Dallas, TX (SMU), April 10, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Maguire Energy Institute at SMU Cox School of Business presented Tim Leach, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Concho Resources Inc., with the L. Frank Pitts Energy Leadership Award at a sold-out luncheon ceremony April 9 on the SMU campus. At the same event, two iconic oil industry entrepreneurs and longtime supporters of SMU, Bobby B. Lyle and Cary M. Maguire, were honored with the Maguire Energy Institute Pioneer Award.
The Maguire Institute's Energy Leadership Award Committee considers long-term impact to the energy industry as a key factor when it selects oil and gas leaders for both awards. The Pitts Energy Leadership Award is presented annually to an individual who exemplifies a spirit of ethical industry leadership. The committee identifies industry trailblazers as Pioneer Award recipients.
“Throughout his career, Tim Leach has exhibited the same kind of consistent company leadership, industry leadership and innovation that Frank Pitts is remembered for, and we’re proud to present Tim with this year’s Pitts Energy Leadership Award,” said Bruce Bullock, director of the Maguire Energy Institute. "We are also pleased to present our Pioneer Award to Cary Maguire, the benefactor of the Maguire Energy Institute and Bobby Lyle, the benefactor of SMU's Lyle School of Engineering. We are grateful for their philanthropy and foresight in helping create learning opportunities for tomorrow's leaders. Both of these men have made big differences in the energy industry, at SMU and in the lives of many of our students. They have made an indelible mark on the future in innumerable ways."
Leach, this year’s Pitts Energy Leadership honoree, has led Concho—one of the largest unconventional shale producers in the Permian Basin—since it was formed in 2004. Previously, he led other Permian Basin focused energy companies, including privately held predecessors to Concho, and served in various positions with Parker & Parsley, including executive vice president. Leach holds a Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business Administration from The University of Texas of the Permian Basin. He is active with both of his university alma maters, as well as the broader community and has won numerous service awards. In 2011, he was the recipient of the 2011 “Top Hand Award” from the Permian Basin Petroleum Association and was inducted into the Petroleum Museum Hall of Fame in 2013. He was appointed as a member of the Board of Regents of Texas A&M by Governor Greg Abbott in 2017.
Pioneer Award co-honoree Bobby Lyle, founder and chairman, Lyco Holdings Incorporated, is an entrepreneur, engineer, educator, business executive, philanthropist and community leader. Arriving in Dallas in 1963, he began his professional career as a structural test engineer. Upon completion of his Master of Science degree in Engineering at SMU in 1967, he joined the faculty of what is now the Cox School of Business. There he served as dean ad interim and subsequently executive dean before leaving to complete his Doctor of Education degree with an emphasis on strategic planning and leadership at UMass-Amherst. He returned to Dallas in 1976 to enter the oil and gas industry and developed a multifaceted career, starting and leading businesses in industries including energy, real estate, technology and telemarketing. He is very active in the Dallas nonprofit community as a philanthropist and board member in the Dallas nonprofit community. A member of the SMU Board of Trustees for more than 29 years, he has served as chair or vice chair of numerous university standing committees and boards, including the Maguire Energy Institute and the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility.
Cary Maguire, fellow Pioneer Award honoree, is chair and president of Maguire Oil Company and Maguire Energy Company and chair of Components Corporation of America and Staco Inc., California. His service and dedication to SMU and the energy industry is long and faithful. He is trustee emeritus of SMU, an honor that reflects his outstanding service to the University as a member of the Board of Trustees from 1976 to 2000. His generosity helped create the Maguire Energy Institute, the Maguire Chair in oil and gas management and the Maguire building (housing undergraduate programs) in the Cox School of Business, as well as the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility. He was a member of the Executive Committee for the Campaign for SMU. Maguire was co-chair of the Cox School Campaign Committee. His other SMU leadership positions have included service as the chair of Cox School of Business Executive Board, the Maguire Energy Institute Advisory Board, the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility Advisory Board and much more. In 1995, Maguire and his wife, Ann, were among the first recipients of SMU's Mustang Award, which honors individuals whose longtime service and philanthropy have had a lasting impact on the University.
Tim Leach is the ninth recipient of the L. Frank Pitts Energy Leadership Award. The first award was presented in 2010 to Ray L. Hunt, chairman and CEO of Hunt Oil Company and chairman, CEO and president of Hunt Consolidated, Inc. The 2011 recipient was J. Larry Nichols, now retired co-founder and executive chairman of Devon Energy Corporation. Mark Papa, now retired chairman and CEO of EOG Resources, Inc., received the award in 2012. Scott Sheffield, chairman and CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources Company, was the 2013 honoree. In December 2014, the Pitts Award was presented to David Miller, co-founder and managing partner of EnCap Investments, L.P. Former U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was honored in January of 2016, while he was still serving as chairman and CEO of ExxonMobil. Trevor Rees-Jones, founder and CEO of Dallas-based Chief Oil & Gas LLC, was honored in 2017 and Greg Armstrong, CEO of Plains All American Pipeline LLC, received the award last year.
The Maguire Energy Institute Pioneer Award was first presented in 2011. Three iconic Texas oilmen were honored that year, including retired oil and gas executive John Harbin, who served as CEO of two different energy companies and chairman of the third one. Louis A. Beecherl, Jr., former chairman and president of the Texas Oil & Gas Corporation (which eventually merged with U.S. Steel Corporation) and William P. Clements, Jr., who co-founded Southeastern Drilling Company Inc. (SEDCO) and eventually served two nonconsecutive terms as Texas governor, were both honored posthumously. Edwin L. Cox, who spent his career in oil and gas exploration and became the benefactor of the Cox School in 1978, received the Pioneer Award in 2012. Forrest Hoglund, retired chairman and CEO of EOG Resources and current chairman and CEO of SeaOne Holdings LLC, was the fifth legendary industry figure to receive the honor. Legendary Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens became the sixth Pioneer Award recipient in 2018.
The L. Frank Pitts Energy Leadership Award was created in 2010 to honor the legacy of Texas oilman and independent oil and natural gas producer L. Frank Pitts, who participated in the drilling of more than 3,000 wells over almost seven decades. The late oilman served as a member of the Maguire Energy Institute Advisory Board. Pitts’ daughter, SMU alumna Linda Pitts Custard (BA ’60, EMBA ’99), is a former member of the SMU Board of Trustees, and she serves on the Award Event Committee for the Pitts Energy Leadership Award Luncheon.
The annual Pitts Energy Leadership Award event raises funds to support the Maguire Energy Institute, named in honor of oilman and co-founder Cary M. Maguire, as well as BBA and MBA scholarships for students with degree concentrations in energy. A portion of the proceeds raised by this year’s event will help support the educational goals of two SMU Cox students. The BBA Scholarship recipient is Southern California native Johnny Blumberg, a senior BBA finance major, concentrating in energy. A past president of the SMU Cox BBA Energy Club, Blumberg participates in the SMU Spindletop Student Managed Energy Investment Fund. Upon graduation, he’ll be going to work for Concho Resources in Midland, Texas. MBA recipient and SMU MBA Energy Club President Will Zach Hodge is a second year MBA concentrating in energy finance. He is also a Kyle D. Miller Energy Scholar recipient at the Cox School. Upon completion of his MBA, Hodge will work for Caiman Energy in Dallas.
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About SMU Cox
The SMU Cox School of Business, established in 1920, is committed to influencing the way the world conducts business via prolific research that provokes innovation, change and global thought leadership. The Cox School of Business offers a full range of business education programs including BBA, Full-Time MBA, Professional MBA (part-time) and Master’s degree programs, as well as Executive Education. Consistently ranked among the world’s leading business schools, SMU Cox maintains an active alumni network in more than 80 countries. SMU Cox is accredited by AACSB.
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