Our Company

Jay R. Young is the Founder and CEO of King Operating Corporation, headquartered in Addison, Texas. Jay earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree from Angelo State University.

His journey started with various roles that eventually led to the establishment of King Operating Corporation in October 1996. Prior to establishing King, Jay gained experience with roles in both finance and the oil and gas industry. He served as Vice President at Texakoma Oil and Gas Corp., worked with stocks and commodities as a Vice President at Dillon Gage, and traded stocks at World Market Equities. Additionally, he has been a member of Tiger 21 since 2011 and was a former minority owner of the World Series Champion Texas Rangers.

With over two decades of experience, Jay has earned a reputation for his strategic foresight and entrepreneurial leadership in the energy sector. He is also the Amazon #1 best-selling author of “The Upside of Oil and Gas Investing,” a Forbes Books publication that shares his deep insights into the industry.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, Jay is deeply committed to philanthropy. He serves on the executive board of Scouting America, where he mentors emerging leaders. He also contributes his time to the North Central Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, actively promoting Alzheimer’s research and support services and serves as a board member for Nancy Lieberman Charities.

Jay’s philanthropic efforts extend beyond these organizations; he is an active member of his church, he is also involved in various other charities, reflecting his dedication to giving back to the community. His involvement underscores his belief in corporate responsibility and making a positive impact beyond his business.

Steve Mullican joined King Operating Corporation in April 2024 and was named Chief Operating Officer in June 2024. He has over 15 years of experience as an executive leader in oil and gas and over 35 years of experience in reservoir engineering, oilfield operations, asset exploitation and business development.

Most recently, Steve served as the VP of Engineering and Founding Partner at Colt Energy, LLC, where he played a pivotal role in the company’s inception and growth in New Mexico’s oil and gas sector. Prior to that, he was the VP of Engineering and Officer at Freedom Oil and Gas Company, a publicly traded entity on the ASX with operations in the South Texas Eagle Ford play.

In his career, Steve has held various executive, business development, engineering and operations roles across multiple Lower-48 basins. He is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers where he has served in a variety of leadership capacities.

Steve is a graduate of the University of Tulsa and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering in 1984.

Brian Dutton joined King Operating Corporation as Interim Chief Financial Officer in June 2024, bringing over 25 years of comprehensive experience in corporate finance, financial reporting, and public accounting. Mr. Dutton has been a Certified Public Accountant for more than two decades and has held pivotal financial leadership roles in prominent energy firms and has a proven track record of guiding companies through essential financial milestones and growth phases.

Prior to joining King, Mr. Dutton served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Crimson Energy Partners. During his tenure at Crimson, he successfully oversaw all strategic finance initiatives and played a vital role in the company’s divestiture for $215 million.

Brian was also Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer at Vine Energy, a Blackstone portfolio company. He was instrumental in transforming Vine Energy into a $2 billion publicly traded company, culminating in its acquisition by Chesapeake Energy for $2.2 billion. His accomplishments at Vine Energy include leading the development of ERP systems, spearheading the internal control environment, and being a key contributor to the placement of over $2 billion in high-yield debt offerings.

Before his role at Vine Energy, Mr. Dutton served as Vice President of Accounting and Finance at Silver Creek Oil & Gas. His strategic leadership in finance functions helped increase the company’s operated production from 2,000 Boe/d to 9,000 Boe/d.

Mr. Dutton’s earlier career includes significant roles at Quicksilver Resources, Dyncorp International, Flowserve Corporation, Bass Companies, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He began his finance career at PricewaterhouseCoopers in 1998 after earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from Oklahoma City University.

In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Dutton is also an active member of Financial Executives International (FEI).

Jimmy Cleveland joined King Operating Corporation in March 2024 and was named Chief Growth Officer in June 2024. Jimmy brings a wealth of experience and a proven track record of success to his role at King. A graduate of the University of Texas at Dallas with a degree in Business Finance, Jimmy began his career at a Chevrolet dealership in Dallas. Within a decade, his dedication and expertise propelled him to become an equity partner in Honda and Volkswagen dealerships in Florida.

Under Jimmy’s leadership, these dealerships, along with six additional dealerships and multiple ancillary businesses, were sold and divested at advantageous multiples. His strategic vision and business acumen have been instrumental in driving growth and profitability across all his ventures.

Connect with Jimmy Cleveland to learn more about his journey and how he continues to drive growth and innovation at King.

“Central bankers, businessmen, and investors continually try to beat History to a pulp, but History always wins the final rounds.” —John Mauldin, – Thoughts from the Frontline.

When investors, financial professionals, and discerning citizens need a big-picture view of what’s going on in the economy, they turn to John Mauldin. And for good reason. John has dedicated more than 30 years to keeping people informed about financial risk.

John is a visionary thinker, a noted financial expert, a multiple New York Times best-selling author, a pioneering online commentator, and the publisher of one of the first publications to provide investors with free, unbiased information and guidance—Thoughts from the Frontline.
Thoughts from the Frontline began as John’s way of sharing his thoughts with a few associates. Some 20+ years later, it is one of the most widely read investment newsletters in the world. From his timely warnings of impending recessions in 2000 and 2078, prescient calls on market moves to thoughtful pieces on what the new Republican administration should do in in 2017, John has blazed his own trail as one of the most respected macroeconomic minds in the field. He has traveled to over 65 countries and all 50 states both researching on the ground as well as speaking to hundreds of groups all over the world.

He publishes Thoughts from the Frontline through Mauldin Economics, of which he is Chairman. Mauldin Economics publishes a growing number of investing resources, including both free and paid publications aimed at helping investors thrive in today’s challenging economy. John is also an investment advisor affiliated with CMG.
Together with Mauldin Economics, John proudly hosts the Strategic Investment Conference, an annual gathering of some of the world’s most brilliant economists and analysts. Thanks to its blue-ribbon lineup of past speakers and growing reputation as an incubator of forward-thinking investment strategies, the SIC is fast becoming one of the most hotly anticipated economic events of the year.

Additionally, four of John’s seven books have appeared on the New York Times best-seller list. He currently is working on The Age of Transformation, What the World Will Look Like in 2040, due out in the spring of 2020.

John is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world and is a sought-after contributor to numerous financial publications, as well as a regular guest on TV and radio. He currently lives in Dorado Beach East, Puerto Rico with his wife Shane and is the proud father of eight children, five of whom are adopted.

Eric joined King Operating Corporation in May 2022. He left his position as Chief Growth Officer in June 2024, but has maintained a close relationship with King and we have benefited from his insightful The Rice Report podcast each week. Eric has been focusing on alternative investment opportunities outside of oil and gas and is currently serving as President of Sovrn Capital, a private equity group focused on data centers and bitcoin mining. In addition to his role at Sovrn Capital, Eric returned to King in September 2024 as Macro-Economic Advisor. He began his business career in Chicago, focusing on wealth management for high-net-worth clients, before spending nearly two decades building his own businesses. Throughout his career, Eric has showcased a keen eye for identifying the nuances of markets and spotting corresponding growth opportunities for investors. His real-world market experience positions him perfectly as our Macro-Economic Advisor.

Bill Phillips joined King in February 2024, and was named Executive Vice President of Land and Business Development in 2024. Bill brings over 45 years of experience in upstream operations across North and South America. His expertise encompasses all phases of land, business and corporate development, exploration and production operations, and international joint venture programs. For the past 30 years, he has held senior and executive management positions at notable companies such as Mesa Petroleum, American Quasar Petroleum Company of New Mexico, The Wiser Oil Company, Marsh Operating Company, Hunt Oil Company, and Skelly Energy Company.

He has served on various industry boards, including the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL), the NAPE Operating Committee, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, and local land organizations in Houston and Dallas.

Bill earned a degree in Petroleum Land Management from The University of Texas at Austin and currently serves on the Advisory Council of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Energy Center at The University of Texas. He is also a member of The Texas Leadership Society and other boards at the university. In 2013, he was awarded the TIPRO Best Landman award and is a frequent speaker at various industry trade organizations and universities, including Texas Christian University (TCU) and The University of Texas at Austin.

Paul Gerome joined King Operating Corporation in February 2023 as Senior Vice President of Geoscience. Paul has been involved with the oil and gas industry on a national scale for over 40 years with exploration and development expertise in most North American basins and international experience in Saudi Arabia.

Paul helps to lead exploration efforts by providing expertise on formations of interest so that acreage can be strategically acquired and optimized through development.

Kelly Duncan joined King Operating Corporation in November 2021 and in June of 2023 was named Vice President of Operations. He oversees the entire operational engineering department and himself acts as the company’s Drilling Engineer. He is also on the National Board of Directors for Oilfield Helping Hands (OHH), a nonprofit charitable organization helping oilfield families with financial assistance in times of crisis.
Diligent engineering planning and absolute cost control are 2 of his key drivers. Kelly’s 25 years of experience has been a mix of engineering and field operations for both operators big and small. He began his technical career with Coastal/El Paso where he rotated thru all engineering disciplines eventually became Sr. Drilling Engineer. He then joined Petrohawk and helped hone their Haynesville assets and kick off their Eagle Ford development eventually assisting in the sale and transition of the company to BHP Billiton. He next joined GeoSouthern Energy and helped build their Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk from a 1 to 6 rig program as Operations manager and assisted in the sale to Devon for $6 billion. After his time with Devon, he ran the technical side of Acock Engineering and Associates as VP of Engineering and worked with mostly independent operating companies acting in a variety of engineering and project management roles from stake to P&A. It is through this role that he met and joined King Operating. He has drilled and completed over 2,200 wells in 14 states and most the major plays throughout the country.
Mr. Duncan has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University Kingsville (Texas A&I).

Mr. Gifford, serves as the Executive Vice President, Tax of King Operating Corporation. He has 27 years of oil and gas industry experience serving as a Chief Financial Officer of King Operating Corporation and New Horizon Exploration Inc., respectively. His experience is primarily in the areas of accounting, partnership taxation, supervising the formation, management and economic reporting functions for the oil and gas properties and oilfields for private placement offerings. From January 1995 to September 2007, Mr. Gifford served as the CFO of New Horizon Exploration, Inc. Prior to his tenure with New Horizon Exploration, Mr. Gifford provided accounting and income tax services for industry, local public accounting firms, and as a Field Agent for the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Gifford obtained a BBA in Accounting from the University of Texas.

Aaron Ledyard joined King Operating Corporation in 2023 as Land Manager. Aaron is responsible for leading the company’s Land Team and Land Administration Team. Prior to joining King, Aaron worked as an independent landman with twenty years of experience in the areas of title preparation/examination, surface and mineral lease negotiations, project due diligence and acquisitions/divestitures. He began his career conducting land activities in North Texas and has extensive experience in the Permian Basin and the Mid-Continent. He has been an active member of American Association of Petroleum Landman (AAPL) since 2011. Aaron holds a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas. He lives in Dallas with his wife and daughter. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, hunting, fishing and spending time with his family.