President and CEO, Greylock Energy
Jennifer Jett Prezkop
Kyle Mork grew up with a love divided between two mountain states: Colorado and West Virginia.
When oil prices crashed in 1986, his father, president and CEO of Energy Corporation of America’s (ECA) predecessor, Eastern American Energy, moved the Colorado-based company to West Virginia and along with it his family. Even though they would return to Denver four years later, 7-year-old Mork made the most of his time in Almost Heaven, creating memories that would one day bring him back.
“What I remember most about growing up in Charleston is playing outside during the summer,” he says. “Colorado is definitely special to me, but summers growing up in West Virginia are hard to beat.”
As an adolescent, Mork dreamed of being an architect. By the time he realized his sketching skills weren’t up to par, he’d begun developing an interest in the oil and gas industry, thanks to his dad.
“I had a lot of fun as a kid running around with my dad, visiting drilling rigs and other operations,” he says. “Seeing the joy he had in drilling a successful well or closing a big deal was infectious.”
After high school, Mork enrolled at Cornell University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. His first professional job was working as a completions engineer with Halliburton Energy Services in Brighton, CO. From there, he went to ECA, which allowed him to move back to West Virginia in 2004. At ECA, he spent 10 years filling a variety of operations and management positions, which culminated in his being named CEO in September 2016. One year later, he and his management team partnered with ArcLight Capital Partners to launch Greylock Energy, a new oil and natural gas exploration, production and midstream company, where he now serves as president and CEO.
“I feel fortunate to lead Greylock alongside a great team,” he says. “I get to do a little bit of everything, which is extremely rewarding, and I enjoy nothing more than trying to build a great business.”
The biggest career challenges Mork has faced have been leading ECA through the energy downturn of the past few years and restructuring the company.
“I had faith we would get to the best possible outcome, but some days it was tough to see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he says.
There are two things outside of his family and his career that Mork is passionate about: hip-hop music and his community. When he isn’t spending time with his wife, Kirsten, and their three children or growing his business, he can be found jamming out to Jay-Z or volunteering. He serves as a board member and past-chairman of the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences’ board of directors and a member of Cornell’s Engineering College Council and the Young Presidents’ Organization, where he has also served as the chair of the Mountain State Chapter. The talent he has invested in the YMCA of Kanawha Valley, Energize West Virginia, the ECA Foundation, the Cornell Football Association and the Mork Family Department Advisory Board at the University of Southern California has no doubt had a direct impact on the lives of those supported through these organizations.
“I think it’s very important to use any talents I have to improve our community, which is something my mom instilled in me through her incredible philanthropic example,” he says. “I am always on the lookout for organizations where I can have the biggest impact.”
While Mork could have remained in that other mountain state or chosen one of the other prolific oil and gas states like Texas, he chose to bring his family and his drive for success back to West Virginia.
“West Virginia is great,” he says. “The people are wonderful, and there is no better place to raise a family. The state is small enough that you can form deep connections and also have influence on the community and the state in a way that is much harder in a bigger place. Here, I can make a mark on the world while trying to improve the lives of my family, friends and colleagues.”
