In 1917 when AAPG formed, the world was very different to the one we live in today. While AAPG's original purpose remains valid and still guides the Association, the nature of the job of a petroleum geologist has expanded. The amount of data we must process, analyze and interpret has grown. The multidisciplinary composition of our working environment continues to broaden. The formations we target have undergone a renaissance, whereby tighter rocks have become viable and profitable exploration targets; so much so that those rocks and the hydrocarbons they contain have changed the balance of supply and demand globally.

This is happening during a time when the world is collectively demanding that our industry develop the resources of our planet so that we "meet the needs of the present without compromising the welfare of future generations."

Today's AAPG is global, and its membership is more diverse and broader technically than ever before. The challenge and opportunity facing AAPG is how to remain vital – not only to the membership, but to the worldwide geoscience community that benefits from the conferences, publications and insights that AAPG provides.

The reason I accepted the invitation to be a candidate is to help lead AAPG in advancing the geosciences together to the global community it serves.

My experience as an oil and gas executive included leading large and complex organizations. During my time at Equinor (formerly Statoil), I had the opportunity to set the foundation for an expanding and globally competitive exploration team. Later, while heading Development and Production North America and serving on the corporate executive committee, I had the challenge of leading and growing an organization with a portfolio of assets in the onshore of the United States, deepwater Gulf of Mexico, Canadian oil sands and offshore East Coast Canada. During the same period, I sat on the board of the American Petroleum Institute and was a member of the National Petroleum Council. Those experiences have prepared me well to take on a leadership role for AAPG.

Advancing the geosciences together will require improved communication, effective leadership and more innovation in the products AAPG offers, plus openness to new ways of doing things and new partnerships. I believe we can all take part in this advancement – by teaching, mentoring, reaching out to students or simply helping a colleague with advice. Pulling together and sharing our knowledge in this way will make us a richer association.

AAPG is one of the world's premier geoscientific societies. Looking forward, we can make AAPG even better – serving the needs of a broader, more diverse and larger membership while helping our colleagues be even better professionals through association with AAPG and all it offers. I proudly and humbly accept the invitation to be a candidate to serve AAPG in a leadership role.

Thank you.