Jon-Al Duplantier
About Jon-Al Duplantier
Independent Class I director of Kodiak Gas Services (KGS) since June 28, 2023; age 57 as of March 17, 2025. Former President, Rental Tools & Well Services and previously CAO & General Counsel at Parker Drilling; earlier senior legal roles at ConocoPhillips and began career as a patent attorney at DuPont. Education: J.D., Louisiana State University; B.S., Chemistry, Grambling State University. Tenure: director since the IPO in 2023; current term runs through the 2027 annual meeting; designated independent under NYSE standards.
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parker Drilling Company | President, Rental Tools & Well Services | Apr 2018 – Jul 2020 | Company filed Chapter 11 in Dec 2018 during his officer tenure (context for risk review). |
| Parker Drilling Company | SVP, Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel | Apr 2014 – Mar 2018 | Led governance/legal functions. |
| Parker Drilling Company | Various leadership roles | Sep 2009 – Apr 2014 | Legal/commercial roles. |
| ConocoPhillips | Senior Counsel (E&P); Managing Counsel (Indonesia); Managing Counsel (Environmental) | Aug 2002 – Sep 2009 | International and environmental legal leadership. |
| E.I. du Pont de Nemours (DuPont) | Patent Attorney | Not disclosed | Early career; IP/legal foundation. |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sitio Royalties Corp. (NYSE: STR) | Director | Since Dec 2022 | Mineral royalties; Permian and other U.S. basins. |
| Stellar Bancorp, Inc. (NYSE: STEL) | Director | Since Oct 2022 | Bank holding company. |
| AltaGas Ltd. | Director | Since Feb 2021 | North American energy infrastructure company. |
| Brigham Minerals, Inc. | Director (former) | Feb 2021 – Dec 2022 | Former public mineral royalties company. |
| Allegiance Bancshares, Inc. | Director (former) | Jan 2021 – Sep 2022 | Former regional bank holding company. |
Board Governance
- Committees: Chair, Nominating, Governance & Sustainability (NG&S); Member, Personnel & Compensation (P&C). Both committees comprised of independent directors under NYSE/SEC rules.
- Independence: Listed as independent; all current committee members are independent.
- Board class/term: Class I; current term expires at the 2027 annual meeting.
- Attendance: In 2024, each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings on which they served; all nine directors attended the 2024 annual meeting. In 2023, each director attended at least 89%. Executive sessions of independent directors held at least four times in 2024 (nine times in 2023), presided over by the independent Chair.
- Compensation Committee interlocks: None reported.
- Controlling shareholder context: Kodiak Holdings/EQT retains nomination rights for two directors (currently Alex Darden and Nirav Shah) and certain consent rights at ≥35% ownership; Mr. Duplantier is not a designee under this agreement.
Fixed Compensation (Non-Employee Director, 2024)
| Component | 2024 Amount ($) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | 80,000 | Standard board member cash retainer. |
| Committee chair fee (NG&S) | 15,000 | NG&S chair fee. |
| Total cash fees | 95,000 | Sum of retainers/fees. |
| All other compensation | 10,185 | Dividend equivalents on unvested RSUs. |
Performance Compensation (Equity; Director Program)
| Award Date | Instrument | Shares Granted | Grant-Date Fair Value ($) | Vesting Terms | Change-in-Control | Dividends |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2024 | RSUs | 5,519 | 150,000 | Vest on earlier of (i) day immediately preceding next annual meeting or (ii) first anniversary, subject to continued service. | Unvested RSUs fully vest immediately prior to a Change in Control. | Dividend equivalents paid on unvested RSUs (cash). |
Director program effective July 3, 2023 and unchanged through 2024; annual equity grant targeted at ~$150,000 for continuing non-employee directors.
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Potential Interlocks/Conflicts |
|---|---|---|
| Sitio Royalties (STR) | Director | No Kodiak-compensation interlocks disclosed; general interlocks statement indicates none. |
| Stellar Bancorp (STEL) | Director | Banking exposure; no Kodiak-related transactions disclosed. |
| AltaGas Ltd. | Director | Energy infrastructure; no Kodiak-related transactions disclosed. |
- Related-party transactions: Proxy discloses ERP services with IFS North America (EQT affiliate); Mr. Duplantier is not named in that disclosure. Audit & Risk Committee oversees related-party transaction approvals per policy.
Expertise & Qualifications
- Legal/governance leader: Former CAO & General Counsel, Parker Drilling; extensive governance and legal oversight experience.
- Energy/industrial exposure: Senior roles spanning drilling services and E&P legal; broad commercial/legal background noted by the Board as qualifying experience.
- Education: J.D. (LSU); B.S. Chemistry (Grambling State).
Equity Ownership (as of March 17, 2025)
| Category | Shares |
|---|---|
| Shares owned directly | 10,375 |
| Right to acquire stock (within 60 days) | 5,519 |
| Total beneficial ownership | 15,894 |
| Percent of class | Less than 1% |
Governance Assessment
-
Strengths
- Independent director; chairs NG&S and serves on P&C—positions with high governance leverage.
- Solid attendance culture (≥75% in 2024; ≥89% in 2023 across all directors) and engagement in executive sessions; presence at 2024 annual meeting.
- Meaningful alignment via annual RSU grant and personal share ownership; dividend equivalents on RSUs maintain economic alignment during vesting.
- Clear insider trading policy with prohibition on hedging/derivatives absent pre-approval, supporting alignment and risk control.
-
Watch items
- Multi-board workload: Concurrent public boards at Sitio Royalties, Stellar Bancorp, and AltaGas in addition to KGS; KGS guidelines note overboarding triggers a review of board membership suitability.
- Prior bankruptcy involvement: Served as a senior officer at Parker Drilling during its Dec 2018 Chapter 11—considered a governance risk signal; evaluate learnings/remediation experience.
- Controlling shareholder overlay: EQT/Kodiak Holdings holds consent rights at ≥35% ownership and designates two directors (not Mr. Duplantier); governance dynamics merit monitoring for independence of decision-making.
-
No evidence of the following red flags in proxy disclosures
- Compensation committee interlocks.
- Pledging/hedging by the director (policy prohibits hedging; pledging not disclosed for directors).
- Director-specific related-party transactions.