Board of Directors
James J. Volker
James J. Volker, 64, is Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Whiting Petroleum Corporation. Mr. Volker has been a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation since 2003 and a director of Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation since 2002. He joined Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation in August 1983 as Vice President of Corporate Development and served in that position through April 1993. In May 1993, he became a contract consultant to Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation and served in that capacity until August 2000, at which time he became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Volker was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer and a director of Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation in January 2002. Mr. Volker retained his position of Chief Executive Officer when Mr. James T. Brown was appointed President and Chief Operating Officer effective January 1, 2011. Mr. Volker was co-founder, Vice President and later President of Energy Management Corporation from 1971 through 1982. He has over 39 years of experience in the oil and natural gas industry. Mr. Volker has a degree in finance from the University of Denver, an MBA from the University of Colorado and has completed H. K. VanPoolen and Associates course of study in reservoir engineering.
Thomas L. Aller
Thomas L. Aller, 61, has been a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation since 2003. Mr. Aller has served as Senior Vice President – Energy Resource Development of Alliant Energy Corporation since January 2009 and President of Interstate Power and Light Company since January 2004. Prior to that, he served as President of Alliant Energy Investments, Inc. since 1998 and interim Executive Vice President Energy Delivery of Alliant Energy Corporation since 2003 and Senior Vice President – Energy Delivery of Alliant Energy Corporation since 2004. From 1993 to 1998, he served as Vice President of IES Investments. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in political science from Creighton University and his Master’s Degree in municipal administration from the University of Iowa.
D. Sherwin Artus
D. Sherwin Artus, 73, has been a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation since 2006. Mr. Artus joined Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation in January 1989 as Vice President of Operations and became Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer in July 1999. In January 2000, he was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Artus became Senior Vice President in January 2002 and retired from the Company on April 1, 2006. Prior to joining Whiting, he was employed by Shell Oil Company in various engineering research and management positions. From 1974-1977, he was employed by Wainoco Oil and Gas Company as Production Manager. He was a co-founder and later became President of Solar Petroleum Corporation, an independent oil and gas producing company. He has over 48 years of experience in the oil and natural gas business. Mr. Artus holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Geological Engineering and a Master’s Degree in Mining Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana and North Dakota.
Thomas P. Briggs
Thomas P. Briggs, 62, has been a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation since 2006 and is chairman of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Briggs is an inactive certified public accountant and served as chief financial officer of six private and public companies, primarily in the oil and gas and food industries. Recently, he was chief financial officer of Horizon Organic, an organic foods company until it was acquired in 2004. During the 1980s, he was a chief financial officer and senior officer of two Denver-based independent oil and gas companies. Mr. Briggs spent 10 years with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte as a tax and M&A consultant to oil and gas clients. Mr. Briggs holds an accounting degree from Duke University and a law degree from Georgetown University.
Philip E. Doty
Philip E. Doty, 67, was appointed on August 11, 2010 as a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation to serve out the unexpired term of Palmer L. Moe, upon his retirement. Mr. Doty is a certified public accountant. Since 2007, Mr. Doty has been counsel to Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman PC, the largest Colorado-based accounting and consulting firm, where he previously was a partner from 2002 to 2007. From 1967 to 2000 he worked at Arthur Andersen, where he was a partner since 1978 and served as the audit partner and head of the oil and gas practice until his retirement in 2000. He is a graduate of Drake University with a Bachelor’s degree in accounting.
William N. Hahne
William N. Hahne, 59, has been a director since 2007 and is chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Hahne was Chief Operating Officer of Petrohawk Energy Corporation from July 2006 until October 2007. Mr. Hahne served at KCS Energy, Inc. as President, Chief Operating Officer and Director from April 2003 to July 2006, as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from March 2002 to April 2003 and in other management positions prior to that. He is a graduate of Oklahoma University with a BS in petroleum engineering and has 35 years of extensive technical and management experience with independent oil and gas companies including Unocal, Union Texas Petroleum Corporation, NERCO, The Louisiana Land and Exploration Company (LL&E) and Burlington Resources, Inc.
Allan R. Larson
Allan R. Larson, 72, was named as a director of Whiting Petroleum Corporation on December 15, 2010 to serve out the unexpired term of Graydon D. Hubbard, upon his retirement. He has more than 45 years experience in oil and gas exploration and development, primarily in the Rocky Mountains and the Midcontinent regions. For 25 years he has operated Larson Petroleum, LLC, a geological consulting company. His previous affiliations include Jade Drilling Company, Belleview Capital Corporation, Mesa Petroleum Company and Amoco Production Company. Mr. Larson earned a PhD in Geology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned his M.S. in Geology from UCLA and his BS degree in Geology at Pennsylvania State University. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, the Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, the Wyoming Geological Association, the Montana Geologic Society and the Utah Geologic Association.
