Mark A. Stansberry is a corporate leader with extensive experience in the energy industry. He is currently a strategic energy strategist, international negotiator, and corporate advisor to boards and c-suites. He has served as Chairman/CEO of The GTD Group, and CEO/President of The Oklahoma Royalty Company. An award-winning film and music producer, columnist, radio talk show host and writer, Mark is the author of five energy-related books. He was inducted into the Western Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2009. Mark is a frequent speaker in the oil & gas space – focusing on business development, strategic planning, new technologies, digital transformation, and operational excellence within the entire energy sector.
Stansberry was inducted into the 2022 Oklahoma Movie Hall of Fame. Mark co-founded GrayMark Productions with Academy Award winning producer Gray Frederickson in 2001. GrayMark went on to win an Emmy for a documentary and produced five featured films. Mark and Gray are currently producing a DocuFilm, Sherwood Forest.
Stansberry has testified before the US Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and other entities. Internationally, he has worked on projects in other countries, including Brazil, Bulgaria, PR China, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, and Russia. Domestically, he has led energy projects in over twenty states and in several energy sectors, including upstream, midstream, and downstream of the oil and gas energy sector. Stansberry has been a member of several energy associations including Association of International Petroleum Negotiators, Professional Petroleum Data Management Association, and Independent Petroleum Association of America.
Stansberry landed his first job in the Oklahoma energy industry in 1977, following college, as a landman for an oil and gas properties company, headquartered in his hometown of Elk City, OK. He graduated from Elk City High School in 1974. He was a member of the All-State Stage Band, as a guitarist. He was awarded The Elk's Lodge State "Top Boy" leadership award/scholarship, and represented the state in national competition. He has been inducted into the Elk City Leadership Hall of Fame.
In 1979, he founded a petroleum land management company, focusing on the Anadarko Basin of western Oklahoma. In 1988, he founded The Oklahoma Royalty Company, an acquisition, mergers and divestitures firm, and served as its CEO/President.
In 1991, Stansberry co-authored his first book, an energy industry handbook called “The Acquisition Process and Due Diligence: Minimize Risk/Maximize Return!” His second book, “The Braking Point: America’s Energy Dreams and Global Economic Realities,” was released in 2008, sparking a public speaking tour of universities and international energy conferences.
Other experiences include: an intern/staff of US Senator Dewey F. Bartlett, chairman of the Oklahoma Hall of Fame/Gaylord-Pickens Museum, chairman of the 2007 Governor's International Team, and member of the OKC PORT Authority.
In 1996, Stansberry was the recipient of the Junior Chamber of Commerce Ten Outstanding Young Oklahomans Award. He was the 2007 recipient of The Fund for American Studies Alumni Service Award.
Stansberry has devoted part of five decades of his career to serving in higher education, most notably as chairman of boards of regents, advisory board member, and adjunct professor, while staying actively involved in corporate leadership which includes energy, banking, real estate development, and international trade.
As a higher education leader, Stansberry has worked directly with over twenty university presidents as a member of university boards. He has been appointed by three Oklahoma State Governors to the Board of Regents. He has served four terms including Chairman of the Board of Regents of University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) and Chairman of the Board of Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma (RUSO).
Under his RUSO chairmanship, Stansberry led the efforts to adopt a dashboard to track the efficiency of 27 key benchmarks. This dashboard has been instrumental in providing leadership with up-to-date and accurate information to assist university leaders in making more effective decisions.
Stansberry has served as an adjunct professor, as well as on advisory boards for institutions including Pepperdine University, Harding University, University of Oklahoma (OU), Oklahoma State University (OSU), Southeastern Oklahoma State University, University of Tulsa, and has served on a university foundation’s board of trustees.
Additionally, Stansberry has served on numerous presidential search and selection committees and has chaired numerous public and private board committees. Stansberry is a graduate of the Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, Georgetown University. He has completed the Directors’ College at Stanford University Law School and the directors’ program at Rice University. He has served as a member of the Institute of Corporate Governance at the University of Texas at Dallas.
Most recently Stansberry received the University of Central Oklahoma’s highest honor, The Order of the Clock Tower. Stansberry is a graduate of Oklahoma Christian University, where he is currently serving as Life Trustee and was recognized as an OC Distinguished Alumni. Stansberry and his wife, Nancy, reside in Edmond, Oklahoma. They have three children and six grandchildren.
