Drew Hopkins

Community service is a way of life for Drew Hopkins. Raised by two school teachers, giving back to the community was a value instilled in him early on, and he volunteers within the Oklahoma City (OKC) community as a mentor to children in elementary school. In his professional life, he’s taken that same passion for helping others and channeled it into mentoring his peers.

“Experiences to give back to a community are imperative, and I have been so thankful OKC cares so much for making impactful changes to the metro area,” Hopkins said. “Having the opportunity to mentor and make a positive difference in someone’s life or even just bringing a little joy and humor, it is such a little gesture that makes such an impact.”

Hopkins lives in Oklahoma City with his wife, Bre, and their dog, Broccoli, while he serves as chief revenue officer for Land Information Services.

Community business

“I grew up in Ponca City, which is home to the large ConocoPhillips refinery and Land office complex. In its heyday, about one in five people in Ponca City worked for Conoco, and it was evident that this business, and its massive professional staff, was a key in making Ponca such a vibrant community at that time. Upon enrolling in college, and becoming part of a metro area ripe with corporate headquarters and generous opportunity, I began to appreciate what the energy industry means to our state and, indeed, to the entire nation. Chesapeake was expanding and building such an unbelievable campus, so it was an obvious choice that we [graduates] were applying there in droves. I was beyond blessed to be offered an opportunity and did all I could to make a positive impact from day one.”

Unique opportunities

“Something that meant a great deal to me was accepting the responsibility for Chesapeake’s [CHK] Landowner affairs and relations. I was honored that CHK put faith in me to strengthen these affiliations, and for a few years I was sent across the country speaking to hundreds and, in some cases, thousands of landowners. It was nerve wrecking but so helpful in building my confidence and allowing the company to further put their trust in me, while promoting CHK across the country.

We have also had the unique opportunity to work with a couple different colleges on building case studies for classes to work through to learn more about the industry and tech project management. With both of my parents being teachers, this really meant so much to me to see students begin to understand how decisions are made and get excited about our business.

After joining Land Information Services, a huge milestone was the opening of our corporate  headquarters in Oklahoma City in July of 2019. We had a groundbreaking, watched the frame come together and each brick put into place. It was something we truly took pride in. The goal was to make a space that would be welcoming to visitors, a comfort zone to our fantastic team and an institution of efficiency and creative thought. When we had our grand opening party, it was a real celebration and you could just feel the electricity and excitement for the future of our company.”

A resilient industry

“There have certainly been some challenging times over the past few years, but if any industry had the leadership to weather the storm, it’s certainly the oil and gas community. The leaders I see in this industry are about rising to the occasion, anticipating the possible outcomes and helping guide with determination and focus toward those desired results. Through difficult times, it’s about inspiring when possible, shielding when necessary and always providing that supporting base. For the leaders I have always admired the most, its selflessness. No ego [and] no elevated sense of self-worth. Never delegating a task they would not do themselves. Those are the leaders who drive companies forward.

I am exceptionally proud of our outbound business development and marketing growth over the past four years. It has been no small undertaking by our entire team to manage the nationwide campaigns and marketing efforts we have developed, and the results have been remarkable. We have quadrupled our software clients and equally flexed our outsourcing business. The overarching plan has been to propel us into the pole position of the energy software market, and as we stand, it is becoming a reality.” 

Preparing for the storm 

“It’s amazing to me that there are still leadership teams that refuse to acknowledge the transition taking place in our industry. There will continue to be a changing of the guard, and the companies that submit to being late adapters will unfortunately have an uphill climb. Who does that hurt? Their employees. Their landowners. Their shareholders. Companies that embrace new advances in technology and lean into forward-thinking efficiency planning and streamlining are already laying the groundwork for their 10+-year success plan.”