Cathy Lebsack graduated with an Executive MBA in Energy in 2017 as part of the program’s fifth cohort. An Oklahoma City native, she followed in her mother’s footsteps into the oil and gas industry. Lebsack currently serves as Vice President of Land & Regulatory at Devon Energy and is the immediate past president of the Greater Oklahoma Women’s Energy Network.

“One of the things I gained while going through the EMBA program was more confidence,” says Lebsack. “My cohort was full of very intelligent, confident and empowering people. This cohort and the program challenged me to think more broadly and dig into the program which ultimately increased my confidence at work.”

Lebsack joined Devon Energy in 2001 and has had the opportunity to work in several departments and on many enterprise-wide projects with increasing leadership responsibilities throughout her career. During her time in the acquisitions and divestitures department, Devon was active in transforming their portfolio through mergers, acquisitions and divestitures through a significant number of transactions. She moved into Devon’s North Texas business unit focused on developing its Barnett Shale position, when the company had 20 rigs running in the area. From there, Lebsack moved into various roles within the Land department leading division orders, land administration, business unit surface and subsurface land teams, and regulatory teams before assuming her current role as vice president of land and regulatory.

Although earning a master’s degree alongside an incredibly demanding career full of growth and increasing responsibility would seem rather impossible, Lebsack knew it was an EMBA in Energy she needed to gain a broader perspective of the industry and develop her professional acumen. So she took a logical approach to an otherwise overwhelming decision.

“I literally wrote down 24 hours in a day and started deducting the requirements of my day (sleep hours, work hours, etc.) and realized that if I was intentional with my time, I had the time to devote to the program,” says Lebsack. “Finding 20-25 hours throughout a seven-day period was hard at first, but as I organized my time and reset my priorities it became easier and easier. 

“This is a question I get often from those considering going back to school, and I recommend you very quickly set expectations with yourself and your family on when you will devote the time for school.  By doing this, you will find it easier to use this time more efficiently.”

Lebsack, and her mother before her, represent a minority in the industry. The Petroleum Equipment and Services Association reports only 15 percent of the current oil and gas workforce is female, a number that drops in half when it comes to higher-paying technical jobs. But Lebsack has shown these numbers can grow as long as women continue to draw up their own seat at the table.

“My advice is to do everything you can to develop yourself and set yourself up for success,” says Lebsack.  “Raise your hand to be on that project, step up when an opportunity presents itself, take the time to understand your priorities and know yourself. By investing in yourself, by being disciplined to reflect on where you could be better, by taking every opportunity to shine in each situation while empowering your teammates, you will be noticed and be given more opportunities.”

T.D. Baskin graduated from OU with his Executive MBA in Energy degree last fall, and serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Cardinal Midstream in Dallas, Texas. The Energy Institute was fortunate to borrow some of his time to learn more about how a US Naval Officer finds himself in the c-suite of a Texas midstream company.

1) Where did you grow up and what led you to pursue a career in oil and gas?

a)       I grew up on a family farm and ranch near Stratford, Texas.  Oil and gas production was prevalent in the Texas Panhandle while I was growing up, but it was only later that I was drawn toward the oil and gas industry.  My circuitous years following high school took me to the US Navy, where I studied Nuclear Power, then to Texas A&M where I received my engineering degree. It was also at this time that I accepted a commission as a US Navy Officer, in the first class to graduate after 9/11.  I attribute my career in oil and gas to a military deployment to the Northern Arabian Gulf.  While conducting security operations near the Al Basra and Khor al-Amaya Oil Terminals, off the coast of Iraq, I witnessed numerous VLCC loading operations, and I realized the gravitas of the world’s thirst for energy. It was during these moments that I gained interest in making a difference in domestic oil and gas.

2)      Why did you decide to earn an EMBA in Energy?

a)       For seven years before entering the EMBA program, I had worked in a private equity-backed midstream company, Cardinal Midstream.  As I matured in the organization, I was gaining exposure to numerous financial aspects of the business, but I did not fully understand them.  Around the same time, my professional pursuits almost took me down a different path.  During this time, I realized I needed to embolden my knowledge base with some formal business education.  Sure, I knew midstream engineering, but it was the “business and commercial sense” that would advance my career.  So, I researched numerous MBA, EMBA and PMBA programs.  During my search, it became evident that I must be able to manage the majority of the coursework remotely.  Personally, the remote/virtual aspect was equally important to the course of study.  The OU EMBA in Energy program had courses that were extremely relevant to my business.  These were the critical factors in my decision to earn an EMBA in Energy.

3)      How has your EMBA degree impacted your career? Are there any aspects of your current role where your EMBA training, education, network, etc. comes into play?

a)       Today, I am the Chief Operating Officer at Cardinal Midstream.  The EMBA in Energy degree has not only broadened my awareness of domestic energy but the global impacts of oil and gas.  I draw from the education and experiences of the EMBA in Energy program every day.  Every day there is a question and answer that goes back to cost of capital, economics, accounting and even the interpretation of oil and gas well type curve information.  I know I am not singularly impacted by the education and experience. I am proud to see my fellow cohort members (also known as “The Ocho” since we were the eighth cohort) grow in their careers.  I believe this program will become even more well-renowned through the dedication of leaders such as Dean Stice, Dean Pullin and Dr. Ghosh, as well as the continuing success of the EMBA in Energy alumni.

4)      What is a key piece of advice you have for emerging energy executives?

a)       For emerging energy executives, I have three recommendations: 1) If your corporate growth and training plan is not acceptable, then write your own plan. 2) Appreciate where you are today. Learn from the experiences.  The experiences and challenges you work through now are going to be some of the bedrock by which you build upon in the future. 3) Avoid being geostationary, and welcome opportunities that take you to different basins (or countries).