Dave Lesar
Editor's note: This profile is part of Hart Energy's 50th anniversary Hall of Fame series honoring industry pioneers of the past 50 years and the Agents of Change (ACEs) who are leading the energy sector into the future.
Unless you’re an elected official, it’s unlikely you’re asked to replace the Vice President of the United States. But that’s what Dave Lesar did when he took over for Dick Cheney as CEO of Halliburton in 2000. Lesar served in this role before being promoted to executive chair in 2018 until his retirement at the company in 2019.
Lesar thrived as CEO by building on Cheney’s legacy. Cheney’s biggest contribution, Lesar told Hart Energy, was moving Halliburton from a traditional oil services company to one more focused on the technology aspect through the acquisitions of Landmark Graphics, Numar and Sperry-Sun Drilling.
While these acquisitions occurred under Cheney’s leadership, Lesar played an important role in these purchases and helped Halliburton diversify its operations with an increased focus on oil and gas field services.
This change in focus was a major reason why Halliburton experienced such massive growth with Lesar at the helm. Producers at the time were outsourcing operations like drilling and reservoir integration, and Halliburton was there to take on these responsibilities for many of its E&P customers.
During his tenure as CEO, the company became the biggest provider of hydraulic fracturing services in the world and saw its share price rise 68%. He also guided the company through some difficult times, including asbestos claims related to Dresser Industries, which it acquired in 1998; and the crude oil price crash of 2014-2015.
Shortly after retiring from Halliburton, Lesar joined CenterPoint Energy in 2020 as President and CEO. CenterPoint represented a change in direction for Lesar. The company operates electric and natural gas utility businesses in Minnesota, Indiana, Ohio, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas with a total of $35 billion in assets.
Once again, Lesar saw an area for growth in the energy industry. This time it was with utilities converting from coal-fired power generation to natural gas-fired and renewable energy power generation to help reduce carbon emissions. CenterPoint is investing in both power generation sources.
Under Lesar’s leadership, CenterPoint completed billions of dollars’ worth of new projects, including pipeline modernization, the addition of smart metering technology, and incorporating hydrogen and other clean sources into its energy mix. CenterPoint Energy has also invested more than $40 billion to improve the safety, reliability and resiliency of its electric and natural gas systems.
Lesar, who announced he would retire from CenterPoint Energy in January, stressed the importance of having quality people around him throughout his career.
“It is an honor to be named an inaugural Hall of Fame inductee along with our industry’s groundbreaking pioneers, innovative leaders who have grown and re-invented our sector over a half-century, and those vanguards continuing the momentum on a safer and more sustainable energy future,” Lesar said. “I have had the privilege of working with some extraordinary people over the course of my career who have made our organizations, our communities and me better. To all my former and current colleagues, this award is also in recognition of your efforts and execution.”
—Frank Nieto, Contributing Editor