Tulsa, Ok., USA - December 21, 2009, Tulsa, Ok., USA - ONEOK, a diversified energy company, announced that CEO John W. Gibson will assume the additional role of president. At the same time, ONEOK Partners elected Mr. Gibson, chairman and CEO, to the additional role of president of the partnership, both effective January 1, 2010.
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In addition, Terry K. Spencer, chief operating officer of ONEOK Partners, was elected to the board of directors of the general partner of ONEOK Partners. The company also announced that on January 1, 2010 James C. Kneale will retire from the ONEOK Partners board and from the position of president of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners.
Mr. Kneale became president of ONEOK Partners and ONEOK in July 2009, after serving as president and chief operating officer of ONEOK since 2007 and of ONEOK Partners since 2008, where he also served as a director. He joined ONEOK in 1981 as vice president of accounting and moved to Oklahoma Natural Gas as vice president of accounting in 1992.
Mr. Kneale served in various executive operating and finance positions until being named president of Oklahoma Natural Gas in 1997, holding that post until 1999 when he became chief financial officer of ONEOK.
Mr. Kneale earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting in 1973 from West Texas A&M in Canyon, and completed advanced studies at Harvard University.
Mr. Gibson became chief executive officer of ONEOK in January 2007 and chairman and chief executive officer of ONEOK Partners in October 2006 after serving as president and chief operating officer of ONEOK Partners. He is a member of the boards of directors of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners.
Prior to joining ONEOK in 2000, Mr. Gibson was the executive vice president of Koch Energy, Inc., a subsidiary of Koch Industries, responsible for its interstate natural gas pipelines and gathering and processing businesses.[break]
Mr. Gibson began his career in the energy industry in 1974 as a refinery engineer with Exxon Company, USA and beginning in 1977 spent 18 years with Phillips Petroleum Company in a variety of domestic and international positions in the natural gas, natural gas liquids and exploration and production businesses.
Mr. Gibson earned an engineering degree in 1974 from the University of Missouri at Rolla, now called Missouri University of Science and Technology. He has also completed advanced studies at Harvard University.
Mr. Spencer became chief operating officer of ONEOK Partners in 2009 and is responsible for its three operating segments - natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas pipelines and natural gas liquids. From 2007 to 2009, he was executive vice president of ONEOK, with responsibilities for ONEOK Partner's natural gas liquids gathering and fractionation, and pipeline segments, as well as ONEOK's energy services segment.
He joined the company in 2001 as project development director for natural gas gathering and processing. Later, he served as vice president - gas supply and project development in the gathering and processing segment. In 2005, Mr. Spencer became senior vice president of ONEOK's natural gas liquids business following its acquisition from Koch Industries. He became president of natural gas liquids in 2006. ■