Patrick Finney

Patrick Finney served as a member of the National Guard for more than 13 years. Now, he is putting the same emphasis on humility and servitude in his role at Chesapeake Energy Corp. His leadership qualities and values are apparent to both members of his team and the vendors that work with them.

“Amazing achievements can happen when companies work towards each other’s success. It takes trust and clear details, backed with solid communication,” Finney said.

“My role at Chesapeake is simple—I am responsible for creating and delivering the production from new wells completed each year,” he said. “This is done by leadership, direction and family culture from the Oklahoma City main office to each employee, consultant and service provider on location.”

Finney notes that safety is the company’s top priority as it deals with high pressure stimulation operations 24 hours a day across six basins in five states across the United States.

“This requires passion around people, performance and communication across our entire company, including supply chain, contracts, negotiations, operational issues, well control drills, key performance indicators, internal goals as well as corporate goals,” Finney said.
There are lessons from his military career that Finney has been able to apply to his career in energy. These include the importance of getting other people on board when changes or improvements need to be made. And this, he said, requires patience as it can take longer than you want it to. Other lessons he has taken into the energy industry from the military include leading from the front, and following up, which Finney said is essential.

There are many different leaders that Finney credits for influencing him over the years, who have invested time in him and the growth of his career. The advice he received from such leaders includes being the leader he wished to have had and never stopping learning, teaching or inspiring. At the same time, he said he’s learned to not take himself too seriously, but to enjoy work, life and the people involved in all aspects of it.

Finney was an executive officer leading maintenance and logistical services during Hurricane Katrina and has won several awards during his decorated military career. Now, he attempts to bring recognition to veterans and the issues they face.

“I was humbled to be apart of this natural disaster in my home state, something you never forget,” he said.

Finney is a founding board member with the Folds of Honor—Oklahoma City Chapter and plays a major role in helping the families of fallen service members. Folds of Honor’s mission is to honor the sacrifice of fallen and disabled U.S. service members by providing educational scholarships to their spouses and children. Finney regularly donates his time to the organization and has previously requested donations to it for his birthday.

“The greatest things in life come from helping others,” he said.

If he could give any guidance to his younger self, Finney said it would include paying closer attention to what advice people have to offer, asking for feedback and giving feedback, as well as surrounding himself with great people. He would also advise his younger self to learn the things that he may not want to—such as finance, strategy and relationship-building.

“You truly can achieve the unimaginable with persistence, hard work and taking risk,” he said.

—Anna Kachkova