Western Midstream Partners LP on Sept. 14 announced a recomposition of the board of directors of Western Midstream Holdings LLC, its general partner.

Kenneth F. Owen, David J. Schulte and Lisa A. Stewart were appointed as independent directors. In connection with a reduction in the size of the board from 11 to eight directors, Steven D. Arnold, Marcia E. Backus, James R. Crane, Thomas R. Hix, Craig W. Stewart and David J. Tudor will be leaving the board. The changes to the board are effective immediately. Each new director will serve on both the audit committee and the special committee of the board, with Owen serving as the chairman of the audit committee and Schulte serving as the chairman of the special committee.

“We would like to thank Steven, Jim, Tom, Craig, David and Marcia for their service on the board. They have made numerous contributions to WES and its unitholders during their tenure, including helping WES navigate not only its transition to a stand-alone company but also the unprecedented public health and market-driven challenges confronting our industry over the past six months. We are deeply grateful for their years of service and dedication,” said Glenn Vangolen, chairman of the board.

Vangolen continued, “We are excited to welcome Lisa, Dave and Kenny to the board. They each bring a wealth of industry, financial and operational experience that we believe will be invaluable as WES embarks on this next chapter in its transition and works to position itself as the provider of choice for oil and gas producers.”

WES also announced that Michael C. Pearl has left his position as senior vice president and CFO of the general partner and that Michael P. Ure, president and CEO of the general partner, will assume Pearl’s duties and responsibilities until a successor is identified.

“Mike has been a valued member of our executive leadership team since October 2019 and was an integral part of our successful transition to a standalone enterprise since that time. I have a deep appreciation for him, our relationship, and the great leadership and service he has performed for WES,” said Ure.

Kenneth F. Owen has been a consultant and entrepreneur since March 2018 and previously served as co-founder, president and CEO of Moda Midstream LLC, a liquids terminaling and logistics company. Prior to founding Moda, Owen was the president and CEO of Oiltanking Partners LP and Oiltanking North America (OTNA).

Owen originally joined OTNA in 2011 as vice president and CFO and led the IPO of Oiltanking Partners, later moving into an operations role running the company’s largest global terminal assets before taking on the CEO job. Before he joined Oiltanking, Owen worked in the energy investment banking groups at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and UBS Investment Bank, where he advised on mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, IPOs and equity and debt transactions primarily for the midstream energy sector. Owen earned an M.B.A. from The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. and B.A. from Cornell University.

David J. Schulte serves as chairman, CEO and president of CorEnergy Infrastructure Inc., the first publicly traded energy infrastructure real estate investment trust. Prior to founding CorEnergy, Schulte was a co-founder and a managing director of Tortoise Capital Advisors where, from 2002 to 2015, he served on the investment committee and as a leader of new product development. Tortoise is a pioneer in developing funds focused on listed energy infrastructure debt and equity securities, including the first closed-end MLP fund in 2004.

Prior to Tortoise, Schulte had professional experience in private equity and investment banking. Schulte serves on the board of directors of Neighborhood Legal Services, a not-for-profit entity, and on the Advisory Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Schulte earned a J.D. from the University of Iowa and a B.S. from Drake University. He is a member of the AICPA, the CFA Institute and the Missouri Bar Association.

Lisa A. Stewart serves as Sheridan Production Partners executive chairman, a position she has held since April.  From the founding of Sheridan in 2006, she served as chairman, CEO, and chief investment officer, overseeing all aspects of Sheridan acquisitions and the implementation of Sheridan’s strategy. Stewart has more than 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry in engineering and management positions. 

Prior to founding Sheridan, Stewart served as executive vice president of El Paso Corp. and president of El Paso E&P and other non-regulated businesses. Prior to her time at El Paso, Stewart spent 20 years at Apache, leaving in January 2004 as executive vice president with responsibility for reservoir engineering, business development, land, environmental, health and safety, and corporate purchasing. Stewart holds a B.S. in petroleum engineering from The University of Tulsa, where she is a member of the College of Engineering and Natural Sciences Hall of Fame. She is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and serves on the board of directors of Cimarex Energy Inc. and Jadestone Energy.