Jason Churchill, CEO of Austin-based PetroLegacy Energy, will be the guest speaker for the Dillard Energy Center Distinguished Speaker Series at Midwestern State University. Two addresses for the MSU community and the public will take place at 3:30 and 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 19, in Dillard 101.

Churchill has weathered the energy business roller coaster – learning how to spot opportunities, how to deal with investors when things go wrong, and how to bounce back. After finishing his chemical engineering degree at the University of Kansas, he rose through the ranks at ExxonMobil, overseeing projects in development and deep-water exploration. He left the relative safety of ExxonMobil and changed to the more dynamic business of drilling wells as the vice president of operations for a small oil and gas company focused on the boom in southern Texas. In 2014, oil prices plummeted, taking his company down with them, but Churchill recovered.

At PetroLegacy, a company focused on operations in West Texas, he leads a team in the exploration, development, and optimization of oil and gas properties.

Churchill also has served as vice president of operations for Venado Oil & Gas, where was responsible for the planning and development of a 40,000-acre project in the East Eagle Ford, and as operations manager for XTO Energy where he carried multiple responsibilities in the Barnett Shale development program. He is a registered professional engineer in the State of Texas, and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.