Natural Resources >> CEO Interviews >> May 31, 2010
Maston N. Cunningham was elected President and CEO of Tri-Valley Corp. in March 2010. He had been Tri-Valley's President and COO since May 2009, having joined the company in January 2009 as Vice President of Corporate Development. Previously, Mr. Cunningham had a 22-year international career with Occidental Petroleum Corp., including more than 15 years in Pakistan, Peru and Ecuador. In 1996 he was appointed President and General Manager of Oxy's Ecuadorian subsidiary, where he led a successful oil exploration and development program, as well as a restructuring of the business unit and renegotiation of its Oriente Basin Block 15 contract to increase oil reserves, production and profitability. Mr. Cunningham was a Co-Founder and first President of ASOPEC, an Ecuadorian petroleum industry association that spearheaded the industry's efforts to secure government approval for the construction of a private $1.1 billion heavy-oil pipeline and marine terminal to facilitate additional heavy-oil development in the Oriente Basin. Mr. Cunningham is a past President of the Association of American Chambers of Commerce in Latin America. He currently serves as Treasurer on the board of trustees of the Pan American Development Foundation, an affiliate of the Organization of American States, in Washington, D.C. Mr. Cunningham is a graduate of Trinity University and received an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin. He is also a Certified Public Accountant. Profile
TWST: Let's start with an introduction and brief history of Tri-Valley.
Mr. Cunningham: Tri-Valley Corp. (TIV) has been in business for about 50 years, going public in 1972. For most of our history,
