Robert L. Cavnar
President & Chief Executive Officer
Robert L. Cavnar is President and Chief Executive Officer of Milagro Exploration, a privately held oil and gas exploration firm based in Houston, Texas with operations along the Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi Gulf Coast. Under Mr. Cavnar, Milagro recently completed the acquisition of Petrohawk’s Gulf Coast Division, consisting of more than 250 Bcfe of proved reserves. Prior to Milagro, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Mission Resources from August 2002 until July 2005 when Mission was merged with Petrohawk Energy Corporation. During his tenure at Mission, Mr. Cavnar led the recovery of the company’s financial strength and prominence within the independent oil and gas industry. Prior to Mission, Mr. Cavnar held various positions from June 1996 until August 2002 at El Paso Corporation including Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of El Paso Field Services, and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of El Paso Production Company. During this time, he led several restructurings of business units at the company, as well as coordinating the transition and integration of several business units for merger transactions including Sonat and Coastal Corporation. Prior to El Paso, Mr. Cavnar was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cornerstone Natural Gas, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of Mountain Gas Resources and a member of the Global Energy Group of the Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. He began his career working on drilling rigs and in pipeline operations.
Mr. Cavnar holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Southern Methodist University, a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Michigan University, and completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School.
He is currently the Chairman of the Board of the Houston Grand Opera, a member of the Board of Directors for the Center for National Policy in Washington, D.C. and a member the Board of Directors of the Coronado Club of Houston. Mr. Cavnar has recently served on the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the Alley Theatre in Houston as well as the Board of Directors of the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame in Galveston.
