Chris is the General Counsel for Driver Pipeline Co., Inc.   Throughout his extensive legal career, he has devoted a substantial amount of his practice to the needs of the construction industry. This representation has included representation and counseling on topics including construction contracts, construction defect claims, lien and bond claims, payment disputes, entity formation, business and contract issues, employment related issues, personal injury claims, and insurance issues. He has significant experience representing construction companies in arbitration, mediation, and at the courthouse. Chris prides himself on being able to find workable and common-sense solutions for legal and business problems. The son of a cotton farmer, Chris grew up on the plains of West Texas where learned the value of hard work. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Texas Tech University and his law degree from South Texas College of Law.

Russell grew up working in the family business. As a young man, he spent summers and holidays working out in the field, learning the pipeline construction industry from the bottom up. After graduating University of North Texas in 1985 with a BS in Management, he entered the family business, working full time in the corporate office. For the next twenty-one years, Russell served in many capacities, helping grow Driver Pipeline into one of the premier pipeline construction contractors in the United States. In 2006, Russell ventured out to pursue his entrepreneurial spirit by co-founding an oil and gas exploration company, and in 2009 he co-founded a frac sand business to serve the oil and gas industry. In July of 2017, Russell moved back into Driver Pipeline to serve as President.

Jeff joined Driver in 2009 as a lead safety coordinator, and having proved himself, moved up the ranks to Director of Safety. Today, he holds the position of Vice President of Health and Safety. Jeff’s experience in construction and oil and gas safety spans several decades and includes lead positions at AOK Construction and Delta Gulf Energy Services. Jeff is an active participant in multiple safety groups, such as the APCA (American Pipeline Contractors Association), North Texas Damage Prevention Council, and the Oil and Gas HSE Practitioner’s Group.

James began working in the pipeline construction industry in 1957. From 1957 to 1971, he worked for Rivers Corporation and R. H. Fulton Company in various capacities including as a heavy equipment operator, welder and foreman. James founded Driver Pipeline in 1971 and, under his leadership the Company has grown into a nationally recognized and respected service provider to the country’s best energy companies.

Chuck began his career working for Lone Star Gas in 1980. There he performed various operations and construction functions including operating equipment, leak repair, crew leader, supervisor, and superintendent. In 1986, Chuck was promoted to Superintendent II in Dallas, giving him responsibility over construction performed by outside contractors, including inspection of work performed by those contractors. Chuck joined Driver Pipeline in 1997, initially as the superintendent over projects throughout North and Central Texas. Later, he oversaw the East Dallas Service Center, which performs both gas and electrical work. In 2012 Chuck became General Manager of DFW Metroplex Operations, and in 2014 was promoted to Vice President of Operations. Chuck was promoted to his current position as Executive Vice President of Operations in 2018.

Vivian has been in the oil and gas industry for over 20 years. She began her career with an international company, PERTAMINA. She then joined ExxonMobil and held various supervisory and global positions within the ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, Americas Fuels Operations, Global Lubes Operations, Chemicals, and Development. During her 20-year tenure with the company, she gained invaluable experience from both engineering and operations departments in the areas of pipeline and terminal area of High Consequence Area (HCA), audit, risk assessment, measurement, recruiting, and facility drawings. In early 2020, Vivian was appointed to her current role as the Vice President of Business Development and Special Projects of Driver Pipeline Company.

Buzz began working as a laborer on cross country pipelines in 1970 in Texas and Wyoming. Later, he was promoted to the role of welder’s helper, finally being promoted to General Superintendent. In 1995, he began his career with Diamond Shamrock, running operations and maintenance for over 1250 miles of pipelines and terminal facilities in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, and Kansas. Diamond Shamrock was sold to Valero, and after several years, a new company, NuStar Energy, split from Valero to form a pipelines and terminals company. In 2005, Buzz was promoted to Director of Construction for NuStar, and was responsible for Capital Projects construction throughout the United States, Scotland, Amsterdam, and the Caribbean Island of St. Eustatius. In 2013, his role was changed to Director of Safety/Capital Projects, where he remained until his retirement in September 2018. Soon thereafter, Buzz moved back into pipeline and facility construction, signing on with Driver Pipeline.

Allen started working at Driver Pipeline in 1981, performing mechanical services and repairs on the company’s fleet of vehicles and equipment in the shop and in the field. In 1986, Allen’s responsibilities were increased to supervising all of the work being performed in the mechanic shop as well as at all job sites. In 1990 Allen was named Equipment Superintendent, and in 2014 was promoted to Vice President of our Equipment Division. In this position, Allen is responsible for all vehicle and equipment preventive maintenance, repairs, leases, rentals, and acquisitions.

Mike has been involved in HDD operations for over 25 years. A business school graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, Mike was first introduced to HDD while working for his family’s business. Later, Mike worked for Chesapeake Energy as Construction Manager for the Barnett Shale. He also worked for Access Midstream, which later became part of the Williams Companies. At Williams, Mike served as Corporate Construction Manager. Mike joined Driver Pipeline in 2018, as General Manager for HDD operations. During his time at Driver, Mike has grown both the company’s HDD fleet as well as its capabilities and scope of work.

Tim has dedicated his career to the pipeline business, beginning as a welder on cross-country, facility-based, and urban pipeline projects throughout Texas and Oklahoma. He has been involved in major pipeline projects for Chevron, Dow, Kinder Morgan, and many others. Tim spent 16 years as a steel pipeline welder before becoming Chief Welding Inspector at Enbridge, where he served for five years in that capacity. He worked for six years as Project Manager at Chesapeake Midstream (later Access Midstream and William Midstream), and served as Chief Inspector for Tall Oak, where he oversaw pipeline projects in southern Oklahoma. In 2019, he joined Driver Pipeline as General Superintendent of the Gulf Coast Division. In this capacity, Tim works directly with customers and Driver Pipeline teams, overseeing overall project management and day-to-day operations of the Pearland facility. Tim is closely involved in scheduling, personnel deployment, project monitoring and customer reporting, as well as business development throughout the Gulf Coast region. His passion lies in seeing projects completed safely and productively for Driver employees and customers.

Conard began his career in the aggregate business in 1984, serving multiple roles with Texas Industries, LaFarge, Pioneer, and Hanson. He was part of Recycled Aggregates, a startup company specialized in asphalt and concrete crushing and recycling, where he was responsible for operations in the Missouri and Ark-La-Tex regions. He later ran the aggregate divisions of two major construction companies, operating multiple sand facilities and overseeing quarry operations, resulting in significant commercial success. He is a specialist in proprietary concrete formulations, having developed three proprietary mixes for early-strength and high-strength concrete formulas. Conard joined Driver Pipeline in February 2020, where he is responsible for planning, procurement, scheduling, and supervision of teams responsible for concrete paving, flowable fill, and pothole repair.

During his early years in Dallas, Brad spent time helping his father in his stainless steel fabrication business. He continued working with his father while working full time with Lone Star Gas. Following his graduation in 1977, Brad took a summer job performing sandblasting and painting at Lone Star Gas, where he continued to serve in various capacities over the next 20 years. He quickly transitioned to the roles of mechanic’s helper and welder’s helper before becoming a certified welder in 1980. Following the sale of Lone Star Gas to TXU, Brad served a brief time with a TXU alliance partner before coming to work with Driver Pipeline. Brad joined the fabrication shop as a lead welder, and became the Fab Shop Fabrication Superintendent in 2016. In this role, Brad is responsible for leading the fabrication team, working with assemblers, welders, and testers to manage day-to-day operations. Brad’s job includes overseeing Driver’s Fab Shop fabrication projects, providing rapid response to customer issues and assisting internal Driver Pipeline teams. He is responsible for the oversight of customer fabrication projects, RFQs, material procurement, quality assurance, customer site visits, print and cut-sheet evaluation, design verification, and overall fab shop services.