CAS CONNECT 2013

3 In 2010, Vennerberg helped negotiate the sale of XTO Energy to ExxonMobil Corp. — called one of the largest energy mergers in history by The New York Times . The $31 billion stock sale gave Exxon the equivalent of about 45 trillion cubic feet of natural gas throughout the United States. Vennerberg is discovering life after the sale. In the spring of 2012 Vennerberg received an honorary doctorate from OSU, where he was one of the commence- ment speakers. Earlier this year, he and three partners formed MorningStar Partners, a company in Fort Worth that focuses on oil produc- tion in West Texas and New Mexico. Meanwhile, Vennerberg is dedicating time to his three sons, whose ages range from 6 to 8 (Story, Page 4) . Trey, the oldest, has bought a new aspect to his life. The boy was born with a rare chromo- somal disorder that remains unidentified. For eight months, Vennerberg traveled with the Kamms. “We visited every city in Oklahoma, went to every county fair and every Rotary lunch,” Vennerberg recalls. The pay was low, yet the experience incredible, he says. After the campaign, he intended to return to grad school to finish his master’s in psychology. There was one problem: no money. Some folks Vennerberg had met on the campaign trail urged him to apply for a job at Texaco, which was hiring people with a liberal arts background. He was offered a position as a landman in Tulsa, Okla. — an offer too good to pass up, he says. “And that is how I entered the oil and gas business.” In 1987, he moved to Fort Worth, Texas, to work for startup XTO Energy Inc., where he oversaw contract nego- tiations, regulatory relations, acquisi- tion and divestment strategy, land, gas marketing, property management and human resources. Most of his high school friends were headed to the University of Oklahoma. He wanted to try something differ- ent than his older sister, Pam, who had chosen OU. (Pam Olson went on to become the first woman to anchor a primetime newscast in Oklahoma.) “The things I was really interested in were at OSU,” he says. “The psychol- ogy department here has always had a great reputation.” Vennerberg excelled at OSU. He served as president of the Interfraternity Council, Student Union Activities Board and Blue Key Honor Society. He was a senator for the College of Arts and Sciences and served on the college’s student council. He received the Bob Cox Award for Outstanding Senior of Delta Tau Delta fraternity and was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society. “My philanthropy now is three little boys and keeping them active,” the Dallas resident says. Vennerberg hopes to instill in his three sons the same values his parents taught him and his sister. “Our parents had a lot of humility and drive, and were hard workers and solid citizens. My sister’s and my successes are a true compliment to them.” XTO had an emphasis on giving back. In 2008, Vennerberg — by then president and director of XTO — partnered with the company to establish three endowed faculty positions at OSU, which were the first of their kind in the microbiology and molecular genetics, art and psychology departments. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1976 as one of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Top 10 Seniors. A month later, he started grad school at OSU. During that first graduate year, Robert Kamm, the former OSU president and Arts and Sciences dean, called Vennerberg. Kamm, who had entered the Oklahoma senatorial race, wanted Vennerberg to hit the campaign trial with him and his wife. The things I was rea l l y interested in were at OSU. The psychology depar tment here has a lways had a great reputat ion.” — Vaughn O. Vennerberg I I , wi th h i s sons Trey (from lef t), Luke and Zach