Joe B. Foster

Joe B. Foster (July25, 1934May9, 2020) was an American businessman, oilman and philanthropist from Texas. From 1989 to 2005, Foster was chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Newfield Exploration Company, headquartered in Houston. Previously, Foster was chairman of Tenneco Oil Company and executive vice president and director of its parent, Tenneco Inc. He was with Tenneco for 31 years and also served as chairman of the Tenneco Gas Pipeline Group.

Foster was born in Arp, Texas, and attended Texas A&M University. He graduated in 1957 with a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering and a bachelor of business administration degree in general business. In May 1997, he was named a distinguished alumnus of Texas A&M University. Foster was chairman and a senior advisor at Tudor, Pickering, and Holt 2008–2016.

Career In addition to his tenures at Newfield and Tenneco, Joe Foster's corporate directorships included Baker Hughes, Inc., McDermott International, Inc., New Jersey Resources Corporation, Valero Energy, Dual Drilling, and Targa Resources, Inc. From February through August 2000, Foster served as interim chairman, president and chief executive officer of Baker Hughes Incorporated, while the company searched for a new chief executive. In 2001–2002, Foster served as the independent trustee for a large portion of Texaco's refining and marketing assets which were required to be divested in the course of the Chevron–Texaco merger.

Tenneco Oil

Foster was chairman of Tenneco Oil Company and executive vice president and director of its parent, Tenneco Inc. He began with Tenneco as a junior petroleum engineer in Oklahoma City in 1957. After serving in several engineering positions in Lafayette, Louisiana, while Tenneco was establishing its Gulf of Mexico operations, he became chief of planning and economic analysis for Tenneco Oil Exploration and Production in Houston in 1968. He rose through the ranks of Tenneco Oil, becoming its president in 1978. In 1981, he was named to the board of directors of Tenneco Inc. and assumed corporate-level responsibility for all of Tenneco Inc.’s upstream, downstream, and gas pipeline businesses. He left Tenneco when its board elected to divest Tenneco Oil in 1988.

Newfield Exploration

Joe B. Foster was the founder of Newfield Exploration Company, a Houston-based oil and gas exploration company. He served as chief executive officer until his retirement from active management in January 2000, and remained as chairman of its board until May 2005. Foster founded Newfield in 1989 as a private start-up with $9million of equity capital provided by himself, other employees, a group of Houston investors, and University of Texas Endowment funds. It became a public company in 1993, and its recent market value was about $5billion.

Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. Foster was affiliated with the Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. investment banking firm, serving as chairman of its TPH Partners private equity Fund I, and as a senior advisor to its Fund II. In addition, he participated as a non-operating partner in drilling oil and gas wells in the Gulf Coast area.

Awards and recognition Foster was named "Entrepreneur of the Year" in Houston's energy sector in 1994 and an "All American Wildcatter" in 1995. In 2004, he was named a Gulf of Mexico "Industry Pioneer" by the Offshore Energy Center in Galveston, Texas, and has been named the Houston World Affairs Council's 2006 Jones International Citizen of the Year.

Awards received Houston Entrepreneur of the Year, Energy Sector, 1994 Spindletop Service Award, 2000 Mays College of Business, Outstanding Alumnus, 2001 Joe B. Foster Chair in Business Leadership, Mays Business School, 2004 Texas Business Hall of Fame, 2006