Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
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Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
As discussed in Item 1. “Business — General — Corporate Reorganization”, on January 11, 2021, we completed our Corporate Reorganization from a business trust to a corporation changing our name from Texas Pacific Land Trust to Texas Pacific Land Corporation. Our Corporate Reorganization included a change in our governance structure to a board of directors from our previous structure of being governed by Trustees.
Directors
Rhys J. Best, 77, serves as Chair of the Board and has been a member of the Board since April 15, 2022. Mr. Best currently serves on the board of Arcosa Inc. (NYSE: ACA) (since 2018), where he serves as the non-executive Chairman of the Board. Mr. Best previously served on the board of Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. (from 2008 to 2021), his term ending after the company merged with Cimarex Energy in 2021 to form Coterra Energy (NYSE: CTRA). Mr. Best also previously served on the boards of Commercial Metals Company (NYSE: CMC) (from 2010 to 2022), Crosstex Energy, LP, an integrated, multi-commodity midstream enterprise (NASDAQ: XTEX) (from 2004 to 2014, including serving as Chairman of the Board from 2009 to 2014), MRC Global, Inc., a pipe, valve and fitting distribution business (NYSE: MRC) (from 2008 to 2022, including serving as Chairman of the Board from 2016 to 2022), Trinity Industries, Inc. (NYSE: TRN) (from 2005 to 2018), and Austin Industries, an employee-owned construction company (from 2007 to 2018, including serving as Chairman of the Board from 2013 to 2018). Mr. Best is the former Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lone Star Technologies, Inc., an energy services and supply company, a role he retired from in 2007 after the successful merger with United States Steel Company (NYSE: X). Since 2022, Mr. Best has completed various board education programs with NACDNTX, UT’s Government Enforcement Institute, Pearson Partners International and Latino Corporate Directors Program, including presenting or participating as a panel member in programs on risk and diversity.
Mr. Best became the Chair of the Board on November 10, 2023, and as such, no longer serves on any committees of the Board.
General Donald G. Cook, USAF (Ret.) 77, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. General Cook currently serves on the board of Cybernance, Inc. (since 2016). General Cook previously served on the boards of Crane Co. (NYSE: CR) (from 2005 to 2022), USAA Federal Savings Bank (from 2007 to 2018), U.S. Security Associates Inc., a Goldman Sachs portfolio company (from 2011 to 2018), and Beechcraft LLC, formerly known as Hawker Beechcraft Inc. (from 2007 to 2014). General Cook served on the board of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad for almost five years until it was sold to Berkshire Hathaway in 2010 in a transaction valued at $44 billion. He also consults for Lockheed Martin Corporation. In addition to his extensive corporate governance experience, General Cook has been the Chairman of the San Antonio advisory board of the NACD Texas TriCities Chapter, a group recognized as the authority on leading boardroom practices. General Cook had numerous command and high-level staff assignments during his 36-year career with the U.S. Air Force and retired as a four-star General. He commanded a flying training wing and two space wings, the 20th Air Force (the nation’s nuclear Intercontinental Ballistic Missile force) and was interim Commander of Air Combat Command during the September 11 attacks. General Cook served as the Chief of the Senate Liaison Office and on the staff of the House Armed Services Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to his retirement from the Air Force in August 2005, General Cook’s culminating assignment was Commander, Air Education and Training Command at Randolph Air Force Base in Texas, where he was responsible for executing the $8 billion annual budget to recruit, train and educate Air Force personnel, safely implementing the 500,000-hour annual flying hour program and providing for the leadership, welfare, and oversight of 90,000 military and civilian personnel in the command. He was twice awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for exceptional leadership.
General Cook serves on and is the chairperson of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and also serves on the Compensation Committee of the Board.
Barbara J. Duganier, 65, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. Ms. Duganier currently serves on the board of MRC Global Inc. (NYSE: MRC) (since 2015), an industrial distributor of pipe, valves and other related products and services to the energy industry, where she chairs the ESG and enterprise risk committee and serves on the audit committee (and previously chaired the audit committee). Additionally, Ms. Duganier serves on the board of Arcadis NV (Euronext: ARCADIS) where she serves on the Sustainability Committee and the Audit and Risk Committee. Ms. Duganier also serves on the boards of two private companies: McDermott International, Ltd. (since 2020), a fully-integrated provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry, where she chairs the audit committee and serves on the risk committee; and Pattern Energy Group LP (since 2020), a private renewable energy company focused on wind, solar, transmission and storage
where she chairs the audit committee. Ms. Duganier previously served on the boards of the general partner of Buckeye Partners, L.P. (NYSE: BPL), a midstream oil and gas master limited partnership, where she chaired the audit committee and served on the compensation committee until the company’s sale in November 2019; of Noble Energy (NASDAQ: NBL), an exploration and production company, where she served as a member of the audit and nominating and governance committees until the company’s sale in October 2020; and West Monroe Partners, a management and technology consulting firm, where she was the lead independent director and nominating and governance committee chair until the sale of the company in November 2021. Ms. Duganier is also a former director and member of the enterprise and risk oversight and compensation committees of HCC Insurance Holdings, a property and casualty insurance underwriter, which was sold in 2015.
From 2004 to 2013, Ms. Duganier was a Managing Director at Accenture, a multinational professional services company that provides services in strategy, consulting, digital technology, and operations. She held various leadership and management positions in Accenture’s outsourcing business, including Global Chief Strategy Officer and Global Growth and Offering Development Lead. A year prior to joining Accenture, she served as an independent consultant to Duke Energy North America. From 1979 to 2002, Ms. Duganier, who is a licensed certified public accountant in the State of Texas, worked at Arthur Andersen LLP, where she served as an auditor and financial consultant, as well as in various leadership and management roles, including Global Chief Financial Officer of Andersen Worldwide. Ms. Duganier also serves on the boards of John Carroll University and the National Association of Corporate Directors Texas TriCities Chapter (NACD TTC), and is the past Chairperson of the NACD TTC board of directors. Ms. Duganier holds the NACD Director Certification, is an NACD Leadership Fellow, and also holds the CERT Cybersecurity Oversight Certification from Carnegie Mellon University.
Ms. Duganier serves on and is the chairperson of the Compensation Committee and also serves on the Audit Committee of the Board.
Donna E. Epps, 59, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. Ms. Epps currently serves on the board of Saia, Inc. (NASDAQ: SAIA) (since 2019), where she serves on the audit committee and the nominating and governance committee, and on the board of Texas Roadhouse, Inc. (NASDAQ: TXRH), where she serves as Chair of the audit committee, and as a member of the nominating and governance committee and the compensation committee. Ms. Epps was with Deloitte LLP, a multinational professional services network, for over 30 years. Ms. Epps served as an attest Partner of Deloitte LLP from 1998 through 2003 and as a Risk and Financial Advisory Partner of Deloitte LLP from 2004 until her retirement in 2017. During her time at Deloitte LLP, Ms. Epps helped companies develop and implement proactive enterprise risk and compliance programs, focusing on value protection and creation, and provided attest services and financial advisory services in governance, risk and compliance matters to private and public companies across multiple industries. Ms. Epps is currently a licensed certified public accountant in the State of Texas and a member of the North Texas Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors Board. Ms. Epps has served as Chair of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Board since April 2021 and Treasurer and Finance Committee Chair of Readers2Leaders in Dallas, Texas since 2019.
Ms. Epps serves on and is the chairperson of the Audit Committee and also serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.
Karl F. Kurz, 62, has been a member of the Board since April 15, 2022. Mr. Kurz is currently a non-executive Chairman of the board at American Water Works Co., Inc. (NYSE: AWK) and a member of the board at Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN) where he serves on the Compensation Committee, Governance, Environmental & Public Policy Committee and Reserves Committee. Mr. Kurz previously served on the board of Global Geophysical Services Inc. (NYSE: GGS), SemGroup Corporation (NYSE: SEMG), Western Gas Partners LP (NYSE: WES), WPX Energy Inc. (NYSE: WPX), Chaparral Energy Inc.(private) and Siluria Technologies Inc. (private). Mr. Kurz spent nine years at Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, where he held roles as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Northern America Operations, Midstream and Marketing. Mr. Kurz also has extensive private equity experience that includes serving as a senior investment executive at Ares Capital and CCMP Capital Advisors, where he focused on investments in the oil and gas upstream and midstream sectors.
Mr. Kurz serves on the Compensation Committee of the Board.
Eric. L Oliver, 64, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. Mr. Oliver currently serves as the President of SoftVest Advisors, a registered investment adviser that acts as an investment manager for private fund clients. Mr. Oliver additionally serves as the President of HeartsBluff Music Partners, LLC and Carrizo Springs Music Partners, LLC, both of which are registered investment advisers pursuant to an umbrella registration filed by SoftVest Advisors, LLC. Previously, Mr. Oliver was President of Midland Map Company, LLC, a Permian Basin oil and gas lease and ownership map producer from 1997 until its sale in January of 2019 to Drilling-Info, and was Principal of Geologic Research Centers LLC, a log library providing geological data to the oil and gas industry with a library in Abilene, Texas, sold in 2019. Additionally, Mr. Oliver
served on the board of Texas Mutual Insurance Company from 2009 until he retired in July 2021. He has also served as a director on the board of AMEN Properties, Inc. (OTC: AMEN) since July 2001 and was appointed Chairman of the Board in September 2002. AMEN Properties directly or indirectly owns certain oil and gas royalty and working interest properties. Furthermore, Mr. Oliver serves on the board of Abilene Christian Investment Management Company, Abilene Christian University’s endowment management company, and is a former member of the Abilene Community Foundation’s investment committee. Mr. Oliver received a B.A. in Chemistry from Abilene Christian University in 1981. Mr. Oliver was the SoftVest Designee pursuant to the Stockholders’ Agreement.
Mr. Oliver serves on the Audit Committee of the Board.
Robert Roosa, 53, has been a member of the Board since November 10, 2023. Mr. Roosa is a Partner in Brigham Royalties, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since January 2023. Mr. Roosa previously served as President of Brigham Minerals, Inc. (NYSE: MNRL) (“Brigham”) from its inception in November 2012 and as its Chief Executive Officer from July 2017 until its acquisition by Sitio Royalties Corp. in December 2022. Mr. Roosa also served as a director of Brigham from May 2018 until 2022. Mr. Roosa served as the President of Anthem Ventures, LLC, a family office, between January 2012 and January 2017. Mr. Roosa held various roles, including Director of Finance and Investor Relations, while at Brigham Exploration Company from 2006 until its sale to Statoil ASA in December 2011. From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Roosa held a series of positions at Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE: XOM), an oil and gas company, in the Corporate Treasurer’s Department. Prior to 2000, Mr. Roosa worked for Cooper Industries, an electrical products manufacturing company, in its Corporate Controllers and Audit Groups and with the accounting firm Deloitte & Touche LLP in its audit function. Mr. Roosa graduated from Southern Methodist University with a Master of Business Administration and from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Business Administration. Mr. Roosa was nominated for election as a director pursuant to the Cooperation Agreement. Mr. Roosa brings extensive knowledge of the mineral royalty acquisitions industry and executive experience to the Board.
Mr. Roosa serves on the Audit Committee and also serves on the Compensation Committee of the Board.
Murray Stahl, 70, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. Mr. Stahl is the Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board and co-founder of Horizon Kinetics LLC and serves as Chief Investment Officer of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Horizon Kinetics LLC (together, “Horizon Kinetics”). He has over 30 years of investing experience and is responsible for overseeing Horizon Kinetics’ proprietary research and chairs the firm’s investment committee, which is responsible for portfolio management decisions across the entire firm. He is also the Co-Portfolio Manager for a number of registered investment companies, private funds, and institutional separate accounts. Mr. Stahl is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FRMO Corp. (OTC: FRMO) and has been a director since 2001. He is also a member of the board of RENN Fund, Inc. (NYSE: RCG) (since 2017), the Bermuda Stock Exchange, MSRH, LLC, and the Minneapolis Grain Exchange. He was a member of the board of Winland Electronics, Inc. (from 2015 to 2020) and IL&FS Securities Services Limited (from 2008 to 2020). Prior to co-founding Horizon Kinetics, Mr. Stahl spent 16 years at Bankers Trust Company (from 1978 to 1994) as a senior portfolio manager and research analyst. As a senior fund manager, he was responsible for investing the Utility Mutual Fund, along with three of the bank’s Common Trust Funds: The Special Opportunity Fund, The Utility Fund and The Tangible Assets Fund. He was also a member of the Equity Strategy Group and the Investment Strategy Group, which established asset allocation guidelines for the Private Bank. Mr. Stahl was nominated for election as a director pursuant to the Cooperation Agreement.
Mr. Stahl serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.
Marguerite Woung-Chapman, 58, has been a member of the Board since November 10, 2023. Ms. Woung-Chapman serves as a director of the General Partner of Summit Midstream Partners, LP (NYSE: SMLP), a limited partnership focused on developing, owning and operating midstream energy infrastructure assets located in unconventional resource basins, primarily shale formations, in the continental United States. She currently serves as Chair of their Nominating, Governance and Sustainability Committee and as a member of their Compensation Committee. Ms. Woung-Chapman serves on the board of directors of Chord Energy Corporation (NASDAQ: CHRD) and serves on the Compensation and Human Resources Committee, and as Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee. She was previously a member of the board directors of Oasis Petroleum, Inc. and Chair of the board of directors and President of the Council of the Girl Scouts of San Jacinto Council. Ms. Woung-Chapman began her career as a corporate attorney with El Paso Corporation (including its predecessors) and during her tenure from 1991 until 2012, served as Vice President, Legal Shared Services, Corporate Secretary and Chief Governance Officer, among other positions. From 2012 to 2017, Ms. Woung-Chapman served in various capacities at EP Energy Corporation, a private company that subsequently became an NYSE-listed independent oil and gas exploration and production company, including, among others, Senior Vice President, Land Administration, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In 2018, Ms. Woung-Chapman served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Energy XXI Gulf
Coast, Inc., an independent exploration and production company that was engaged in the development, exploitation and acquisition of oil and natural gas properties in the U.S. Gulf Coast region until its acquisition by Cox Oil. Ms. Woung-Chapman holds a Bachelor of Science in Linguistics from Georgetown University and a J.D. from the Georgetown University Law Center. Ms. Woung-Chapman was nominated for election as a director pursuant to the Cooperation Agreement. Ms. Woung-Chapman brings valuable expertise in all aspects of management and strategic direction of publicly-traded energy companies with a unique combination of experience in corporate governance, regulatory, compliance, corporate and asset transactions, legal and business administration.
Ms. Woung-Chapman serves on the Audit Committee and also serves on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee of the Board.
Tyler Glover, 39, has been a member of the Board since January 11, 2021. Mr. Glover serves as TPL’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Glover served as Chief Executive Officer, Co-General Agent and Secretary of the Trust from November 2016 to January 11, 2021. Mr. Glover also currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of TPWR, a wholly owned subsidiary of TPL, in which capacity he has acted since its formation in June 2017. Mr. Glover previously served as Assistant General Agent of the Trust from December 2014 to November 2016, and has over 10 years of energy services and land management experience.
Our directors bring to the Board a wide range of skills, qualifications, experience, perspectives and diverse characteristics that enhance the Board’s ability to carry out its oversight on behalf of our stockholders. The table below sets forth a summary of the qualifications and experiences that each director brings to the Board, each of which we believe to be relevant to our business. Because this is a summary, it does not include all of the skills, experiences and qualifications that each director offers.
| Qualifications and Experience | Best | Cook | Duganier | Epps | Glover | Kurz | Oliver | Roosa | Stahl | Woung-Chapman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public Company CEO or COO Experience | l | l | l | l | l | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Financial Oversight/Accounting Senior executive level experience in financial accounting and reporting, auditing, corporate financing and/or internal controls or experience in the financial services industry | l | l | l | l | l | l | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry Experience Experience as an executive or director in, or in other leadership positions working with the oil and gas industry and knowledge of the risks related to the industry | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public Policy/Regulatory Experience in or a strong understanding of the regulatory issues facing the oil and gas industry and public policy on a local, state and national level | l | l | l | l | l | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HES Experience Experience with direct control or oversight for health, environmental, safety and social responsibility management | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Risk Management Executive experience evaluating significant risks and providing effective oversight of risk management processes, including cyber security risk and financial risk | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Independence Satisfies the independence requirements of the NYSE and SEC | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Public Company Board Experience Including corporate governance experience | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l | l |
| Gender: | Female | Male | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 7 | |||||||||||||
| Demographics: | ||||||||||||||
| African American or Black | ||||||||||||||
| Native American | ||||||||||||||
| Asian | ||||||||||||||
| Hispanic or Latino | ||||||||||||||
| Caucasian | 2 | 7 | ||||||||||||
| Two or More Races or Ethnicities | 1 |
Executive Officers
Tyler Glover, 39, serves as TPL’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Biographical information for Mr. Glover is included above.
Chris Steddum, 43, serves as TPL’s Chief Financial Officer since June 1, 2021. Prior to that, Mr. Steddum served as Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations of TPL and also served as Vice President, Finance and Investor Relations of the Trust. Prior to joining the Trust in 2019, Mr. Steddum spent 10 years working in oil and gas investment banking, most recently as a Director at Stifel Financial Corporation from 2016 to 2019, and prior to that served as a Director at GMP Securities from 2014 to 2016.
Micheal W. Dobbs, 51, serves as TPL’s Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel. Mr. Dobbs also served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel of the Trust from August 2020 until January 11, 2021. Prior to joining the Trust, Mr. Dobbs had been a partner at Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.
Significant Employees
Robert A. Crain, 45, serves as Executive Vice President of TPWR, in which capacity he has served since its formation in June 2017. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Crain was Water Resources Manager with EOG Resources where he led the development of EOG’s water resource development efforts across multiple basins including the Permian and Eagle Ford. During his career, he has successfully developed multiple large-scale water sourcing, distribution and treatment systems across multiple platforms and industries.
Stephanie Buffington, 57, serves as TPL’s Chief Accounting Officer, in which capacity she has served since June 1, 2021. From September 2020 through May 2021, Ms. Buffington served as Vice President of Financial Reporting and from December 2017 through September 2021 served as Director of Financial Reporting. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Buffington most recently served as Vice President of Financial Reporting at Monogram Residential Trust, Inc., a publicly traded REIT, from 2014 to 2017. Ms. Buffington has over 25 years of public company experience and began her career at KPMG. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the State of Texas.
Matters Relating to Our Governance
Code of Business Conduct and Ethics
The Board has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics applicable to all members of the Board, executive officers and employees. A copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on the Company’s corporate website at www.TexasPacific.com. The information contained on our website is not part of this Report. We intend to disclose any amendment to, or waiver of, a provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by filing a Current Report on Form 8-K with the SEC.
Communication with Directors
The Board is committed to meaningful engagement with stockholders and other interested persons and welcomes input and suggestions. Information regarding how stockholders can contact the Chair or non-management members of the Board is set forth in our Corporate Governance Guidelines that are posted on our website, www.TexasPacific.com. Stockholders and other interested persons who wish to contact the Board may do so by submitting any communications to the Company by mail at 1700 Pacific Avenue, Suite 2900, Dallas, Texas 75201, Attention: Investor Relations.
Board Leadership Structure and Risk Oversight
Mr. Best serves as the chair of the Board (the “Chair”). The Chair of the Board is an independent director. The Company believes that having an independent chair of the Board will provide independent leadership for the Board and help ensure critical and independent thinking with respect to the Company’s strategy and performance. Our Chief Executive Officer is also expected to serve as a member of the Board as the management representative. The Company believes this is important to make information and insight directly available to the directors in their deliberations. This structure gives the Company an appropriate, well-functioning balance between non-management and management directors that combines experience, accountability, and effective risk oversight. The duties of the Chair are set forth in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, and include chairing Board meetings and meetings of stockholders, except as otherwise provided by our Bylaws, establishing the agenda for each Board meeting, leading executive sessions of the Board (if the Chair qualifies as independent), having authority to call Board meetings, approving meeting schedules for the Board and information distributed to the Board, consulting with the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee with regard to the membership and performance evaluations of the Board and committee members, and performing such other duties and responsibilities as requested by the Board.
Our Corporate Governance Guidelines allow for the Chair of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer roles to be filled by a single individual. In the event the Chair does not qualify as independent, the independent directors shall select from among themselves a lead independent director. The duties of a lead independent director are set forth in our Corporate Governance Guidelines, and include chairing Board meetings in the absence of the Chair, convening and leading executive sessions of the Board, serving as a liaison between the Chair and the independent directors, being available for consultation and director communication with major stockholders as directed by the Board, and performing such other duties and responsibilities as requested by the Board.
The Company believes that risk oversight is the responsibility of the Board as a whole and not solely of any one of its committees. The Board periodically reviews the processes established by management to identify and manage risks and communicates with management about these processes. In addition to these measures, the Audit Committee regularly discusses policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, the Company’s major litigation and financial risk exposures, compliance, cybersecurity, information technology and the steps management has taken to monitor and control such exposures, and the Compensation Committee oversees risks arising from the Company’s compensation and employee benefits plans, policies and programs for its employees. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, with assistance from the Audit Committee and the Compensation Committee, oversees our ESG program and monitors related risks. The Board, and the various committee chairs, address any issues identified in such discussions and reviews with management as they arise, and monitors actions, procedures or processes implemented in response.
Our General Counsel serves as our chief compliance officer, and periodically reviews the effectiveness of the Company’s compliance programs and responds to, and monitors the status and response to, compliance issues that may arise from time to time. The General Counsel reports to the Chief Executive Officer.
Audit Committee Procedures; Procedures for Approval of Related Person Transactions
The Audit Committee meets separately and periodically with the Company’s independent auditor, the Company’s chief financial officer and a representative of the internal audit function to assess certain matters, including the status of the independent audit process, management and the independent auditor’s assessments of the Company’s financial reporting and internal controls and compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and management’s views as to the competence, performance and independence of the independent auditor. The Audit Committee oversees the internal audit function, including its structure, personnel, budget, and annual internal audit plans. In addition, the Audit Committee, as a whole, reviews and meets to discuss the annual audited financial statements and quarterly financial statements with management and the independent auditor. The Audit Committee makes a recommendation to the Board each year as to whether the annual audited financial statements should be included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Information about the procedures for approval of related person transactions is available below in Item 13. “Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence — Transactions with Related Persons.”
Qualifications and Nominations of Directors
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee charter provides that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee screen, recruit and interview individuals that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee believes are qualified to become members of the Board, consistent with criteria approved by the Board from time to time, and to recommend to the Board the (a) director nominees to be selected by the Board to stand for election or re-election at the annual meeting of stockholders and (b) director candidates to be appointed by the Board to fill vacancies and newly created directorships. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee reviews periodically the size of the Board and oversees an annual self-evaluation of the Board and its committees. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may also consider such other factors as it may deem to be in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders.
Whenever the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee concludes, based on the reviews or considerations described above or due to a vacancy, that a new nominee to the Board is required or advisable, it will consider recommendations from directors, management, stockholders and, if it deems appropriate, consultants retained for that purpose. In such circumstances, it will evaluate individuals recommended by stockholders in the same manner as nominees recommended from other sources. Stockholders who wish to nominate an individual for election as a director directly, without going through the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, must comply with the procedures in the Company’s amended and restated bylaws. The Company’s amended and restated bylaws are provided on our website at www.TexasPacific.com.
Our Board has adopted a “majority vote policy.” Under this policy any nominee for director in an uncontested election who does not receive a majority of the votes cast is required to tender his or her resignation following certification of the stockholder vote. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will consider the tendered resignation and make a recommendation to the Board whether to accept or reject the resignation.
Insider Trading Policy; Anti-Hedging Policy
We have an Insider Trading Policy that sets forth terms, conditions, timing, limitations, and prohibitions with respect to trading in the Company’s securities. The Insider Trading Policy prohibits all employees, executive officers, directors, agents, consultants and contractors from trading in the Company’s securities while in possession of material nonpublic information. Such persons are also generally prohibited from hedging, including engaging in publicly-traded options, puts, calls, or other derivative instruments relating to the Company’s securities, or selling the Company’s securities “short.” The Insider Trading Policy also requires that such persons obtain pre-approval from the Company’s General Counsel for all pledges, and the deposit in margin accounts, of the Company’s securities and the securities of any other company designated by the Company’s General Counsel. The Insider Trading Policy also restricts directors, officers subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, and certain other specifically designated employees from trading in the Company’s securities during certain periods and only after they have obtained pre-clearance for trades in the Company’s securities from the Company’s General Counsel (or, in the case of the General Counsel, the Chief Financial Officer).
Clawback Policy
The Company has adopted a Clawback Policy in accordance with Section 10D of the Exchange Act and Rule 10D-1 promulgated thereunder (collectively, “Section 10D”). In the event the Company is required to prepare an accounting restatement of its financial statements due to the Company’s material noncompliance with any such financial reporting requirement, including any required accounting restatement to correct an error in previously issued financial statements that is material to the previously issued financial statements, or that would result in a material misstatement if the error were corrected in the current period or left uncorrected in the current period, the Clawback Policy requires that covered executives must reimburse the Company, or forfeit, any excess incentive compensation received by such covered executive during the three completed fiscal years immediately preceding the date on which the Company is required to prepare the restatement. Executives covered by the Clawback Policy are current and former executive officers, as determined by the Board in accordance with Section 10D and the listing standards of the NYSE. Incentive compensation subject to the Clawback Policy includes any cash or equity compensation that is granted, earned or vested based wholly or in part on the attainment of a financial reporting measure as defined in Section 10D. The amount subject to recovery is the excess of the incentive compensation received based on the erroneous data over the incentive compensation that would have been received had it been based on the restated results.
Environmental, Social and Governance
Please see our ESG discussion in Item 1. “Business.”
Human Capital
Please see our Human Capital Resources discussion in Item 1. “Business.”
Board of Directors
The Board currently consists of ten (10) directors, nine (9) of whom - Mr. Best, Gen. Cook, Ms. Duganier, Ms. Epps, Mr. Kurz, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Roosa, Mr. Stahl and Ms. Woung-Chapman - are considered “independent” under the rules of the SEC and the NYSE. No director may be deemed independent unless the Board determines that he or she has no material relationship with TPL. Mr. Best is the Chair of the Board. In light of Mr. Best’s extensive experience in the energy industry and service on public company boards, he is well-positioned to serve as Chair.
The Board meets at least quarterly and the independent directors serving on the Board intend to meet in executive session (i.e., without the presence of any non-independent directors and management) immediately following regularly scheduled Board meetings. During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Last Fiscal Year”), the Board met six (6) times and acted by written consent in lieu of holding a meeting one (1) time. All of the directors attended at least 75% of the total number of meetings held by the Board and of the committees on which they served during the Last Fiscal Year. Each director is also expected to attend the Company’s annual meetings of stockholders.
The Board has three standing committees, consisting of a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, an Audit Committee, and a Compensation Committee. Membership in each committee is shown in the following table.
| Name | Audit Committee | Compensation Committee | Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee | |||||||||||||||||
| Rhys J. Best | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Donald G. Cook | l | ▲ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Barbara J. Duganier | l | ▲ | ||||||||||||||||||
| Donna E. Epps | ▲ | l | ||||||||||||||||||
| Tyler Glover | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Karl F. Kurz | l | |||||||||||||||||||
| Eric L. Oliver | l | |||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Roosa | l | l | ||||||||||||||||||
| Murray Stahl | l | |||||||||||||||||||
| Marguerite Woung-Chapman | l | l |
▲Chair l Member
Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee consists of Donald G. Cook, the chair, Donna E. Epps, Murray Stahl and Marguerite Woung-Chapman. The committee members have met the independence requirements for service on the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in accordance with rules of the NYSE. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for identifying, evaluating and recommending individuals qualified to become members of the Board, and for overseeing corporate governance matters. During the Last Fiscal Year, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held five (5) meetings.
The Board has adopted the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee Charter which is provided on the Company’s corporate website at www.TexasPacific.com.
Audit Committee and Audit Committee Financial Expert
The Audit Committee consists of Donna E. Epps, the chair, Barbara J. Duganier, Eric L. Oliver, Robert Roosa and Marguerite Woung-Chapman. The Board has determined that Ms. Epps, Ms. Duganier, and Mr. Roosa are “audit committee
financial experts,” as defined by the rules of the SEC. The biographies of Ms. Epps and Ms. Duganier have been provided above. Additionally, the members of the Audit Committee meet the independence requirements for service on the Audit Committee in accordance with the rules of the NYSE and Section 10A(m)(3) of the Exchange Act.
The Audit Committee is responsible for, among other things, ensuring that the Company has adequate internal controls and is required to meet with the Company’s auditors to review these internal controls and to discuss other financial reporting matters. The Audit Committee is also responsible for the appointment, pre-approval of work, compensation, and oversight of the auditors. During the Last Fiscal Year, the Audit Committee of the Company held five (5) meetings.
The Board has adopted an Audit Committee Charter which is provided on the Company’s corporate website at www.TexasPacific.com.
Compensation Committee
The Compensation Committee consists of Barbara J. Duganier, the chair, Donald G. Cook, Karl F. Kurz and Robert Roosa. The Board has determined that each member of the Compensation Committee is independent, as defined by the rules of the NYSE and that they qualify as “non-employee directors” for purposes of Rule 16b-3 under the Exchange Act. The primary function of the Compensation Committee is to review, approve and recommend corporate goals and objectives relevant to compensation of TPL’s Named Executive Officers (as defined below), reviewing and approving TPL’s compensation plans and reviewing and making recommendations regarding compensation for non-employee directors. During the Last Fiscal Year, the Compensation Committee held six (6) meetings and acted by written consent in lieu of holding a meeting four (4) times.
The Board has adopted a Compensation Committee Charter which is provided on the Company’s corporate website at www.TexasPacific.com.
Ad Hoc Committees
From time to time, the Board constitutes ad hoc committees, the membership, duties and compensation, if any, of which are determined by the Board.
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