Livestream 11:55am
6-4-2024
Harold Hamm founded Continental Resources in 1967 and is Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Growing up in rural Oklahoma, Mr. Hamm went to work in the oil fields as a teenager and established Continental Resources at the age of 21. He built a grassroots startup into a Top-10 oil producer and the largest privately held oil company in the United States. As a voice for America’s oil and natural gas industry, he has helped to make America energy independent.
Mr. Hamm also co-founded and serves as Executive Chairman of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, which aims to preserve the millions of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity and tax revenues generated by onshore drilling and production activities within the United States. Through his work with DEPA, Mr. Hamm is widely recognized as the person who led the charge to lift America’s 40-year-old ban on U.S. crude oil exports.
In December 2021, Mr. Hamm joined Continental Resources to create the Hamm Institute for American Energy at Oklahoma State University. The combined $50 million gift established the Hamm Institute as the center for all things American energy with the goal of solving humanity’s greatest energy challenges.
Mr. Hamm’s industry leadership also includes serving as past Chairman and present board member of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, as a founding board member of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, and as past president of the National Stripper Well Association. In addition, he served as Founder and Chairman of Save Domestic Oil Inc., which successfully brought a trade case against four countries trying to put American oil and gas producers out of business.
A national leader in promoting health, education, and energy industry advocacy, Mr. Hamm has devoted much time and resources to championing a healthy and secure future for all Americans. With the goal of finding a cure for diabetes, he has donated more than $65 million to date to the world-renowned Harold Hamm Diabetes Center at the University of Oklahoma. The Harold Hamm Diabetes Center is at the forefront of diabetes research – inspiring progress toward a cure, education of health care professionals and families, optimal care for those living with diabetes, and effective prevention strategies. To further spark the minds of the world’s brightest scientists, he established the Harold Hamm International Prize for Biomedical Research in Diabetes, a $250,000 biennial award celebrating the scientific achievements of an outstanding researcher, team of researchers, or research institution.
Mr. Hamm is dedicated to preparing the next generation of energy industry leaders. In January 2022, Mr. Hamm donated $10 million to the University of Mary in Bismarck, North Dakota to establish the Hamm School of Engineering. In 2012, he helped establish the Harold Hamm School of Geology and Geological Engineering at the University of North Dakota. He has also funded numerous education initiatives across the nation, including college scholarships, classroom technology, and school capital campaigns.
Mr. Hamm has received numerous awards and recognition for his contributions. Platts Global Energy Awards honored him with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his legacy of leadership, innovation, and commitment to bringing America to energy independence. Platts Global Energy Awards also has named him “CEO of the Year” and at the same time named Continental Resources “Energy Company of the Year.”
He was named the recipient of the “Chief Roughneck Award” by U.S. Steel Tubular Products, and one of 13 corporate and civic leaders across the U.S. to receive the “Horatio Alger Award” for his outstanding leadership and triumph over adversity to achieve success. He was also honored by Oil and Gas Investor magazine as “Executive of the Year” for Continental’s leadership in the Bakken, SCOOP, and STACK plays and his tireless efforts to lift the ban on U.S. crude oil exports. In 2015, the Western Energy Alliance named him “Wildcatter of the Year” for his contributions to America’s energy security and the betterment of society. He has been named one of TIME magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” for his creation of thousands of jobs in the oil industry and continuous support of education and diabetes research. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, and named the International Energy Policy Conference “Energy Advocate of the Year” as well as being named the Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur of the Year.”
Chair of the Day
Mike Turpen
Michael C. Turpen was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, educated in Tulsa Public Schools, and graduated from the University of Tulsa earning a Bachelor of Science degree in History and a Juris Doctor degree. In 1982, Mike was elected Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. He served as Muskogee County District Attorney from 1977 to 1982. Mike has been a partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma since 1987. Mike was appointed by Governor Brad Henry to the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in 2009 and reappointed by Governor Mary Fallin in 2018. Mike’s book, Turpen Time: The Wit and Wisdom of Mike Turpen, was published in 2014, and he has used it as a vehicle to raise over $1.6 million dollars for college scholarships at numerous events around the state.
Mike appears weekly on Oklahoma City NBC affiliate KFOR’s award-winning public affairs show, “Flashpoint with Turpen & Lamb.” In 2010, Mike was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, the state’s highest honor. He was named Outstanding Alumnus for the University of Tulsa in 2000. He was appointed by President Bill Clinton to the President’s Advisory Council on the Arts at the Kennedy Center in 1992. Mike was listed in Esquire Magazine’s 1985 Register: Men and Women Under Forty Who are Changing the Nation. Mike argued before the United States Supreme Court in 1985 representing the State of Oklahoma.
Mike co-chaired United Way of Oklahoma City’s $21.6 million annual campaign. In 2014 Mike co-chaired Allied Arts’ $3 million annual campaign. In 2013 he co-chaired the $15 million fundraising campaign for the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. Mike received the John Kirkpatrick Award from Lyric Theatre for his leadership in chairing their successful $10 million capital campaign in 2006. Mike worked with OSU President, Burns Hargis, co-chairing Legal Aid of Oklahoma’s $1 million annual campaign. Mr. Turpen is married to wife, Susan, and has three children, Sean, Patrick and Sarah, daughter-in-law Ashley Turpen, and granddaughter, Wren Turpen. He is a member of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City and served on the WPC Foundation Board of Directors.