Eric Eichler
Presented by:
As a teenager, Eric Eichler joined his oil executive dad on business trips to Cairo. “During those years, I had a front row seat to the dynamism, community and spirit of exploration that are the best parts of the oil and gas business,” he says. “After surveying the landscape of careers available to a new chemical engineering graduate, everything else seemed a bit boring!” His career has taken him to the frontier of the energy realm as one of the trailblazers of North American LNG exports. Eichler’s proudest moments include working with a talented team to unlock a prolific new position in the Canadian Montney and developing the organization at FourPoint Energy.
What qualities do you think are necessary to be a good leader in the oil and gas industry?
Good leaders in oil and gas must be self-aware, emotionally steady and confident enough in their own abilities and limitations to give others the space to thrive. They provide ballast so their teams can weather the rough and uncertain waters for which this industry is known. Leaders should also be able to think holistically about risk and opportunity across multiple dimensions—regulatory, pricing, capital, subsurface and operations.
How have you exercised leadership to help shape your company?
At FourPoint, I strive to foster an environment rich in trust and ownership. Trust enables individuals to disagree with each other constructively and take risks in pursuit of innovative ideas. To remain competitive as a private equity-backed company, we need a culture that boldly questions the conventional wisdom. I also try to articulate a clear vision of what we aim to be: a nimble, return-driven oil and gas company differentiated by our technical rigor, operational diligence and industry relationships.
What professional and/or personal advice would you give other young professionals in the industry?
My advice to young professionals in the industry is to cultivate your relationships with your partner and family, surround yourself with people of high integrity and curiosity, and seek roles that challenge you to develop new skills. Also, while there is a place for remote work, the real world is where you will find unexpected ideas and discover mentors, best friends, confidants and co-founders.
Which transformations—approach, culture, technology or other—do you think the industry must undertake for it to thrive in the future?
Having lived in Canada, Colorado and Texas, I know this industry is full of people who care deeply about protecting the natural beauty around us for future generations. Rather than competing priorities, people need both abundant energy and a healthy planet. It is often access to the former that affords us the ability to preserve the latter. We must rebuild public confidence in this industry as a partner in that endeavor—which means a genuine commitment to minimizing the impact of our operations and embracing innovations that will allow us to deliver cheaper, cleaner and more reliable energy.
Take a look at the rest of the Forty Under 40 2024 winners.
