Management
The Value of Core Values
We are very proud of what we’ve achieved over the
last 28 years. We’ve consistently succeeded in one of the most
challenging and volatile industries in the world. When we ask ourselves
what allowed us to go the distance when so many U.S. oil and gas
companies have ceased to exist, we always come back to our core values
for one of the answers. Our values, like our vision and mission, have
become intangible resources, something that doesn’t show up on the
balance sheet but which does provide far-reaching benefits impacting our
bottom line. As we’ve undergone tremendous transformation and
growth over the past quarter century, our core values have remained the
same. Built on the principles and philosophy of our late founder and
carried forward by our current management team, our values represent who
we are and what sets us apart. When we say that our financial strategy
is built on discipline, our shareholder value on balance, and our
operations on innovation and knowledge, we are talking about values that
have guided our actions throughout our history. These values help us
attract new employees, assist us in developing good relationships with
property owners and vendors, and help us to build trust with the
investment community. Our values shape who we are and what we do, and in
a very practical way, they are the most valuable thing we possess as a
company. We’ve identified several key character traits that
illustrate these core values. First, we embrace change, seeking out fresh
opportunities created by a dynamic environment. One of many ways we’ve
done this through the years is our tandem approach of adding reserves
through drilling or acquisitions, adjusting the balance between the two
depending on price fluctuations and changes in strategic opportunities.
In order to profit from change, we also have to hone
our skills, consistently sharpening our professional expertise and
learning new technologies as an ongoing part of our jobs. In recent
years, we’ve created a series of internal "knowledge networks" to help
our employees develop themselves professionally and to help them embrace
the many kinds of digital technology that are revolutionizing the hunt
for oil and gas. Another key trait of our corporate character is that
we seek to constantly improve by learning lessons from our previous
successes and failures. From the oil field to the boardroom, we review
our performance results in detail—reinforcing what works as well as
mapping out new ways to do things better. From the earliest days of our organization, we have
also sought to develop a participatory corporate culture that encouraged
teamwork and cooperation. Our matrix structure is designed to promote
teamwork, and developing team skills is an important part of our
professional development activities. One of the most important values we hold is the
necessity of protecting people and the environment in everything we do.
Our commitment to health, safety, and the environment was perhaps best
illustrated in August 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck our Lake
Washington property in South Louisiana. We activated our emergency
response plans well in advance of the hurricane, buttoned down our
facilities, and rushed aid to our local employees soon after the storm
had passed, including providing many of them with mobile housing. We also aim to be a good corporate citizen, having
put ethical guidelines and controls in place long before Sarbanes-Oxley
actually required them. We want to make meaningful contributions to the
geographical and professional communities where we operate, and we
strive to be an organization of role models for young people,
participating in mentoring programs and offering internships for
qualified students. Above all, we pursue balance. In each facet of our
operations, from the composition of our reserves to the way we reach
decisions, we strive to maintain a balance between competing demands. We
believe that a healthy corporate culture hinges on balanced decision
making. By "balanced" we mean that some decisions are decentralized and
flexible in order to allow individual initiative and creativity, some
are based on consensus to enhance cooperative relationships and promote
teamwork, and some are guided by leadership as they set forth the
company’s vision and values. In the end, it is a combination of our leadership
team and our system of formal authority that is responsible for
upholding and advancing the values that guide us. At Swift Energy, our
ultimate authority is founded upon our system of corporate
governance—which in turn resides in our board of directors, who are
elected by the shareholders, and in our company officers, who are guided
by the board, our bylaws, and our corporate policies. Within our board of directors, we’ve weighted the
balance of external and internal directors to favor a strong measure of
outside control, with three-fourths of our board members being
independent outside directors. We seek out members who will effectively
represent the core values we believe, and who, amongst themselves as a
group, are diverse in both their age and skill sets. Currently, our
members range from 47 to 76 years of age and have diverse experience in
fields such as finance, technology, and diplomacy, as well as in oil and
gas operations. Likewise, our executives and managers exemplify our
company’s core values and have technical skills in their areas of
expertise that are second to none. Most of our leadership team has been
together for many years, and we continually develop people internally
who can take over for our more experienced team members as they retire.
In early 2008, Robert J. Banks was promoted to
executive vice president and chief operating officer when Joe D’Amico, a
20-year veteran of Swift, announced his retirement. Mr. Banks, who
joined Swift in 2004 to oversee international operations and strategic
ventures, has over 30 years of experience in the oil and gas industry.
His experience before joining Swift included holding senior-level
positions and leading international units for Vanco Energy Company,
Mosbacher Energy Company, Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Company, and Santa Fe
International Corporation. Also in early 2008, John C. Branca was promoted to
vice president–exploration and development. Mr. Branca first joined
Swift in 2006 as exploration manager, with his title later revised to
director of exploration and development. Before joining Swift, Mr.
Branca had 25 years of experience with BP in various positions,
primarily focused on exploration and development. Another important change to our management team was
the promotion in 2007 of Steven B. Yakle to the position of vice
president–corporate administration. Mr. Yakle joined Swift Energy in
August 1989, serving first as manager of partnership accounting and
later as assistant controller for compliance, with responsibilities for
both corporate and partnership reporting. He transferred to SENZ in New
Zealand in 2001, remaining there until he returned to Swift Energy’s
corporate offices in February 2006. Before joining Swift Energy, Mr.
Yakle worked for Goldking Production Company and the Internal Revenue
Service. Overall, our team of professionals grew in 2007 as
the size of our domestic staff increased 10% to 298 employees.
Throughout the year, we improved our collective skill level as a company
by recruiting new people and by encouraging individuals to further
develop their personal expertise. In addition to our people, we develop and maintain
internal processes to ensure that our vision and values are upheld.
These include a strategic plan, our annual budget process, and an
authority-for-expenditure process that involves both operational and
financial reviews. Our processes were created to push cooperation and
transparency throughout our organization, and we believe they are
succeeding. Ultimately, our employees and processes must be
guided by the vision and values embedded within our culture. It is our
cultural values—passed down from our leadership and management to our
employees and stakeholders—that form the foundation of all our
achievements. |
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This page was last updated on Monday, March 31, 2008, at 03:13:07 PM. Copyright © 1994-2008 by Swift Energy Company. |
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