Rusty Hutson Jr. is the fourth generation of Hutsons to work in the oil and gas industry, with family roots dating back to the early 1900s. He spent many summers working alongside his father in the oil and gas fields of West Virginia. As the first in his family to pursue higher education, he graduated from Fairmont State University with a degree in accounting. Following graduation, he embarked on a 13-year career in banking, ultimately becoming CFO of Compass Financial Services after holding leadership roles at Bank One and Compass Bank.
Building on his experiences in both the oil and gas industry and the financial services sector, Hutson founded Diversified Energy in 2001, establishing a cash flow model supported by mature, predictable long-life assets. After years of refining this strategy, he and his team quietly took the company public in 2017 on the AIM growth market of the London Stock Exchange. Since then, Diversified has significantly expanded, acquiring nearly $2.7 billion in upstream and midstream assets, with daily production across nine states totaling approximately 150,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
Under Hutson’s leadership, Diversified Energy swiftly rose to a premium listing on the London Exchange and joined the FTSE 250 index in 2020. In 2023, the company launched its dual listing on the New York Stock Exchange, further broadening its global presence and becoming a member of the Russell 2000 index. Hutson remains committed to driving operational excellence, maintaining financial discipline, and creating shareholder value.
In recognition of his transformative leadership and contributions to the industry, Hutson was named the 2019 West Virginia Oil and Gas Man of the Year. His strategic vision, commitment to excellence and focused philanthropy in the Mountain State also earned him a place in the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame in 2023, celebrating his profound impact on the state’s economic landscape. Hutson resides in Birmingham, Alabama, with his wife, Kimberly. They have four children: Hannah and Conner (who reside in West Virginia), Parker, and Tanner.
Robert L. Reynolds serves as Secretary of the WVU Board of Governors and is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Putnam Investments, where he also leads the Operating Committee and serves as President of The Putnam Funds. With over 30 years in the financial services industry, Reynolds has reinvigorated Putnam through consistent investment performance, innovative product offerings for modern market challenges and thought leadership on the future of retirement and workplace savings. Widely respected as an industry statesman, he is recognized as a leader in both institutional and retail financial services innovation.
Beyond his work at Putnam, Reynolds is Chair of Great-West Lifeco U.S., a leading provider of retirement savings products, life insurance, annuities and executive benefits. Prior to joining Putnam in 2008, he served as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Fidelity Investments.
Reynolds has received numerous industry honors, including Fund Leader of the Year at the 2010 Mutual Fund Industry Awards for his transformative leadership at Putnam. Under his guidance, Putnam was named Retirement Leader of the Year in 2011 for its initiatives in workplace savings. Additionally, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from PLANSPONSOR magazine for his work in popularizing employer-sponsored 401(k) plans.
Reynolds serves on several nonprofit boards, including the Concord Museum, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Foundation. He also chairs the Boston Advisory Board of the American Ireland Fund and is the National Council Co-Chair of the American Enterprise Institute. His other affiliations include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness, Chair of the Massachusetts High Technology Council, the Chief Executives Club of Boston, the Massachusetts General Hospital President’s Council, Director and former Chair of the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, former Chair of the WVU Foundation and former Executive Committee Member of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
He holds a B.S. in Business Administration with a focus in Finance from WVU, where he also received an Honorary Doctorate in Business Administration and a Distinguished Alumni Award. His additional honors include the Boston College President’s Medal of Excellence, an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science from Bentley University and the De La Salle Medal from Manhattan College.
Paul A. Mattox, Jr., P.E., served as West Virginia Commissioner of Highways starting in January 2005 and was appointed acting Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Transportation in January 2006. In June 2006, he assumed the dual roles of Cabinet Secretary and Commissioner of Highways, appointed by Governor Joe Manchin III and reappointed by Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. Mattox held these positions until his retirement in January 2017, making him the longest-serving Transportation Secretary and Highways Commissioner in West Virginia’s history. He began his career with the Division of Highways as a co-op student in 1979, remaining with the agency until 1987, and later worked with Woolpert, RPM Engineers, PLLC, and E. L. Robinson Engineering Co.
Mattox holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from the WVU Institute of Technology and a M.S. in Engineering from Marshall University. He is a registered professional engineer in West Virginia, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Florida and Alabama, as well as a registered professional land surveyor in West Virginia.
He has held key leadership positions within the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), including Chairman of the Standing Committee on Aviation, Executive Committee member and Board of Directors member. He also co-chaired the AASHTO/Federal Highway Administration/American Council of Engineering Companies Committee and served as President of the Southern Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (SASHTO) from 2015 to 2016, presiding over their annual meeting at The Greenbrier. He has also served as President of the West Virginia Society of Civil Engineers and is a graduate of Leadership West Virginia.
A career highlight for Mattox was delivering the commencement address to the 2013 graduating class of his alma mater, WVU Institute of Technology. Currently, he serves as Chairman of the WVU Institute of Technology Institutional Board of Visitors and represents the institution on the WVU Board of Governors.
Among his honors are the 2005 Marshall University Graduate College Distinguished Graduate Student Alumnus Award, the 2010 Distinguished Mountaineer Award from Governor Joe Manchin III, the 2013 Marshall University Distinguished Alumni Award, the 2014 American Association of Highway Engineers North Central West Virginia Section Man of the Year and the 2017 Distinguished West Virginian Award from Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, the state’s highest honor for a native West Virginian.
Mattox and his wife, Elaine Davis Mattox – a nursing graduate of the WVU Institute of Technology, Marshall University and a Doctor of Educational Leadership from WVU, and a Research Scientist with the Charleston Area Medical Center Institute for Academic Medicine – reside in Hurricane, West Virginia; Glade Springs, West Virginia; and Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. They have three grown children, including a WVU graduate and a current WVU Institute of Technology student, and three grandchildren. Mattox is a native of Nitro, West Virginia, and Elaine is from Point Pleasant, West Virginia.