Aubrey McClendon
Aubrey Kerr McClendon (born 1959) is the co-founder, retired chief executive officer and former chairman of Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE: CHK). He is an outspoken advocate for natural gas as a cleaner and safer alternative to oil and coal fuels. He was the highest-paid CEO of all S&P 500 companies in 2008, receiving a compensation package totaling $112 million. In 2011, he was named "America's Most Reckless Billionaire" in a Forbes Magazine cover story. On the other hand, in 2011, Forbes also named McClendon to its "CEO 20-20 Club," a group of eight chief executives (including Warren Buffett) that produced at least 20% returns over 20 or more years of service and activist investor Carl Icahn called him a "genius." Former Houston mayor Bill White described him as "at the forefront of those heroes" of the American natural gas industry. In June 2012, in what The Wall Street Journal writer David Benoit called a "historic revolt," Chesapeake Energy shareholders voted to rein in McClendon's leadership, rejecting two board members and approving increased proxy access. He relinquished his chairman title in June 2012 but retained his CEO title. In January 2013, noting "philosophical differences" with a reconstituted board, McClendon agreed to retire from Chesapeake Energy, effective April 1, 2013. McClendon is now the owner of American Energy Partners with an office located less than a mile away from Chesapeake Energy.