Ralph was appointed as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of NGR's board of managers in May, 2014. He has over 30 years experience in the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the industry.  He served as President and CEO of WPX Energy Inc. from April 2011 to December 2013. As President and CEO, Ralph led the WPX Energy Inc. December 2011 spin out from The Williams Companies, Inc. as a pure play exploration and production company. From June 2002 to April 2011, Ralph was President of Exploration & Production at The Williams Companies, Inc., and from 1996 to 2002, was Senior Vice President of Petroleum Services & Exploration & Production at The Williams Companies, Inc. Ralph also served as CEO and Chairman of the Board for Apco Oil and Gas International Inc. (NASDAQ: APAGF), an international oil and natural gas exploration and production company with interests in Argentina and Colombia from 2002 to 2013. Ralph held numerous roles of increasing responsibility prior to 2002 with The Williams Companies, Inc.  Ralph currently serves on the board of directors of the Collins College of Business Board for University of Tulsa, the Trulaske School of Business at the University of Missouri, the One Mizzou Campaign Cabinet at the University of Missouri, the Indian Nations Council Boy Scouts of America and the American Heart Association. Ralph has also previously served on the board of directors of America's Natural Gas Alliance, the American Petroleum Institute and American Exploration & Production Council. Ralph holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Tulsa and a B.S. in Business Administration & Finance from the University of Missouri.