Nomination Procedures for Officers and Directors

Key Position/Commitment

• 3-year commitment (One year each: President-Elect, President, and Past President).

• Requires Management support for a substantial commitment of time, 25-50% of time first and last year, and 75-100% of time during Presidency year, including numerous visitations or teleconferences with staff, SPE members, meetings committees, corporations, and other professional and technical societies.

• Extensive global travel to attend SPE and industry events, and visit Sections and Student Chapters.

• Oversee all BOD committees and lead BOD meetings.

• Attend all global Board of Directors (BOD) meetings (three 3-4 day meetings per year).

• A minimum of one year must elapse between a candidate’s end of service on the SPE Board and the new term for which he/she is nominated to serve his/her nomination as President.

Key Skills/Proficiencies

• Strategic Thinking – Ability to “see the big picture,” think beyond tasks, focus on global as well as local needs, and adhere to strategic planning. Also, the ability to focus on material issues and not “sweat the small stuff.”

• Leadership – Ability to communicate ideas to others in a way that engages and influences them. Ability to help the group achieve its goals and maintain an effective working relationship among members.

• Networking - Ability to network within and outside the organization for discovery and dissemination of opportunities for SPE.

• Negotiation – Skillful in multi-cultural, multi-national negotiations in order to represent sections with a variety of perspectives.

• Public speaking, presiding at meetings, establishing clear directives.

Role

• Represent SPE and its members to other organizations, the industry, the media, and the public.

• Develop relationships with key senior executives throughout the industry to maximize the awareness of SPE’s value and to maintain and expand SPE programs.

• Preside at meetings of the Board of Directors during the year of Presidency.

• Ensure decisions are made in a timely manner and then translated into meaningful actions holding appropriate parties accountable for success.

• Work with the CEO/Executive Vice President, officers, and committee chairs to develop agendas for meetings of the Board of Directors.

• Appoint all committee chairpersons.

• Facilitate accomplishment of the SPE strategic plan.

• Attend and speak at major SPE events.

• Communicate to SPE members on a regular basis.

Responsibilities/Duties

• Preside over Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and F&S Committee meetings.

• Participates in other committee meetings as warranted.

• Spends up to 50% of the time on SPE business during President-Elect and Past President years, and nearly 100% of the time on SPE business during presidency year.

• Provide guidance to Committees and Sections, as well as to Board members.

• Author editorial article in monthly JPT.

• Speak on behalf of SPE at many events.

• Preside over Nominating Committee during the third year of term and SPE Honorary member Award Committee.

• Manage the selection process for a new CEO/Executive Vice President in the event of a required change of CEO.

Prior Experience

• It is required for the person who fills this position to have previously served on the SPE Board of Directors.

• This position should be filled by someone with strong leadership skills; someone well known in the oil and gas industry would be highly recommended.

• It is critical for the person who fills this position to understand as the goals and mission of SPE.

• It is important that the person to fill this position have many years of experience as a volunteer, preferably in several capacities, within SPE.

• It is recommended that the person who fills this position have significant management experience

• Significant negotiation experience.

Key Position/Commitment

• 3-year commitment. New directors formally enter the Board at the end of the ATCE of the year of their nomination. They exit the board at the end of the ATCE three years later.

• Directors are expected to attend all global Board of Directors (BOD) meetings. There are three in-person board meetings every year, one of them immediately prior to ATCE. There may be a fourth board meeting, virtual and split over two consecutive weekends. In-person board meetings last 3 or 4 days, to which travel time must be added.

• Incoming board members are invited to attend as guests the two board meetings preceding their entry to the board. They are expected to attend the in-person board meeting immediately preceding the ATCE at which they formally join the board.

• Commitment also includes regular e-mail exchanges and occasional video conferences, representing five or more hours per week.

• Regional Directors must visit members sections and student chapters. Proper time must be allocated, with a reasonable target of 5 section / chapter visits per year. A larger number of visits may be expected in regions spanning over many countries. 

• Regional Directors provide counsel to section officers, student chapter faculty advisors, and Young Professional program leadership.

• Regional Directors must reside in the geographic region they represent throughout their term and must demonstrate past residence or knowledge of the represented region.

Responsibilities/Duties

• Oversight of SPE finances (including annual budget) and programs.

• Participate in assigned committees to carry out SPE’s mission.

• Develop and support initiatives to achieve the goals identified in SPE’s strategic plan.

• Beyond their RD or TD positions, board members may be chosen to represent constituencies in SPE to balance the board demographics.

• For this they should have experience or specific experiential background in the constituency represented.

• Board members cannot serve as section officers or official advisors during their three-year term and must resign from such positions before or as soon as they join the Board.

• Regional Directors should provide leadership and bring global SPE perspectives to the Sections and Student Chapters in their region. 

• Regional Directors are responsible for supporting staff in communicating new developments and policies initiated by the Board to the Section and Chapter leadership.

• Regional Directors may be selected to provide specific expertise that is useful to the SPE Board, including expertise in the lines of business conducted by SPE.

• Regional Directors have Board committee duties and may be assigned liaison duties with SPE standing or ad hoc committees.

• Regional Directors chair the regional section officers’ meetings. They should also facilitate regional councils and serve as liaison to the SPE International Board.

• Regional Directors must also coordinate with the Technical Directors to ensure all technical disciplines are represented within the geographical areas they represent.

Qualities Required 

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to “see the big picture,” think beyond tasks, focus on global as well as local needs, and adhere to strategic planning. Also, the ability to focus on material issues and not “sweat the small stuff.”

• Leadership: Ability to communicate ideas to others in a way that engages and influences them. Ability to help the group achieve its goals and maintain an effective working relationship among members.

• Networking: Ability to network within and outside the organization for discovery and dissemination of opportunities for SPE.

• Negotiation: Skillful in multi-cultural, multi-national negotiations to represent sections with a variety of perspectives.

Prior Experience Required

• This position should be filled by someone with experience serving as a Section Chairperson (preferred) or Section Officer from any section globally, not necessarily in the region of the Regional Director position to be filled. Serving on a regional advisory group will also serve to fulfill this requirement.

• If the experience as Officer is held in another region, the candidate must still demonstrate that he/she is familiar with the sections and main volunteers that operate in his/her region of candidacy.

Qualities and Prior Experience Welcome

• It is beneficial for the person who fills this position to have a broad understanding of SPE and industry leadership.

• It is beneficial for the person who fills this position to understand the inner workings of SPE as well as its mission and strategic goals.

• It is beneficial to comprehend all committees’ functions and be capable of interfacing with other members as both a leader and a team member.

Employer’s Support and Duty of Service

• Employer support is essential. The candidate’s employer must be clearly aware of and approve all commitments detailed supra.

• Unexpected personal, professional or geopolitical circumstances or events may exceptionally prevent a board member from performing his or her duty. If these unexpected circumstances persist this could constitute an understandable reason for the board member to resign from his or her position.

• Conversely, and notwithstanding the above, a candidate for the position of board member must fully accept that his or her commitment to the SPE board has precedence over any foreseeable professional or personal commitment. Members who know in advance that they will not be able to fulfill this commitment should refrain from applying for this position.

• Any unjustified failure to perform board duties may be a valid reason for SPE officers to exclude a board member from his or her position, even at the first instance of such failure.

Key Position/Commitment

• 3-year commitment. New directors formally enter the Board at the end of the ATCE of the year of their nomination. They exit the board at the end of the ATCE three years later.

• Directors are expected to attend all global Board of Directors (BOD) meetings. There are three in-person board meetings every year, one of them immediately prior to ATCE. There may be a fourth board meeting, virtual and split over two consecutive weekends. In-person board meetings last 3 or 4 days, to which travel time must be added.

• Incoming board members are invited to attend as guests the two board meetings preceding their entry to the board. They are expected to attend the in-person board meeting immediately preceding the ATCE at which they formally join the board.

• Commitment also includes regular e-mail exchanges and occasional video conferences, representing five or more hours per week.

• Technical Directors represent the major technical specialties in SPE.

• Technical Directors provide support for current technology transfer initiatives.

• Technical Directors must Identify opportunities for SPE to disseminate technical knowledge within SPE’s membership. The dissemination of information can be global or local, within SPE, between SPE and other technical and professional societies, industry focused groups, universities, or corporations. The type of information, methods, and venues are part of the creative process that this person oversees.

Responsibilities/Duties

• Oversight of SPE finances (including annual budget) and programs.

• Participate in assigned committees to carry out SPE’s mission.

• Develop and support initiatives to achieve the goals identified in SPE’s strategic plan.

• Beyond their RD or TD positions, board members may be chosen to represent constituencies in SPE to balance the board demographics.

• For this they should have experience or specific experiential background in the constituency represented.

• Board members cannot serve as section officers or official advisors during their three-year term and must resign from such positions before or as soon as they join the Board.

• Technical Directors must provide counsel to technical sections, program committees and other entities that generate technical content within SPE (i.e., journals, training, etc.).

• Technical Directors should contribute and offer leadership on technical committees responsible for regional workshops, forums, training and SPE flagship conferences, such as the Annual Technical Conference & Exhibition (ATCE), the Hydraulic Fracturing Technology Conference & Exhibition (HFTC) and the SPE/IADC Drilling Conference.

• Technical Directors establish and lead technical discipline advisory committees, which assist in developing programs, books, and periodicals.

• Technical Directors should identify qualified members to serve on technical event committees, as distinguished lecturers, and/or as awards candidates, and on related technical sections, section study groups, and technical interest groups.

• Technical Directors act as a sounding board and spokespersons for members represented by their technical disciplines.

• Technical Directors must also coordinate with the Regional Directors to ensure that their technical discipline is represented within all geographical areas.

Qualities Required 

• Strategic Thinking: Ability to “see the big picture,” think beyond tasks, focus on global as well as local needs, and adhere to strategic planning. Also, the ability to focus on material issues and not “sweat the small stuff.”

• Leadership: Ability to communicate ideas to others in a way that engages and influences them. Ability to help the group achieve its goals and maintain an effective working relationship among members.

• Networking: Ability to network within and outside the organization for discovery and dissemination of opportunities for SPE.

• Negotiation: Skillful in multi-cultural, multi-national negotiations to represent sections with a variety of perspectives.

Prior Experience Required

• Technical Directors must have the discipline for which they are applying as their primary or secondary technical discipline.

• Technical Directors should be Subject Matter Experts (SME) and have a strong record of technical leadership. They should be acquainted with leaders and technical experts within the discipline.

• Technical Directors should have served on technical committees within SPE.

Qualities and Prior Experience Welcome

• Have published technical papers in their discipline.

• Have produced articles for SPE publications and journals.

• Have participated in the peer-review process for papers in their discipline.

• Have been a Distinguished Lecturer in their discipline.

• Have multi-national experience in their discipline.

• Have been recognized with Technical Awards.

• Be the holder of patents related to their discipline.

Employer’s Support and Duty of Service

• Employer support is essential. The candidate’s employer must be clearly aware of and approve all commitments detailed supra.

• Unexpected personal, professional or geopolitical circumstances or events may exceptionally prevent a board member from performing his or her duty. If these unexpected circumstances persist this could constitute an understandable reason for the board member to resign from his or her position.

• Conversely, and notwithstanding the above, a candidate for the position of board member must fully accept that his or her commitment to the SPE board has precedence over any foreseeable professional or personal commitment. Members who know in advance that they will not be able to fulfill this commitment should refrain from applying for this position.

• Any unjustified failure to perform board duties may be a valid reason for SPE officers to exclude a board member from his or her position, even at the first instance of such failure.