Board of Directors
Steven West
Chairman
Mr. West has served as the Chairman of the Board of our general partner since May 2019, and as a director and Chairman of the general partner of Viper Energy Partners LP since February 2014. Mr. West has also served as a director of Diamondback since December 2011 and as its Chairman of the Board since October 2012. He served as Diamondback’s Chief Executive Officer from January 2009 to December 2011. From January 2011 until December 2016, Mr. West was a partner at Wexford Capital LP, focusing on Wexford’s private equity energy investments. From August 2006 until December 2010, Mr. West served as senior portfolio advisor at Wexford. From August 2003 until August 2006, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Sunterra Corporation, a former Wexford portfolio company. From December 1993 until July 2003, Mr. West held senior financial positions at Coast Asset Management and IndyMac Bank. Prior to that, he worked at First Nationwide Bank, Lehman Brothers and Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co., the predecessor of KPMG LLP. Mr. West earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from California State University, Chico.
Travis Stice
CEO
Mr. Stice has served as Chief Executive Officer and a director of our general partner since July 2018. He has served as Chief Executive Officer of Diamondback since January 2012 and as a director since November 2012. Mr. Stice has also served as the Chief Executive Officer and a director of the general partner of Viper since February 2014. Prior to his current positions with us, Diamondback and Viper, he served as Diamondback’s President and Chief Operating Officer from April 2011 to January 2012. Mr. Stice has also served on the board of managers of MidMar Gas LLC, or MidMar, an entity that owns a gas gathering system and processing plant, since 2011 and as Vice President and Secretary of MidMar since April 2012. From November 2010 to April 2011, Mr. Stice served as a Production Manager of Apache Corporation, an oil and gas exploration company. Mr. Stice served as a Vice President of Laredo Petroleum Holdings, Inc., an oil and gas exploration and production company, from September 2008 to September 2010 and as a Development Manager of ConocoPhillips/Burlington Resources Mid-Continent Business Unit, an oil and gas exploration company, from April 2006 until August 2008. Prior to that, Mr. Stice held a series of positions of increasing responsibilities at Burlington Resources, most recently as a General Manager, Engineering, Operations and Business Reporting of its Mid Continent Division from January 2001 until Burlington Resources’ acquisition by ConocoPhillips in March 2006. He started his career with Mobil Oil in 1985. Mr. Stice has 37 years of industry experience in production operations, reservoir engineering, production engineering and unconventional oil and gas exploration and over 28 years of management experience. Mr. Stice graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering. Mr. Stice is a registered engineer in the State of Texas, and is a 37-year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He also serves on industry boards for the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, American Exploration and Production Council, the National Petroleum Council, the Texas A&M Petroleum Engineering Advisory Board, the All-American Wildcatters and the American Petroleum Institute. Additionally, he is on local community boards for Manor Park Retirement Center in Midland, the Midland Memorial Hospital, the Midland Chamber of Commerce and the Dynamic Catholic Institute.
Kaes Van’t Hof
President
Mr. Van’t Hof has served as President and a director of our general partner since July 2018. He has served as Diamondback’s Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Business Development since March 2019 after joining Diamondback in July 2016 as Vice President and serving as its Senior Vice President-Strategy and Corporate Development from February 2017 to February 2019. Mr. Van’t Hof has also served as the President of the general partner of Viper Energy Partners LP since March 2017. Prior to his positions with our general partner, Diamondback and Viper’s general partner, Mr. Van’t Hof served as Chief Executive Officer for Bison Drilling and Field Services from September 2012 to June 2016. From August 2011 to August 2012, Mr. Van’t Hof was an analyst for Wexford Capital, LP responsible for developing operating models and business plans, including for Diamondback’s initial public offering, and before that worked for the Investment Banking-Financial Institutions Group of Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. from February 2010 to August 2011. Mr. Van’t Hof was a professional tennis player from May 2008 to January 2010. Mr. Van’t Hof received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Business Administration from the University of Southern California.
Laurie Argo
Director
Ms. Argo is a director of our general partner. Since August 2018, Ms. Argo has served as a director of EVRAZ plc, a multinational, vertically integrated steel making and mining company. From January 2015 until September 2017, Ms. Argo served as Senior Vice President of Enterprise Products Holdings LLC, the general partner of Enterprise Products Partners L.P., a midstream natural gas and crude oil pipeline company. From January 2014 to January 2015, Ms. Argo was Vice President, NGL Fractionation, Storage and Unregulated Pipelines of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. From October 2014 to February 2015, Ms. Argo was President and Chief Executive Officer of OTLP GP, LLC, the general partner of Oiltanking Partners, L.P. and an affiliate of Enterprise Products Partners L.P. From 2005 to January 2014, Ms. Argo held various positions in the NGL and Natural Gas Processing businesses for Enterprise Products Partners L.P., where her responsibilities included the commercial and financial management of four joint venture companies. From 2001 to 2004, Ms. Argo worked for San Diego Gas and Electric Company in San Diego, California, and PG&E Gas Transmission, a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation, in Houston, Texas, from 1997 to 2000. Ms. Argo earned an MBA from National University in La Jolla, California and graduated from St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas with a degree in Accounting. Ms. Argo has over 20 years of experience in the energy industry.
Arturo Vivar
Director
Mr. Vivar is a director of our general partner. Mr. Vivar has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Monterra Energy Holdings LLC, a midstream development company, since May 2015. Mr. Vivar was also a founder and served as the Chief Financial Officer of Rangeland Energy, LLC, a midstream development company, from November 2009 to March 2013. Prior to that, Mr. Vivar served as the Vice President of Business Development at WesPac Energy, LLC from July 2004 to February 2009, where he focused on developing energy infrastructure, hedging and risk management. Mr. Vivar has more than 25 years of experience in the energy industry. Mr. Vivar received his Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Polytechnic University and earned his Master of Business Administration degree from Stanford University.