DAVID M. LANEY
Mr. Laney, age 62, is an original shareholder in Matador Resources Company and was an original shareholder in Matador Petroleum Corporation. He was one of the original directors on our board of directors in July 2003 and currently serves as lead independent director and chairman of the board’s Nominating, Compensation and Planning Committee. He is an attorney who since March 2007 has practiced law as a solo practitioner.
Between 2003 and 2007, he was a partner with the law firm of Jackson Walker LLP in Dallas where he practiced in the area of corporate and financial law. Prior to joining Jackson Walker, Mr. Laney practiced at the law firm of Jenkens & Gilchrist, a Professional Corporation, from 1977 to 2003 and was managing partner of the Jenkens & Gilchrist law firm from 1990 to 2002. During his tenure as Managing Partner, Jenkens & Gilchrist was recognized as one of the fastest growing firms in the country and was named by industry press as among the top 50 firms in the country (from the standpoint of size and financial performance). From a regional law firm of roughly 160 lawyers in two Texas cities in 1990, the firm expanded under Mr. Laney’s leadership to over 625 attorneys in nine cities by the end of his tenure in 2002.
Mr. Laney has also served in several capacities as an appointee of Texas Governors William Clements and George W. Bush on various state boards continuously from 1989 through 2001. He was Governor Clements’ appointee to the Texas Finance Commission, responsible for regulatory oversight of the state banking and thrift industries as the Texas banking system emerged from the recession and collapse of the 1980’s. He then served as Governor Bush’s Texas Commissioner of Transportation (Chairman of the Texas Department of Transportation) during the period 1995 to 2000. Mr. Laney completed his term with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) in 2001. As Commissioner of Transportation, his responsibilities were largely those of the chief executive of TxDOT, a 14,000 employee state agency with a $5 billion annual budget. In that position, he initiated and oversaw the planning and successful execution of an extensive number of organizational and operational innovations throughout the organization, and developed and managed TxDOT’s legislative agenda during three regular sessions of the Texas Legislature. In 2002, Mr. Laney was nominated by President George W. Bush to the board of directors of Amtrak and confirmed by the U. S. Senate for a five-year term. In November 2007, he completed his term as Chairman of Amtrak’s board of directors. From 1998 to 2003, Mr. Laney served as a member of the Stanford University Board of Trustees, and for two years as Chairman of its Audit Committee. Mr. Laney has also served in various capacities in connection with numerous civic and educational organizations and projects in the Dallas area.
Mr. Laney’s legal experience and leadership positions in governmental departments provide our board of directors with additional perspective on our corporate governance, legal and governmental relations matters and general business matters.