Management Team
Will Hickey
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Hickey has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a Director since September 2022. Prior to that, he co-founded Colgate Energy with Mr. Walter in 2015 and served as Colgate’s President & Co-Chief Executive Officer and a member of Colgate’s Board of Managers. Prior to the formation of Colgate, Mr. Hickey worked for the energy private equity firm EnCap Investments where he evaluated and monitored investments across the oil and gas space with a focus on the Permian Basin. Prior to that, Mr. Hickey worked for Pioneer Natural Resources where he rotated through numerous engineering positions including Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Hickey received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Mr. Hickey also holds a Masters of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.
James Walter
Co-Chief Executive Officer
Mr. Walter has served as our Co-Chief Executive Officer and a Director since September 2022. Prior to that, he co-founded Colgate Energy with Mr. Hickey in 2015 and served as Colgate’s President & Co-Chief Executive Officer and as a member of Colgate’s Board of Managers. Prior to the formation of Colgate, Mr. Walter worked for the energy private equity firm Denham Capital where he evaluated and monitored investments across the oil and gas space with a focus on the Permian Basin. Prior to that, Mr. Walter worked for Boston Consulting Group, primarily focusing on evaluating upstream assets for leading exploration and production companies. Mr. Walter received his Bachelor of Arts in the Plan II Honors Program and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Guy Oliphint
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Oliphint has served as our Chief Financial Officer since March 2023. Most recently, he served as the company’s Executive Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Permian Resources in January 2023, Mr. Oliphint was Managing Director and Co-Head of Upstream Americas with Jefferies LLC in the Energy Investment Banking Group since 2018, having joined the firm in 2003. Mr. Oliphint brings nearly two decades of experience advising upstream energy companies on financial and strategic decisions, including multiple engagements with Colgate and Centennial, the predecessor companies of Permian Resources. Mr. Oliphint graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.B.A. in Business Honors and Finance.
John Bell
Executive Vice President and General Counsel
Mr. Bell has served as our General Counsel since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Commercial at Colgate Energy. From August 2017 until he assumed the Senior Vice President role in January 2021, he served as Colgate’s Vice President and General Counsel. Prior to that, Mr. Bell practiced law at Vinson & Elkins LLP in the corporate group focusing on mergers, acquisitions, and private equity transactions in the oil and gas space. Mr. Bell received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin. He received his J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law, as well as his Master of Business Administration from the University of Texas at Austin.
Brandon Gaynor
Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy
Mr. Gaynor has served as our Executive Vice President of Business Development and Strategy since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at Colgate Energy. Prior to joining Colgate in 2016, Mr. Gaynor worked at Concho Resources in numerous roles including Land Lead for the Southern Delaware Basin and the New Mexico Shelf. Mr. Gaynor also has experience as an independent landman in Midland, Texas, where he focused on title, leasing, and due diligence for oil and gas properties in the Permian Basin. Mr. Gaynor received his Bachelor of Arts from Baylor University and his J.D. from Indiana University - Bloomington.
Robert Shannon
Executive Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer
Mr. Shannon has served as our Executive Vice President of Corporate Services since September 2022. Previously, he served as Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of Colgate Energy since March 2016. Prior to that, Mr. Shannon served as the Controller of Burnett Petroleum, an independent oil and gas exploration company focused on domestic onshore operations. Mr. Shannon has also previously worked in the Audit Group of KPMG LLP, primarily focused on upstream oil and gas companies. Mr. Shannon received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Business Honors Program and his Master in Professional Accounting from the University of Texas at Austin.
Ryan Gitomer
Senior Vice President of Finance
Mr. Gitomer has served as our Senior Vice President of Finance since March 2024. Most recently, he served as the company’s Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Permian Resources in May 2023, Mr. Gitomer spent his career at Jefferies LLC in roles of increasing responsibility. He was a senior member of the Energy Investment Banking Group where he had over a decade of experience advising on and executing strategic and financial transactions for corporate energy clients and financial sponsors.
Casey McCain
Senior Vice President of Production Operations
Mr. McCain has served as our Senior Vice President of Production Operations since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as Senior Vice President, Operations of Colgate Energy, serving the company in various roles since August 2016. Prior to that, Mr. McCain served as Senior Production Engineer at Matador. He also served in numerous operational and reservoir engineering roles at Encana Corporation and as a Mewbourne Oil Company Drilling Engineer. Mr. McCain received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas Tech University.
Clayton Smith
Senior Vice President of Development Operations
Mr. Smith has served as our Senior Vice President of Development Operations since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Operations of Centennial Resource Development. He joined Centennial in April 2017 as Senior Completions Engineer and was promoted to Completions Manager in January 2018 and Vice President of Operations in November 2018. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Completion Engineer for EOG Resources, Inc. in the Midland Division, working on EOG’s completion activities in Reeves County, Texas, and Lea and Eddy Counties, New Mexico. Prior to that, Mr. Smith worked in EOG’s Corpus Christi Division in production, drilling, and completion engineering roles, with a focus on South Texas conventional assets. Mr. Smith received his Bachelor of Science in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.
Kyle Bowzer
Vice President of Engineering
Mr. Kyle Bowzer has served as our Vice President of Engineering since August 2024. Prior to that, he served as Division Reservoir Engineering Manager of EOG Resources, serving the company in various leadership, corporate planning and technical roles since 2011. Mr. Bowzer brings over a decade of experience across multiple unconventional plays including the Delaware Basin, Williston Basin, Powder River Basin, DJ Basin, East Texas Basin, and the Eagle Ford. Mr. Bowzer received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Masters in Petroleum Engineering from Texas A&M University. Mr. Bowzer also received his Masters in Business Administration from Creighton University.
Michelle Collette
Vice President of Human Resources
Ms. Collette has served as our Vice President of Human Resources since April 2024. In this capacity, she leads the team of human resources professionals responsible for Strategic Talent Management, Talent Acquisition, Compensation, Benefits and Payroll. Prior to joining Permian Resources. Ms. Collette was with Marathon Oil since January 2014 and held various leadership positions within Human Resources. Ms. Collette brings over a decade of Human Resources experience in the oil and gas industry, including domestic US and international operations. Ms. Collette graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science in Human Resource Development and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management.
Will Ellison
Vice President of Marketing and Midstream
Mr. Ellison has served as our Vice President of Marketing and Midstream since August 2024. Prior to joining Permian Resources, Mr. Ellison worked in numerous roles and commodities for Enterprise Products Partners, most recently as Vice President of Permian Crude Oil. Mr. Ellison graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from TCU and has his Master of Science in Global Energy Management from the University of Colorado Denver.
Patrick Godwin
Vice President of Land
Mr. Godwin has served as our Vice President of Land since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as Vice President of Land of Colgate Energy. From February 2017 until he assumed the Vice President role in June 2021, he served as Colgate’s Land Manager. Prior to joining Colgate in 2017, Mr. Godwin served as a Senior Landman at Concho Resources where he worked various assets across the company’s Midland and Delaware Basin properties. Mr. Godwin received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Energy Commerce from Texas Tech University.
Hays Mabry
Vice President of Investor Relations
Mr. Mabry has served as our Vice President of Investor Relations (“IR”) since April 2024. Most recently, he served as the Company’s Sr. Director of IR. Prior to that, he served in a similar role at Centennial Resource Development, having joined the Company in November 2016 as Director of IR. Mr. Mabry has over a decade of IR experience, previously working at WildHorse Resources, Memorial Resource Development and LINN Energy. His prior experience includes working in the Equity Research Department at Wells Fargo Securities and in the Investment Banking Group at Morgan Keegan & Company. He graduated from Southern Methodist University with a B.B.A. in Business Administration from the Cox School of Business and a B.S. in Political Science. Mr. Mabry also holds a Master of Business Administration from Rice University.
Sergio Ojeda
Vice President of Geosciences
Mr. Ojeda has served as our VP of Geosciences since September 2022. Prior to that, he served as VP of Geosciences for Colgate Energy. Prior to Colgate Energy, Mr. Ojeda served as Sr. Geoscientist for True Oil Company a private equity backed start-up out of Midland TX. Mr. Ojeda started his career with Concho Resources focusing on asset development in both Midland and Delaware Basins. Mr. Ojeda received his Bachelor of Arts in both Music and Geology and a Masters in Geosciences, all from Texas Tech University.
Charles Osborn
Vice President and Chief Information Officer
Mr. Osborn has served as our VP & Chief Information Officer since May 2024. Prior to that, he served as Chief Information Security Officer for Pioneer Natural Resources. Charles has 20+ years’ experience leading Information Technology teams for both E&P and Midstream companies. He is an active member of oil and gas IT community and an Alumni of the FBI Cybersecurity Academy. Mr. Osborn received his Master of Science in Energy Management from Oklahoma City University.