TULSA, Okla., May 25, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ONEOK, Inc.
(NYSE: OKE) president and chief executive officer, Terry K. Spencer, announced today that he will
retire on September 30, 2021, after
20 years with the company, including more than seven years as
president and CEO.
Pierce H. Norton II, currently
president and chief executive officer of ONE Gas, Inc. (NYSE: OGS)
will succeed Spencer as president and CEO of ONEOK on June 28, 2021, at which time he will also join
the ONEOK Board. Spencer will remain in his current role until
Norton rejoins ONEOK, at which time he will become an Advisor to
Norton, allowing for a smooth leadership transition. Spencer will
continue as a member of the ONEOK board of directors until his
retirement.
"The Board of Directors and I would like to thank Terry for his
leadership as our CEO these past seven years and his dedication to
ONEOK these last two decades," said John W.
Gibson, Chair of the ONEOK Board of Directors. "Under
Terry's leadership, the company has experienced tremendous growth
and success, even through unprecedented challenges, and is well
positioned for years to come."
Spencer expressed his appreciation to ONEOK's employees for
their dedication and the Board for its guidance and support. "It is
the interaction with my management team, employees, directors,
investors, industry associates and key stakeholders that I will
miss." Congratulating Norton on his selection, Spencer stated, "I
have known Pierce for the better part of four decades and worked
closely with him during his prior 10 years here at ONEOK. His
extensive operational and commercial expertise in the midstream
business and sound business judgment will be a great asset to the
company, and his proven CEO experience have prepared him for this
role."
Today's announcement was the result of an ongoing succession
planning process, which was led by the company's lead independent
director, Julie Edwards. "Pierce's
CEO experience, his familiarity with the people and culture of
ONEOK, and his understanding of the natural gas and natural gas
liquids business were highly valued by the Board," said Edwards.
ONEOK Directors who also serve on the ONE Gas Board of Directors
recused themselves from the selection of Norton.
"I want to thank Julie Edwards
and the other independent directors for the work they have done in
the succession process," Gibson said. "It was a challenge to
navigate this process in the midst of a pandemic and with the
recusal of myself and the other ONE Gas directors, but Julie led a
very effective process with the same degree of diligence and
professionalism that we have seen her demonstrate for
years."
Gibson continued, "I have seen Pierce's leadership when he was
an executive at ONEOK, watched him grow as the CEO of ONE Gas, and
I'm excited to see him bring his talents and abilities back to
ONEOK."
Pierce H. Norton
II
Pierce H. Norton II is president
and chief executive officer of ONE Gas, Inc. and serves as a member
of the ONE Gas board.
Norton previously worked for ONEOK for almost 10 years having
joined the company in 2004. Prior to the separation of ONE
Gas in January 2014,
Norton served as executive vice president, commercial,
of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners.
His other roles at ONEOK included, executive vice president and
chief operating officer of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners,
responsible for the company's natural gas gathering and processing,
natural gas pipelines, natural gas liquids, natural gas
distribution and energy services business segments. Norton
also held the position as president of ONEOK Distribution Companies
– Oklahoma Natural Gas,
Kansas Gas Service and Texas Gas Service.
Norton began his natural gas industry career in 1982 at Delhi
Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Texas Oil and Gas Corporation.
He later worked for American Oil and Gas with operational
responsibilities for natural gas gathering and processing, and for
intrastate and interstate pipelines. He then worked for KN Energy
as vice president and general manager of the Heartland Region,
before moving to Bear Paw Energy as vice president of business
development. In 2002, he was named president of Bear Paw Energy,
now ONEOK Rockies Midstream.
Norton is a member of the American Gas Association's ("AGA")
board of directors, and served as the chairman of the AGA board in
2017. He also is a board member of the Tulsa Community
Foundation and currently serves as the chair of the audit
committee. Lastly, concerning current boards, Norton is a
director of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice. He
is a past board member of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of
America, the Texas Pipeline Association, the North Dakota Petroleum
Council and the Western Alliance.
An Alabama native, Norton earned a Bachelor of Science
degree in mechanical engineering in 1982 from the University
of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He also is a graduate
of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management
Program.
Terry K.
Spencer
Terry Spencer has served as
president, chief executive officer and director of ONEOK since
January 30, 2014, when ONEOK
separated its natural gas distribution business into the
stand-alone publicly traded entity, ONE Gas, Inc. Spencer
previously served as president and CEO of both ONEOK and ONEOK
Partners until June 30, 2017 when
ONEOK finalized the merger with ONEOK Partners.
Spencer joined ONEOK in 2001. Prior to his term as president and
CEO, Spencer served in increasing levels of responsibility at
ONEOK, including as president of ONEOK and ONEOK
Partners and as a member of the ONEOK Partners board of
directors. As did Norton, Spencer began his natural gas industry
career at Delhi Gas Pipeline in 1982.
Spencer earned a Bachelor of Science degree in petroleum
engineering in 1981 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
ONEOK, Inc. (pronounced ONE-OAK) (NYSE: OKE) is a leading
midstream service provider and owner of one of the nation's premier
natural gas liquids (NGL) systems, connecting NGL supply in the
Rocky Mountain, Mid-Continent and Permian regions with key market
centers and an extensive network of natural gas gathering,
processing, storage and transportation assets.
ONEOK is a FORTUNE 500 company and is included in S&P 500.
For information about ONEOK, visit the website: www.oneok.com.
For the latest news about ONEOK, find us on LinkedIn, Instagram,
Facebook and Twitter.
Some of the statements contained and incorporated in this news
release are forward-looking statements as defined under federal
securities laws. The forward-looking statements relate to our
anticipated financial performance (including projected levels of
quarterly and annual dividends), liquidity, market conditions and
other matters. We make these forward-looking statements in reliance
on the safe harbor protections provided under federal securities
laws and other applicable laws.
Forward-looking statements include the items identified in the
preceding paragraph, the information concerning possible or assumed
future results of our operations and other statements contained or
incorporated in this news release identified by words such as
"anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect,"
"forecast," "goal," "guidance," "intend," "may," "might," "plan,"
"potential," "project," "scheduled," "should," "will," "would" and
other words and terms of similar meaning.
One should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors may cause our actual results, performance or achievements
to be materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by forward-looking statements.
Those factors may affect our operations, markets, products,
services and prices. These and other risks are described in greater
detail in Item 1A, Risk Factors, in our most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and in the other filings that we make with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which are available on
the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. All forward-looking statements
attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly
qualified in their entirety by these factors. Any such
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such
statement is made, and, other than as required under securities
laws, we undertake no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statement whether as a result of new information,
subsequent events or change in circumstances, expectations or
otherwise.
Analyst
Contact:
|
Megan
Patterson
|
|
918-561-5325
|
Media
Contact:
|
Brad
Borror
|
|
918-588-7582
|
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SOURCE ONEOK, Inc.