J. Mike Stice
Kosmos EnergyAbout J. Mike Stice
Independent director at Kosmos Energy (KOS) since 2023, age 66. Stice brings four decades of oil and gas operating and midstream leadership, including CEO of Access Midstream (formerly Chesapeake Midstream Partners), and academic leadership as former Dean of the University of Oklahoma’s Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy (now Professor). He holds a BS in Chemical Engineering (University of Oklahoma), an MBA (Stanford), and an EdD (George Washington University). He is designated an Audit Committee financial expert and serves on KOS’s Audit and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conoco / ConocoPhillips | Engineering/operations leadership; President, Conoco Energy Solutions; President, ConocoPhillips Qatar | 1981–2003 (roles from 1981; President roles 2001 and 2003) | Progressive operating leadership across U.S., Australia, Asia; business unit leadership |
| Chesapeake Midstream Development (wholly owned by Chesapeake Energy) | President & COO; SVP Natural Gas Projects | 2008–2009 | Led midstream development; senior gas project leadership |
| Chesapeake Midstream Partners → Access Midstream Partners | CEO; Director | 2009–2014 (CEO through 2014; name change 2012) | Chief executive through MLP evolution; retired 2014 |
| University of Oklahoma, Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy | Dean | Aug 2015–Jan 2023 | Academic leadership; now Professor (since Jan 2023) |
| MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P. | Director (former) | Not stated (former) | Board service at major midstream partnership |
| Spartan Acquisition III Corp. | Director (former) | Not stated (former) | SPAC board experience |
External Roles
| Company | Role | Committees | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon Petroleum Corporation | Director | Audit; Corporate Governance & Nominating; Sustainability & Public Policy | Large U.S. refiner; multiple committee assignments |
| MPLX GP LLC | Director | Not disclosed | GP of MPLX (midstream, controlled by MPC) |
Board Governance
| Dimension | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence | Determined independent under NYSE and Rule 10A‑3 |
| KOS Committees | Audit (member); Nominating & Corporate Governance (member) |
| Financial Expert | Identified as Audit Committee “financial expert” |
| Meetings (2024) | Board met 6 times; no director attended <75% of Board+committee meetings on which they served |
| Committee Activity (2024) | Audit met 4x; Nominating & Corporate Governance met 1x |
| Lead Independent Director | Role established; A. Ogunlesi is LID with strong authorities (agendas, executive sessions, CEO eval) |
| Cybersecurity Oversight | Audit Committee oversees information and cybersecurity risk with at least quarterly updates |
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component | 2024 Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual Board cash retainer | $75,000 | Annualized retainer for non-employee directors |
| Committee chair fees | $0 | Not a chair; chair fees: Audit $50k, N&CG $50k, HSES $25k, Comp $25k |
| Total fees earned (cash) | $75,000 | As reported for Stice |
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Instrument | Grant Date | Units/Value | Vesting/Terms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual RSU award | Jun 6, 2024 | $170,000 grant-date fair value | Service-vesting; annual grant on meeting date; accelerates on death/disability or change in control |
| RSUs outstanding (as of 12/31/24) | N/A | 30,196 RSUs | Scheduled to vest in June 2025 |
KOS provides directors the option to take all/part of annual cash retainer in fully vested common stock elected prior year-end; 2024 elections noted for certain directors (not specified for Stice) with shares issued on Jun 6, 2024 .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector Link to KOS | Potential Interlock Risk | Evidence/Disclosure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marathon Petroleum (MPC) | Downstream/refining; potential customer/offtaker/geography overlap | Possible industry adjacency; mitigated by KOS related-party review policy | No related-party transactions disclosed since Jan 1, 2024; N&CG reviews any such transactions |
| MPLX GP LLC | Midstream/logistics; potential infrastructure adjacency | Possible adjacency via midstream; policy oversight applies | No related-party transactions disclosed since Jan 1, 2024 |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Deep operating and midstream leadership (Conoco/ConocoPhillips; Chesapeake/Access Midstream CEO) relevant to E&P capital allocation, project execution, and midstream commercialization .
- Academic leadership in petroleum geoscience/engineering education; enhances HSES and talent oversight perspective .
- Audit Committee financial expert; strengthens financial reporting, reserves oversight, and risk controls .
- Broad external board service across downstream and midstream (MPC, MPLX GP LLC) informs market/industry dynamics .
Equity Ownership
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (common shares) | 28,202 shares; <1% of outstanding |
| Unvested director RSUs (12/31/24) | 30,196 RSUs (vest June 2025) |
| Director ownership guideline | 5x annual cash board retainer within 5 years; retain 100% net shares until met |
| Compliance status (as of 12/31/24) | All non-employee directors in compliance |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent; Audit financial expert; active on Audit and Nominating; Board/committee attendance thresholds met; strong lead independent director structure; Audit Committee explicitly oversees cybersecurity; robust related-party review; director stock ownership guidelines with full compliance .
- Alignment: Mix of cash ($75k) and equity ($170k RSUs) promotes long-term alignment; RSUs subject to service and accelerate only upon death/disability/change of control; optional stock-in-lieu-of-cash program enhances ownership culture .
- Potential conflicts: Concurrent directorships at MPC and MPLX GP LLC create sector adjacencies; however, KOS discloses no related-party transactions in 2024 and maintains formal related-person transaction approval by N&CG, reducing conflict risk .
- Shareholder sentiment: Say-on-pay received ~97% support in 2024, signaling high investor confidence in compensation governance more broadly .
- Policies: Company Dealing Policy covers directors, officers and employees; explicit hedging prohibitions stated for employees/NEOs; Section 16(a) compliance reported; enhances trading/ethics posture .
RED FLAGS: None disclosed regarding related-party transactions, attendance shortfalls, or pledging/hedging by directors in 2024. Continued monitoring warranted for potential counterparty interactions given MPC/MPLX affiliations, but no reportable transactions were disclosed .
Citations: All data points are sourced from KOS 2025 DEF 14A proxy statement as cited inline.