Kaes Van’t Hof

“In the course of two weeks, our company was able to announce two trades which will transform Diamondback and catapult us into the large-cap E&P peer group,” Van’t Hof says of the recent $1.25 billion acquisition of Ajax Resources LLC and the $9.2 billion acquisition of Energen.

“Our focus now is going to be integrating those deals and continuing to execute at our best-in- class operating metrics.”

Diamondback is proving to be a dominant force in the Permian Basin. With Rattler in the wings, another focus, Van’t Hof says, is to keep growing the booming $4.5 billion minerals business, which is Viper. “Our department is very small, but I am proud of all we are able to accomplish with only four people,” Van’t Hof says of his own department within the company. “Together, we handle corporate development, capital markets and investor relations” for both Diamondback and Viper.

Early days: “I used to run a drilling company, Bison Drilling, in Midland. The company peaked at 450 employees in 2014 and, through the downturn, hit a low of less than 100 employees. As CEO, there had to be leadership in making these tough decisions, starting with your own compensation.”

Advice for young professionals: “My No. 1 rule of management/advice for young professionals in any industry is: ‘know what you don’t know.’”