Ann Fox
Ann Fox, president and CEO of Nine Energy Service, volunteered for three combat tours of duty in Iraq before being discharged with the rank of captain. In spite of her level of sacrifice and service, Fox insists she took much more from the U.S. Marine Corps than she was able to give in terms of service.
Among the things she credits to the Marines are the grit and mental toughness that allow her to put things into perspective and persevere in trying times. Fox earned those attributes living through perilous situations that turned into success against all odds.
As an example, during her last experience overseas she was deployed in southern Iraq and tasked with regaining territory that had been lost to Shia militia. The conditions were severe, with continuous foot patrols in extreme summer heat in an area that the U.S. and its allies no longer controlled. Sleeping on the floor in a building with no running water in the middle of an insurgent hotbed and surrounded by heavy fighting, conditions for Fox and her two American colleagues could not have been much worse.
“The only thing to do under conditions like those,” Fox said, “is to keep putting one foot in front of the other and will yourself forward.”
She and her colleagues had no idea how they would take back the area, but in the end, they achieved their objectives.
“It took enormous determination and mental toughness to see our way through that and believe we would emerge with a positive outcome,” Fox said. “After that experience, when something seems dark or unwinnable, I can see myself through it.”
According to Fox, part of being able to succeed in the face of adversity is the ability to put things in perspective.
Fox’s military service was good training for taking the reins at Nine Energy Service in the middle of one of the worst downturns ever experienced by the oil and gas industry. She returned to work just three days after giving birth to her second child to help the company navigate through extreme volatility. Rig counts were declining and the price of oil was falling, but thanks to Fox and the leadership team, Nine Energy remained on an even keel.
Part of the reason for this is the strength of the entire Nine Energy team, Fox said, which is why she continued to invest in the company’s talent at a time when profits were falling. Regardless of market conditions, she is determined to hire the hardest working and brightest people she can find, including veterans, and providing opportunities to excel.
The Leadership Development program, set up and run by a former Navy SEAL, is one way Nine Energy is realizing this objective. The program is structured to serve employees at every level in the company, identifying “rising stars” within the organization and enabling them to learn specific skills that will allow them to move up through the ranks. Fox also implemented a passport program that defines and guides field employees on their career track and gives them line-of-sight on moving up within Nine.
According to Fox, “There is nothing more energizing in life than watching people rise.”
Success cannot be the responsibility of one person, Fox said. “You have to surround yourself with powerful leaders.” This means thinking about the team first and investing in individuals to ensure the team can operate without her.
“I love the succession planning at our company,” she said. “There is great satisfaction in seeing how capable people have become and seeing a person’s progression in terms of making the employee and the company stronger.”
Fox also is a believer in empowering personnel in the field. When the Marine Corps is embroiled in unconventional fights, it is common to take direction from the front lines, where people can see how things are changing on the ground, Fox explained.
“I’m employing very smart people at the wellsite,” she said, “and the information they can share gives us an edge.”
Empowering the team is important, but having a leader everyone respects is invaluable.
“Employees want leaders they can look up to,” Fox said.
—Judy Murray