Board of Directors
William P. "Bill" Utt was named President and Chief Executive Officer of KBR, effective March 15, 2006. He was named Chairman in April 2007. KBR is a global engineering, construction and services company supporting the energy, petrochemicals, government services and civil infrastructure sectors. The company offers a wide range of services through its Downstream, Government and Infrastructure, Services, Technology, Upstream and Ventures business segments.
Previously, Mr. Utt was President and CEO of SUEZ Energy North America with responsibility for the LNG, retail energy, energy marketing and trading, power generation and development businesses. From 1995-2000, he was president and CEO of Tractebel's North American energy businesses. From 1984 to 1995, he held senior management and executive positions with CRSS, Inc.
Mr. Utt holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia and has a master's degree in business administration from The Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
Mr. Utt serves on the National Petroleum Council, which provides advice and analysis to the U.S. Secretary of Energy. He has been chairman of the Electric Power Supply Association, as well as holding other leadership positions with that organization. He has co-authored numerous industry-related publications and has been a panelist at various academic and industry conferences and symposiums on energy-related issues. Mr. Utt is currently a trustee for the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia.
W. Frank Blount is currently Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of JI Ventures, Inc., which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. Mr. Blount has served in various executive positions for AT&T, including Group President of the Communications Product Group and President of the Network Operations Group. Mr. Blount served as Chief Executive Officer of Telstra Communications Corporation, Australia's principal telecommunications company from January 1992 - March 1999. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Cypress Communications Corporation from June 2000 - October 2002. Mr. Blount also serves on the Boards of Caterpillar, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent and Entergy, Inc. and the Advisory Board for China Telecom. Mr. Blount joined the Board in April 2007. He is a member of the Compensation Committee and Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Loren K. Carroll is currently an independent consultant and an advisor to Smith International, Inc. Mr. Carroll served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Smith International, Inc. from 1992 - 1994. From March 1994 - April 2006, Mr. Carroll served as President and Chief Executive Officer of M-I SWACO, and Executive Vice President of Smith International, Inc., a worldwide supplier of drilling fluids and related equipment and services to the oil and gas Industry. Mr. Carroll currently serves as a director of Forest Oil Corporation, Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc., and CGGVeritas, Inc. Mr. Carroll joined the Board in April 2007. He is a member of the Audit Committee and Chairman of the Compensation Committee.
Jeffrey E. Curtiss is a private investor. Mr. Curtiss was the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc. from January 1992 - July 1999. Mr. Curtiss served as the Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Service Corporation International from January 2000 - June 2006. Mr. Curtiss received law degrees from two universities in 1971 and 1975. He received his CPA certificate from Colorado in 1971 and became a CFA charterholder in 2006. Mr. Curtiss presently serves as Secretary of the Houston Society of CFAs. Mr. Curtiss joined the KBR Board in 2006. He is a member of the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Committee and Chairman of the Audit Committee.
John R. Huff has been Chairman of Oceaneering International, Inc.'s Board of Directors since August 1990. Mr. Huff served as a director and Chief Executive Officer of Oceaneering International, an oil field services company, since joining the company in 1986 until his retirement from the position of Chief Executive Officer in May 2006. Mr. Huff is also a director of BJ Services Company, Rowan Companies and Suncor Energy, Inc. Mr. Huff joined the Board in April 2007. He is a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the Compensation Committee.
Lester L. Lyles has been an independent consultant since 2003. Prior to that, he served in the U.S. Air Force for over 35 years, as: Commander of the Space and Missile Systems Center from 1994 - 1996; Director of the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization from 1996 - 1999; Vice Chief of Staff of the Headquarters of the U.S. Air Force from 1999 to 2000; and Commander of the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command from 2000 - 2003. Mr. Lyles is also a director of General Dynamics Corporation, MTC Technologies, Inc., The Dayton Power and Light Company, ANSER Corp., and Baltelle Memorial Institute. Mr. Lyles joined the Board in November 2007. He is a member of the Audit Committee and the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Committee.
Richard J. Slater has been chairman of ORBIS LLC., an investment and corporate advisory firm, since February 2003. Beginning in May 1980, Mr. Slater served in various executive positions with Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEG). He served as Executive Vice President, Operations from March 1998 - December 2002. Mr. Slater was employed as a consultant to the Chief Executive Officer of JEG from January 2003 - October 2006. Mr. Slater presently serves as non-executive Chairman of Bluebeam Software Inc., and as an independent director of Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. and as trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees of Claremont Graduate University. Mr. Slater joined the KBR Board in 2006. He is a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and Chairman of the Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) Committee.