People | People-Promotion | People-Retirement

ONEOK President/CEO to Retire; ONE Gas CEO Norton to Take Helm

Share Print Bookmark    |    Wednesday,May 26,2021

ONEOK Inc. president and chief executive officer, Terry K. Spencer, announced that he will retire on September 30, 2021, after 20 years with the company, including more than seven years as president and CEO.

Pierce H. Norton II, currently president and chief executive officer of ONE Gas Inc. will succeed Spencer as president and CEO of ONEOK on June 28, 2021, at which time he will also join the ONEOK Board.

Spencer will remain in his current role until Norton rejoins ONEOK, at which time he will become an Advisor to Norton, allowing for a smooth leadership transition. Spencer will continue as a member of the ONEOK board of directors until his retirement.

About Pierce H. Norton II

Pierce H. Norton II is president and chief executive officer of ONE Gas, Inc. and serves as a member of the ONE Gas board.

Norton previously worked for ONEOK for almost 10 years having joined the company in 2004. Prior to the separation of ONE Gas in January 2014, Norton served as executive vice president, commercial, of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners.

His other roles at ONEOK included, executive vice president and chief operating officer of ONEOK and ONEOK Partners, responsible for the company's natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas pipelines, natural gas liquids, natural gas distribution and energy services business segments. Norton also held the position as president of ONEOK Distribution Companies - Oklahoma Natural Gas, Kansas Gas Service and Texas Gas Service.

Norton began his natural gas industry career in 1982 at Delhi Gas Pipeline, a subsidiary of Texas Oil and Gas Corporation. He later worked for American Oil and Gas with operational responsibilities for natural gas gathering and processing, and for intrastate and interstate pipelines. He then worked for KN Energy as vice president and general manager of the Heartland Region, before moving to Bear Paw Energy as vice president of business development. In 2002, he was named president of Bear Paw Energy, now ONEOK Rockies Midstream.

Norton is a member of the American Gas Association's ("AGA") board of directors, and served as the chairman of the AGA board in 2017. He also is a board member of the Tulsa Community Foundation and currently serves as the chair of the audit committee. Lastly, concerning current boards, Norton is a director of the Oklahoma Center for Community and Justice. He is a past board member of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, the Texas Pipeline Association, the North Dakota Petroleum Council and the Western Alliance.

An Alabama native, Norton earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering in 1982 from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He also is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Advanced Management Program.