Aubrey McClendon

Aubrey Kerr McClendon (born 1959 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) is the chief executive officer, chairman, and co-founder of Chesapeake Energy.

Personal

He was born to Joe and Carole McClendon, and is a great-nephew of Robert S. Kerr, a former Governor of Oklahoma and US Senator and founder of Kerr-McGee.

McClendon graduated from Duke University in 1981. He met his wife Katie, a 1980 Duke graduate, while attending college there.

Business Interests

McClendon is on the board of directors at Chesapeake, which, among others, includes prominent Oklahoma politicians Frank Keating and Don Nickles. He co-founded Chesapeake, one of the largest natural gas producers in the United States, along with the company's former president Tom L. Ward in 1989 with a $50,000 initial investment. [ [http://www.chkenergy.com/p/388/Default.aspx Chesapeake Energy History] ] In 2005 McClendon was named one of America's top-performing executives by "Forbes Magazine". [ [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13934598/page/2/ MSNBC] ]

McClendon is one of four primary partners in The Professional Basketball Club, LLC (TPBC), which owns the NBA Oklahoma City Thunder club. The NBA fined McClendon $250,000 for comments he made in The (Oklahoma City) Journal Record about his hopes of moving the Sonics to Oklahoma City. [ [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sonics/2003849240_soni23.html Seattle Times - Co-Owner Fined] ] . Clay Bennett has stated that McClendon does not speak for the Sonics in any official capacity.

In July 2006, Aubrey McClendon purchased 402 acres of Lake Michigan shoreline at the mouth of the Kalamazoo River in Saugatuck, Michigan [ [http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/takingoff/2007/08/battle-for-saug.html Midwest Getaways - A blog to get you going | Chicago Tribune | Blog ] ] for $39 million with the intention of developing the land into residential subdivisions.

It was announced on October 10, 2008 that Aubrey McClendon sold substantially all of his stock in Chesapeake energy to meet a margin call after the rout in the U.S. stock market that week.cn

Other Interests

McClendon is the Chairman of the Board for American Clean Skies Foundation, a non-profit foundation that educates the public on clean energy sources.

Since 2000 McClendon has donated $678,050.00 to a variety of Republican candidates and conservative interest groups [ [http://www.fec.gov/finance/disclosure/norindsea.shtml FEC Disclosure] ] . Most notable of these was a $250,000 donation to Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, a group whose purpose was opposing John Kerry's candidacy for the presidency in 2004. His donation made him the eighth largest contributor to the group.

In 2007 McClendon bought several full-page ads supporting the Duke men's lacrosse team in the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case. [ [http://www.wsoctv.com/sports/13456424/detail.html?rss=char&psp=sports Oklahoma City Businessman Buys Ads Supporting Duke Team - Sports News Story - WSOC Charlotte ] ]

In response to fellow Oklahoman Boone Pickens announcement of his Pickens Plan, McClendon has run several television commercials praising Pickens for his support of increased natural gas usage.cn

References