Mark Cleveland
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It wasn’t just opportunity, but huge opportunity that drew Mark Cleveland to the oil and gas industry. “What other industry lets 20-somethings manage multi-million, and sometimes billion dollar, projects, potentially all over the world? Oil and gas is such an exciting combination of using the best of science and engineering to make economic bets on the what’s going on miles underground that ultimately help power the world.” Cleveland believes a good leader must possess a “bias for action” to avoid “paralysis by analysis. You’ll never have a perfect answer,” he says, “but I’ve found that taking action is almost always better than not.”
What professional and/or personal advice would you give other young professionals in the industry?
Know the details of your business and always take action. The only difference between doing something impactful and interesting is actually doing it. So, just do it.
What do you think young industry members (those under 40) as a group have to offer that is unique to them?
I think there is a tremendous amount of energy and drive to make the industry better in all aspects—performance, environmental impact, and how people and company cultures are developed.
How have you exercised leadership to help shape your company?
Sometimes big changes are difficult and there is always uncertainty. But demonstrating positivity and continued focus in the face of those can be a difference maker between making something transformational happen or not.
Describe a memorable professional experience—something that may not be typical for industry members or that is especially meaningful for you.
Very early in my career, I had the opportunity to represent my company for reservoir engineering and development planning in some of our largest international joint ventures. It was initially intimidating flying to parts of Asia and to Algeria and working with far more experienced people, but I did the work and got to step into a ton of responsibility on really interesting projects.
What has been your most challenging project to date, and how did you meet the challenge and accomplish your goal?
Entering the Permian basin last year. Doing a transaction is a lot of work, but doing several at the same time, or in near proximity, isn’t just two or three times as hard, but 10 times as hard, due to competing resources. Working with a great team, including key advisers, having a plan, and keeping focused on the overall goal were needed to make it happen.
Which transformations—approach, culture, technology or other—do you think the industry must undertake for it to thrive in the future?
Approach and how the sector thinks about itself and how it brings value to others. We have been very focused on Lower 48 resource development for a long time, which required a lot of focus on resource play development skill sets. Opportunities in the future may require broadening technical skill sets to be able to engage in increasingly complex commercial and technical problems.
What keeps you motivated and passionate about working in the oil and gas industry?
The endless challenges. Whether technical, commercial or regulatory, how do you create value and position your company or project for success? Overcoming that uncertainty and carving a successful path through it keeps me motivated every day.
Take a look at the rest of the Forty Under 40 2024 winners.
