Nathan Conway brings his own limitless energy to the oilfields, where he is a leader and driving force. When not pushing himself to the top of his career field, he devotes time and funds to helping out starving children in Africa.

Age: 32

Position: Chief Operating Officer

Family: Single

Hobbies: My passion is work! When not at work I enjoy golfing and traveling.

Community involvement: Continual involvement in many aspects of my community started in college when I participated in the VITA program. During this time, I volunteered to assist in the preparation of income-tax returns for low-income families. Today, I am involved in feeding and educating children in Africa. In doing so, I chair an annual golf outing raising over $100,000 each year for the relief work in Africa.

Career path: Beginning at the age of 16 and throughout college, I worked weekends and summers in the oilfields, checking wells. The field experience early on in my life was paramount in helping kick start my career as a professional in the oil and gas industry. Upon completion of my college education, I took a job as Assistant to the President for Ward Williston. After two years, I was promoted to Business Development Analyst and worked directly with the president to analyze new business opportunities and strengthen our existing lines of business. I was then promoted to Corporate Development Manager of this energy company with responsibilities including strategic planning and performance management for the stakeholders. This position led to my current role as Chief Operating Officer.

Mentors: I have been blessed to have had many mentors in my life so far. Early on, my parents taught me to work hard with integrity and maintain a high level of character in any decision I made. Their encouragement and confidence in me provided the foundation to try anything and pick myself up and go again if I fell short of the mark. I attribute much of my success to the great mentors I have in my life. I was blessed with bosses who have supported and guided me from the very beginning of my career. They encouraged me to continue my education and have been the wall to lean on when faced with a new challenge or situation. My mentors are my coaches and also the ones that keep me humble. I rely on them to point out my faults and also pat me on the back when I need some encouragement. And that they do!

Briefly, tell us about yourself: My industry peers say I am wise beyond my years. I felt the need to take on significant responsibility from a very young age. When I was 10 years old, my grandfather died, leaving my grandmother with the enormous task of running her farm so she could survive financially. I knew my father was busy with his career and could not devote enough time to satisfy the need, so I stepped up to help her run the farm. I knew how to tend to the livestock and do the farming, so I did it. With the determination I had, my parents and grandmother kept a careful watch on me and allowed me the opportunity to take care of my grandmother by working on the farm. My parents taught me a work ethic at a very early age. The work ethic they gave me has given me the drive and desire to do great things with my life. I love to work hard and take on challenges that would be expected of people typically much older than I am. I have a keen sense of duty and understand the elements of good character that I commit to practice daily. I have a moral code that I live by, and with this I try to help others less fortunate, which I demonstrate with my work in Africa.

What motivates you? Throughout my life, people have said I couldn’t. It seemed as though anything I attempted, someone would give me a hundred reasons why I couldn’t succeed. When I was a junior in high school, my career counselor said my ambitions were too high. She suggested I go to a trade school to become a mechanic. Never doubting that being a mechanic would be a worthy career, I knew it wasn’t going to get me what I had hoped to achieve. I chose business school with a major in accounting, considering I would study to become a CPA and then someday own my own business. Again I had advisors that told me I would never make it as a CPA, and I should consider changing majors. Avoiding the pessimism towards my career, I completed the program. Today, after surpassing all those discouraging comments, I have proven to myself they were wrong. As I travel across the country for my company or when I speak at an oil and gas conference, I think back to the negative comments that could have distracted me from reaching for my goals. I know for a fact that what every man puts his mind to, he can achieve. Failure has certainly made me a stronger person. If anyone said today that I couldn’t complete a task or achieve a goal, I would not believe them. Rather, I would just find a way to get the job done. John C. Maxwell once said, “People go further than they thought they could when someone else thinks they can!” Today I surround myself with people who believe I can, and in fact I do.

Challenges in your career path: If I could buy time in a bottle, all of my challenges would be solved. Days and years pass us by quickly, and what we hope to get done in a short period of time usually takes much longer. With leadership positions comes a great demand on your time both at work and personally. These demands come with the greatest challenge, and that is to maintain a balanced life. Without balance, comes exhaustion, then creativity becomes stagnant and eventually leads to burnout. I am determined to maintain a certain amount of balance in my life. This will continue to be my greatest challenge in my career.

What’s the biggest risk you’ve ever taken? The greatest risk I have taken so far in my life is making the transition from rural North Dakota living to becoming a world traveler. Everyone has a comfort zone, even the president of the United States of America, and when you step outside of your comfort zone, you find yourself at risk. The world is a big place and the competition is fierce; if you do not take risks you never realize your full potential. I continue to challenge myself to push out of my comfort zone and take on new challenges.

Anything you’re particularly proud of? I am proud of what I have achieved in my short career, and knowing these accomplishments came without a breach of my integrity, character or a breaking my moral code. Hard work has paid off to date. In particular, 21 months ago I challenged myself by returning to college to study for my masters in business administration. It was an enormous strain on my personal and professional life, however it was time well spent, and with the commitment came another box I can check off from my bucket list.

What advice would you offer other young professionals? Decide early on what you want to achieve in life and think without limits. Develop a list of goals in one-, five- and 10-year categories, and challenge yourself to meet or exceed them. Organize a list of 20 professionals that you can request a meeting with from time to time, and determine how they chose the career path they did or how they found success. Be willing to be coached by your peers, and humble yourself to accept advice from anyone who is willing to share it. Don’t underestimate the value of wisdom from those older than you. Find someone who you respect and is willing to mentor you along the way. Force yourself out of your comfort zone frequently. Strive to be the best you can be while maintaining your moral code. Finally, continually educate yourself to stay abreast of your competition, and be willing to change.

What are you thankful for? Words cannot express how thankful I am for the life God has provided. It became so clear when I traveled to Mozambique, Africa, and visited the school-feeding programs I support. Just to realize how blessed all of us in this country really are. Knowing that the majority of the world lives on less than two dollars a day and to have been blessed with something greater than that is enough to be thankful for. It was a shocking experience when I saw the smiles and the joy on the faces of the little African children, when really they had nothing to be excited about. I asked myself, how could these kids (not knowing that by the time they reached the front of the feeding line any food would be left) be so enthusiastic? It didn’t matter how hungry they were, the older children would move the smaller children to the front of the line so they could be sure they would receive food. It was a humbling experience and I thank God each day for the life I have so that I have the opportunity to help and the wherewithal to do His work to help those less fortunate.

What do you see yourself doing in 10 years? Over the course of 10 years, I hope to be having as much fun as I am experiencing today. My goal will be one of two things: (1) running an international energy company, or (2) developing and building my own or purchasing poorly run businesses and complete turn-around plans to flip with the intention of doing it over and over again. Finally, over the course of 19 years, I hope to assist in developing a plan to help Africa to help itself.