January 2025 hirings, promotions, and other personnel matters in the nation’s biggest oil patch—or in companies who do business here.
James Parr
Ring Energy, Inc., announced Nov. 5 the addition of a new senior technical executive. James J. Parr joins Ring as Executive Vice President / Exploration and Geosciences. Parr is a petroleum geologist with more than 30 years of energy leadership in the upstream petroleum business in multiple global organizations. As a member of the executive team, Parr will help Ring Energy achieve further value creation through identification, capture, and execution of both organic and inorganic growth opportunities. Paul D. McKinney, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I have had the pleasure of working closely with James in the past. He is a respected oil finder with an established history of successful capital allocation and portfolio management resulting in impactful, low-cost reserve additions, and related positive contributions to the bottom line. We look forward to leveraging James’ extensive technical background and industry experience to help grow our opportunity set of highly attractive drilling prospects targeted to further maximize the Company’s cash flow, improve the balance sheet, and drive increased value for our stockholders.” Prior to joining Ring, Parr served from June 2020 as Vice President, Global New Ventures for Woodside Energy, where he was responsible for core exploration and business development activities worldwide while also supporting upstream M&A. He earned a B.S. degree in Geological Sciences (Honors) from the University of Aston (Birmingham, England) followed by doctoral studies in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge.
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Eric Hambly
Houston-based Murphy Oil Corporation announced Oct. 2 that its Board of Directors appointed Eric M. Hambly, Murphy’s then-current President and Chief Operating Officer, to succeed Roger W. Jenkins as the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1. In addition, Hambly will become a member of the board of directors. Jenkins will retire from the Board on December 31, 2024. He will remain with Murphy in a non-executive role as an advisor until his retirement on December 31, 2025. Hambly holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from Brigham Young University and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He has more than 26 years in the industry, joining Murphy in 2006. He has since played a vital role in the success of Murphy’s global exploration and production operations with assignments in Malaysia, Singapore, onshore US and offshore US Gulf of Mexico. He became Executive Vice President, Operations, in 2020 and assumed his current position as President and Chief Operating Officer in February 2024. Claiborne P. Deming, Murphy’s board chairman, said, “It is my pleasure, on behalf of our Board, to congratulate Eric on being named Murphy’s next President and CEO and a member of the Board. Eric’s exceptional leadership and deep understanding of our business and the industry make him an outstanding choice to lead Murphy.” Jenkins, Murphy’s current CEO, also stated, “Our long-standing succession planning process has prepared us well for this transition. Eric has been critical to much of our success, and I am delighted to support him as we remain committed to the Company’s strategic priorities of ‘Deliver, Execute, Explore, Return.’”
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Larry Autrey
Whitley Penn Chief Executive Officer, Larry Autrey, CPA, ABV, announced Nov. 6 two executive leadership transitions for the firm effective January 1. Nathen McEown, current Partner-in-Charge of Consulting and Chief Growth Officer, has been named Chief Executive Officer. Toby Cotton, current Partner-in-Charge of Tax, moves into a Chief Operating Officer role. Autrey will continue to serve the firm as Executive Chairman. These changes for the firm come with a celebration of Autrey’s service to Whitley Penn, the accounting industry, and the Dallas-Fort Worth community at large. Autrey has more than 30 years of tax, advisory, and business valuation experience focused on public and private clients. He has served as the CEO for Whitley Penn for more than 20 years. Throughout his leadership, the firm has grown from 50 to nearly 900 employees with nine offices throughout Texas and New Mexico, eight of which opened under Autrey’s leadership.
Nathen McEown
“I’m beyond thrilled to see this team of esteemed professionals rise into their newly elected leadership roles,” said Autrey. “I have personally mentored both Nathen and Toby for many years and believe this is the best transition strategy for the future of the firm. As tenured Whitley Penn Partners, they will hold our culture and mission of superb customer service as core pillars of what makes Whitley Penn unique.”
Toby Cotton
Said McEown: “I am incredibly honored to step into this role and grateful for the trust and support of my partners. Having started as an intern with Whitley Penn 20 years ago in our Dallas Office, I’ve had the privilege of growing alongside this exceptional firm. Larry and our firm’s leadership have continually invested so much into my growth and development that has ultimately prepared me for this role.”
Cotton remarked, “Having served on our management committee over the past decade, I’ve witnessed significant growth of the firm. I’m honored to step into the role of COO to help build our team and balance growth while maintaining our legacy culture.”