Forty Under 40: Zach Rider, Tallgrass

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Zach Rider, vice president of commercial and corporate development at Tallgrass, is today's featured Forty Under 40 honoree.

Rider entered Tallgrass "raw with a lot of potential but no real business knowledge or experience," but he was fortunate enough to learn the ropes from CEO Matt Sheehy.

"He and I synced up very quickly after I started at Tallgrass, and our styles fit well together," Rider said. "His mentorship acted like Miracle Grow on my professional development, and he taught me how to take all of those theories you learn in business school and apply them in real life."

As a former U.S. Army battalion assistant plans officer, Rider's last assignment in Iraq turned out to be one of his most memorable professional experiences. He went ahead of the rest of the team to prepare for the assignment, granting him valuable leadership skills he employs in his career.

"To expedite our preparation, I was sent early with the broad mandate of 'figure out what we need to do and how we are going to do it,'" he said. "It was a crazy couple of months, but it helped me develop skills that have been incredibly useful throughout the rest of my career."

To other young energy professionals, Ride would advise them to "ask questions and never stop learning."

"No matter how much you know and how good you think you are at your job or a particular skill, you can always learn more and get better," he added.

Click here for Zach Rider's full profile.

Take a look at all of the Forty Under 40 honorees.