Rebecca Bayless
About Rebecca Bayless
Rebecca L. Bayless (age 55) has served as an independent director of Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. since January 25, 2022. She is a licensed CPA in Texas and holds a B.S. in Accounting from Arkansas State University. Bayless is currently CEO of Daytona Resources LLC and brings 25+ years of oil and gas finance, accounting, and treasury experience, including CFO/CAO roles at PE-backed operators and controllership roles at public energy companies .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indigo Natural Resources LLC | Chief Accounting Officer | 2016–2021 | Led financial reporting and controls through liquidity events |
| Indigo Minerals LLC | Chief Financial Officer | 2007–2016 | Took company through asset sales/IPO/merger pathways |
| Energy Resource Technology (Helix Energy Solutions subsidiary) | Controller | 2004–2006 | Public company subsidiary controllership |
| Prize Energy Company | Controller | 1999–2002 | E&P controllership |
| Pioneer Natural Resources | Various accounting roles | Not disclosed | Finance and accounting roles |
| Merit Energy Company | Various accounting roles | Not disclosed | Finance and accounting roles |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Energy Services | Director; Audit Chair; Compensation Committee member | Current | Chairs Audit; member Compensation Committee |
| Circon Energy | Independent Advisor (Corporate Governance & Policies) | Current | Governance advisory |
| The John Cooper School | Board of Trustees | Current | Finance committee participation |
| The Club at Carlton Woods | Board of Trustees | Current | Finance committee participation |
| Houston Producers Forum | 2022 President | 2022 | Industry leadership |
Board Governance
- Independence: The Board determined Bayless is independent under NYSE American standards .
- Committee assignments and chair roles:
- Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee Chair
- Compensation Committee Co-Chair
- Audit Committee member
- Meetings and attendance: In 2024 the Board held 4 meetings; Audit 5; Nominating 1; Compensation 3. Each director attended at least 75% of Board and committee meetings on which they served; all directors attended the 2024 Annual Meeting .
- Executive sessions: Non-employee directors meet in executive session led by an independent director .
- Leadership structure context: Combined Chairman/CEO (Bobby Riley); Board periodically reassesses structure .
| Governance Item | 2024 Detail | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Independence | Independent director (NYSE American) | |
| Committees | Nominating (Chair); Compensation (Co-Chair); Audit (Member) | |
| Board meetings held | 4 | |
| Audit meetings held | 5 | |
| Compensation meetings held | 3 | |
| Nominating meetings held | 1 | |
| Attendance threshold | ≥75% for all directors | |
| Executive sessions | Non-employee directors; led by independent director |
Fixed Compensation
| Component (Director) | Amount | Vesting/Terms | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $120,000 | Standard non-employee director retainer | |
| 2024 restricted stock grant (grant-date fair value) | $183,759 | One-year vesting; vesting scheduled June 2025 | |
| Standard equity framework | Up to $200,000 restricted stock annually | One-year vesting; adjusted for partial service |
Performance Compensation
Directors do not receive performance-based incentives (e.g., PSUs/options) at REPX; equity grants for directors are time-based restricted stock with a one-year vesting period .
| Performance Metric | Weight/Target | Status | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director performance-linked metrics | Not applicable | Not disclosed; director equity is time-based | |
| Director stock ownership guideline | 5x annual cash retainer | 5-year compliance window; retain 50% of net shares until met |
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Sector | Role | Committee Roles | Potential Interlocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superior Energy Services | Oilfield services | Director | Audit Chair; Compensation Committee member | Energy services adjacency; no REPX conflict disclosed |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Licensed CPA (Texas); B.S. Accounting, Arkansas State University .
- Deep finance/accounting leadership across PE-backed and public energy entities; experience taking companies through asset sales, IPOs, and mergers .
- Audit committee-relevant expertise; governance advisory roles on multiple boards/organizations .
Equity Ownership
| Ownership Item | Value | As-Of | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total beneficial ownership (shares) | 17,077 | April 9, 2025 | |
| Ownership (% of shares outstanding) | 0.1% | April 9, 2025 | |
| Pledged shares | Not disclosed for Bayless | April 9, 2025 | |
| Stock ownership guideline | 5x annual cash retainer | Adopted April 2025 |
Recent insider transactions (Form 4):
| Metric | 2024-06-01 | 2025-06-01 |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction type | Award (restricted stock) | Award (restricted stock) |
| Shares awarded | 6,849 | 7,524 |
| Price | $0 (grant) | $0 (grant) |
| Post-transaction ownership | 17,077 shares | 24,601 shares |
Governance Assessment
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Strengths
- Independent director with deep finance/audit expertise; chairs Nominating & Governance and co-chairs Compensation; member of Audit .
- Documented attendance threshold met by all directors, and Board maintains executive sessions led by an independent director .
- Adoption of stock ownership guidelines for directors (5x retainer; 5-year compliance; 50% net share retention until met) supports alignment .
- Compensation Committee engages independent consultant (Meridian); no conflicts identified; committee interlocks absent .
-
Watch items and potential red flags
- Combined CEO/Chair model places oversight emphasis on independent committee leadership and executive sessions .
- Company permits pledging of fully vested shares by directors and officers (restricted shares cannot be pledged); while policy includes mitigations, pledging can reduce alignment in stress scenarios. Bayless has no pledge disclosure in footnotes; pledging noted for CEO in footnotes .
-
Compensation and incentives: Director pay is a mix of cash ($120,000) and time-based equity ($183,759 grant-date fair value in 2024) with no performance metrics, centering alignment via ownership and governance roles rather than pay-for-performance constructs .
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Independence/Conflicts: No related-party transactions disclosed for Bayless; Board and committees comprised entirely of independent directors (for Audit, Compensation, Nominating) .