Robert B. Tudor, III
MURPHY OILAbout Robert B. Tudor, III
Independent director at Murphy Oil Corporation since October 2, 2024; age 65; background in energy investment banking and policy. Founder and CEO of Artemis Energy Partners (since 2023); retired Founder and CEO of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.; former partner at Goldman Sachs leading the worldwide energy practice; holds a BA in English and Legal Studies from Rice University and a JD from Tulane Law School . He is deemed independent under NYSE rules and serves on the Audit and Nominating & Governance Committees .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artemis Energy Partners | Founder & CEO | 2023–present | Energy investing/advisory platform |
| Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. | Founder & CEO (retired) | 2007–2022 | Led energy-focused investment bank |
| Goldman Sachs | Partner; leader of worldwide energy practice | Prior to 2007 (not specified) | Global energy advisory leadership |
| Murphy Oil Corporation | Independent Director | Appointed Oct 2, 2024 | Audit; Nominating & Governance |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Energy Transition Initiative | Chairman | Current | Regional energy transition strategy leader |
| Puloli, Inc. | Director | Current | Methane detection/measurement tech board |
| New ASEAN Energy | Director | Current | Petrochemicals (Asia) board |
| P6 Technologies, Inc. | Director | Current | Product lifecycle assessment software board |
| Rice University (Baker Institute; Jones School; Board of Trustees, past chair) | Advisor/Trustee | Current/past | Policy and academic governance roles |
| National Petroleum Council | Advisor | Current | Energy policy advisory body |
| Tulane Center for Energy Law | National Advisory Board | Current | Energy law advisory |
| Houston Symphony; Good Reason Houston; MD Anderson Board of Visitors; Rice Management Company | Director/Visitor | Current | Civic/philanthropic governance |
Board Governance
- Committees: Audit (Member); Nominating & Governance (Member). Audit Committee members are independent; Audit oversees financial reporting, internal audit, compliance, and cybersecurity risk; N&G oversees director independence and potential conflicts .
- Board leadership: Independent Chair (Claiborne P. Deming); separate Chair/CEO structure; executive sessions of non-employee directors held at least three times per year .
- Meetings/attendance: 2024—Board met 6 times; Audit 5; Compensation 4; Finance 4; N&G 3; HSE/CR 3. All full-year 2024 nominees’ attendance substantially exceeded 75% of Board/committee meetings; Tudor joined Oct 2, 2024 (attendance for him not separately disclosed) .
- Independence: All directors other than the CEO deemed independent; familial relationships among other directors were considered in independence review (Deming, Murphy, Keller are first cousins) .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $85,000 | Standard for non-employee directors |
| Committee chair retainers | $20,000 (Audit/Comp/Finance); $15,000 (other) | Not applicable to Tudor (member, not chair) |
| Audit Committee Financial Expert stipend | $7,000 | Not applicable to Tudor |
| Audit/Finance committee member fee | $5,000 | Applicable given Audit membership (pro-rated in 2024) |
| 2024 cash paid (pro-rated) | $22,500 | Reflects service starting Oct 2, 2024 |
Performance Compensation
| Equity Award | Grant Date | Units | Grant-Date Fair Value | Vesting/Settlement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time-based RSUs (Director Plan) | Oct 2, 2024 | 1,445 | $50,006 | Vested/settled into common shares on Feb 7, 2025 (includes dividend equivalents) |
Director equity is time-based (not performance-based). For Murphy’s executive pay program (context for board oversight), AIP metrics include ROACE (30%), AIP Free Cash Flow (25%), Lifting Costs+G&A (25%), and ESG/safety metrics (TRIR, Spill Rate, GHG Intensity, Sustainability Basket totaling 20%) with 2024 payout at 116.3% of target .
| 2024 AIP Metrics and Weightings | Weight | Threshold | Target | Max | Actual | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROACE (EBITDA/ACE) | 30% | 20.9% | 25.8% | 33.4% | 23.1% | 72% |
| AIP Free Cash Flow ($MM) | 25% | $464 | $799 | $1,332 | $641.8 | 77% |
| Lifting Costs + G&A | 25% | 17.54 | 16.20 | 14.94 | 15.33 | 169% |
| TRIR | 5% | 0.44 | 0.31 | 0.00 | 0.22 | 129% |
| Spill Rate (bbl/MMBOE) | 5% | 4.00 | 2.00 | 0.00 | 0.09 | 196% |
| GHG Intensity (tCO2e/MMBOE) | 5% | 13,400 | 12,150 | 10,900 | 10,456 | 200% |
| Sustainability Basket | 5% | — | — | — | See sub-metrics | 140% |
| Total AIP Payout | — | — | — | — | — | 116.3% |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Type | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public companies | — | None | No current public company directorships listed |
| Private/Non-profit/Academic | Various | Director/Advisor | See External Roles table |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Finance/Banking and energy markets expertise; corporate governance; government relations/public policy; international business .
- Legal education (JD), policy advisory roles (NPC, Baker Institute), and energy transition leadership (HETI) .
Equity Ownership
| Category | Shares/Units | Percent of Outstanding |
|---|---|---|
| Common stock beneficially owned | 1,459 | <1% |
| Equity awards exercisable or that may settle within 60 days | 7,497 | — |
| Total beneficial ownership | 8,956 | <1% |
- RSUs outstanding at 12/31/2024: 1,445 (director grant) .
- Ownership guidelines: Directors must hold 5x annual retainer; all directors and NEOs were in compliance in 2024 .
- Hedging prohibited; pledging restricted until ownership targets met; any pledging requires prior disclosure; insider trading policy enforced .
Insider Trades
| Date | Filing | Transaction | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2, 2024 | Form 8-K | Elected as independent director; compensation under director plan | — |
| Oct 4, 2024 | Form 4 | Initial director equity reporting (RSU award under Director Plan) | Notional RSUs (numbers not specified in summary) |
| Feb 7, 2025 | Form 4 | RSU vest/settle to common stock; 1,445 RSUs settled; 1,459 common shares acquired (incl. dividend equivalents) | 1,445 RSUs; 1,459 shares |
Governance Assessment
- Board effectiveness: Tudor brings deep energy finance and strategy expertise to Audit and N&G committees—valuable for oversight of financial reporting, independence, and governance trends .
- Independence and conflicts: Board affirms independence of all directors other than the CEO; N&G evaluates conflicts, including familial relationships among other directors; 2024 saw no related-party transactions requiring disclosure, and no ethics code waivers .
- Compensation alignment: Director pay mix is balanced between cash retainer and equity RSUs; equity is time-based to align with shareholder value; stock ownership guidelines enforced; hedging/pledging restrictions strengthen alignment .
- Shareholder confidence signals: Say-on-pay approval exceeded 98% in 2024, indicating broad support for compensation governance; independent Chair with regular executive sessions enhances oversight .
RED FLAGS
- Potential conflict exposure: As head of an energy investing/advisory platform and director/advisor to energy/tech entities, ongoing N&G oversight of any transactions or strategic interlocks is essential; company disclosed no related party transactions in 2024 .
- Board family ties among other directors (Deming, Murphy, Keller) require continued independence monitoring; noted as part of N&G review .