F. Cox, a director of Abraxas since December 1999, has over 50 years of oil and gas industry experience, over 30 of which was with ARCO. Mr. Cox retired from ARCO in 1985 after serving as Vice Chairman. Mr. Cox then joined Union Pacific Resources, retiring in 1989 as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Cox then joined Greenhill Petroleum Corporation as President until leaving in 1994 to pursue a consulting business. Mr. Cox currently serves on the board of CH2M Hill Companies, an engineering and construction firm, and as a trustee for the Fidelity Mutual Funds. Mr. Cox also serves as a director of Validus International, a company specializing in oil field drilling tools, as a director of World GTL Inc., a gas-to-liquids production facility, as a director of E-T Energy Ltd., a Canadian oil sands extraction company, and as an advisory director of Impact Petroleum, an oil and gas exploration and production company. Mr. Cox received Bachelor of Science degrees in Petroleum Engineering and Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and completed advanced studies at Emory University.
Dennis E. Logue, a director of Abraxas since April 2003, has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of Ledyard National Bank since August 2005. Mr. Logue served as Dean and Fred E. Brown Chair at the Michael F. Price College of Business at the University of Oklahoma from 2001 through September 2005. Prior to joining Price College, Mr. Logue was the Steven Roth Professor at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth College where he had been since 1974. Mr. Logue currently serves as a director of Waddell & Reed Financial, Inc., a national financial services organization, and Duckwall-ALCO Stores, Inc., a general merchandise retailer serving smaller, hometown communities. Mr. Logue also serves on the board of Hypertherm, a privately-owned company specializing in plasma cutting tools and technology, and as a Trustee of the Montshire Museum of Science. Mr. Logue holds degrees from Fordham College, Rutgers, and Cornell University.
Paul A. Powell, Jr., a director of Abraxas since August 2005, has served as Vice President and Director of Mechanical Development Co., Inc. a maker of precision production machine parts, since 1984. Mr. Powell is a managing partner of Claytor Equity Partners, Cortland Partners, JWM Partners, Emory Partners, Burnett Partners and President of Somerset Investments, Ltd. Mr. Powell is also manager of Westpoint (2002) LLC and WMP Properties LLC, and co-manager of Wessex LLC. Mr. Powell also serves on the board of the Blue Ridge Mountain Council, Boy Scouts of America, and as trustee for numerous charitable trusts. Mr. Powell attended Emory and Henry College and graduated from National Business College with a degree in Accounting. Mr. Powell previously served as director of Abraxas from 1987 to 1999 and as an advisory director from 1999 to August 2005.
Brian L. Melton, a director of Abraxas since October 2009, has served as Vice President of Corporate Strategy of Inergy, L.P. (Nasdaq: NRGY), a publicly traded limited partnership that specializes in retail propane distribution and midstream processing and storage facilities since September 2008. Prior to joining Inergy, Mr. Melton was a Director in the Energy Corporate Investment Banking groups of Wachovia Securities and A.G. Edwards and Director of Finance & Corporate Planning with TransMontaigne Inc. Mr. Melton received a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and a Master of Business Administration degree from Arkansas State University.
Edward P. Russell, a director of Abraxas since October 2009, currently serves as the President of Tortoise Capital Resources Corp. and Tortoise Gas and Oil Corp. Prior to joining Tortoise, Mr. Russell was a Managing Director at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. where he headed the Energy and Power group. Prior to Stifel, Mr. Russell served as an investment banker at Pauli & Company, Inc. and Arch Capital, LLC and a commercial banker with Magna Bank and Southside National Bank. Mr. Russell attended Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri.