KEN WAITS, President & CEO, Mewbourne Oil Company

Kenneth S. Waits received his Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1983 and pursued graduate business studies at UT Tyler in 1988. Upon graduation from OU, he joined Mewbourne Oil Company as an operations engineer and has spent his entire career with the Company.  He has served Mewbourne in numerous roles, and now serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Mewbourne Oil Company.

Headquartered in Tyler, Texas, Mewbourne has become one of the largest privately-owned oil producers and one of the most active drillers in America.  The Company has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most stable and respected operators in the industry.

Ken serves on the boards of the American Exploration and Production Council, the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, is the former chairman of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association and has chaired numerous civic and charitable organizations. He is a long-time supporter of the University of Oklahoma and was honored by OU with the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010, and the Regents’ Alumni Award in 2016.

Ken and his wife of 34 years, Laura Waits, reside in Tyler, Texas. They are the proud parents of Hanna Waits, a 2022 OU graduate, who now works and lives in Atlanta, Georgia.