Jeffery D. Hildebrand, BS Geology ‘81 / MSPE ‘85
From an early age, Jeff Hildebrand had a vision and a passion to run and own his own oil and gas company. As a young boy growing up in Houston Jeff learned firsthand what it takes to succeed from his parents. His father was a veterinarian who built a multi-practice enterprise with the help of his adventurous mother who tragically lost her life while piloting her own airplane when Jeff was 15 years old. This was an unfortunate and unsettling event for Jeff, but eventually gave him the perseverance to flourish. The strong work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit instilled in him by his parents combined with the knowledge and skills gained from an education at The University of Texas at Austin laid the foundation for his accomplishments.
After receiving his BS in geology, Jeff went to work for Exxon as a geologist but he soon realized he needed more education to truly advance in the industry and returned to Austin to complete his master's in petroleum engineering. Jeff's vision of starting his own company materialized in 1989. That year Jeff founded Hilcorp Energy Company with financial backing from Jack Trotter, an inspiring mentor to Jeff.
Today, Hilcorp is headquartered in Houston and has over 1,200 employees with interests in more than 8,000 wells across the Lower 48 and Alaska. In 2011 Hilcorp sold its Eagleford assets to Marathon Oil Corporation of $3.5 billion. Jeff is very proud of the fact that Hilcorp is consistently named a top workplace by both local and national publications including placing 7th on the 2013 FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For list.
Jeff is active in his community by serving on the boards of the Greater Houston Community Foundation, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, Central Houston, Inc., and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. In May 2013, he was sworn in by Governor Rick Perry as a member of The University of Texas System Board of Regents. He also recently served on the UT Board of Regents Engineering Education Task Force, and is a member of the Engineering Advisory Board at The University of Texas at Austin.
Jeff is the recipient of the 2005 Distinguished Engineering Graduate from The University of Texas at Austin, and the Leadership Award from the Houston Chronicle's Top Workplaces in 2010, 2011 and 2012.
