Delta Upsilon - University of Kansas

Spring 2017 Newsletter

Kansas Chapter of Delta Upsilon at the University of Kansas

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The Sunflower Page 2 Kansas DU's 2017 Distinguished Alumnus, Todd Slawson '83 T odd Slawson '83 attended Wichita Collegiate High School (an independent K-12 school), where he graduated magna cum laude in 1979. During high school, he was president of his senior and junior classes. Todd was also a three- year letterman in basketball, the single season scoring record holder his senior year as well as captain, and earned Wichita Prep Player of the Week and honorable mention all-state honors. He attended the University of Kansas and earned a B.S. in petroleum engineering in 1984 with a 3.2 GPA. He was president and recruitment chairman of the Kansas Chapter of Delta Upsilon. After graduating, Todd became employed by Slawson Exploration in 1984 and worked one year in North Dakota before settling in in Denver, Colorado. He became division operations manager in 1988 and now serves as president of Slawson Exploration. He is the youngest of the three sons of Donald C. Slawson, who founded Slawson Exploration and many other companies. Todd has drilled more than 500 operated wells during his career in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Colorado, Kansas, and California, while his father drilled more than 3,500 operated wells in his career. Todd has been instrumental in the pioneering and development of horizontal drilling and subsequent completion techniques, especially in the Bakken Shale formation in North Dakota and Montana. He was one of the first operators (7th) to drill a horizontal well in the country in 1989, and one of the first in the Bakken formation (3rd). He has now drilled more than 300 horizontal Bakken wells. Todd is the third-oldest active operator in the Williston Basin. The Bakken Field is now believed by some to have over 30 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Todd started and is president of an oil marketing company, trucking company, midstream oil gathering company, water disposal company, and oil field rental company. He is also president of Alameda Juice LLC, which is Jamba Juice's largest franchisee in Texas; president of a hospitality company owning Marriott Fairfield Inn Hotels; and president of Slawson Real Estate, which aggressively develops and manages almost 1 million square feet of commercial real estate and residential homes in Wichita. Todd also develops restaurant concepts in the Midwest. Todd was instrumental in the foundation of the Earth, Environment, and Energy Center (EEEC) at the University of Kansas, which is currently under construction. The EEEC is anchored by Slawson Hall, which was a tribute to Todd's father, Donald, who was truly a monumental figure in Kansas oil exploration and was ranked as one of the nation's top wildcat drillers for many years running. Donald was also the chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents, which governs all nine Kansas state-run universities. Todd is an avid nature photographer and enjoys traveling and all types of wildlife and nature. He believes in giving back and his main philanthropy is Children's Hospital in Denver, as well as supporting the communities around his oil exploration activities. Todd earned his private aviation license in college. You can contact Todd at tslawson@slawsoncompanies.com. C aesars Entertainment Corporation appointed Ruben Sigala '97 as chief marketing officer (CMO). Ruben had served as the company's interim CMO since the end of May 2016. Mark Frissora, Caesars Entertainment's president and CEO, said, "During his 11-year career with the company, Ruben has led analytics, pricing, yield, and revenue management functions, and launched customer segmentation, big data, and performance management platforms, which have played key roles in our recent operational accomplishments. As interim CMO, Ruben has demonstrated the critical leadership and executions skills necessary to lead our marketing teams' pivotal role in our long-term success, and to collaborate effectively with our property and corporate leadership teams as we prepare to emerge from the CEOC bankruptcy process." Ruben joined Caesars in 2005 and was the company's chief analytics officer immediately prior to being named interim CMO. Prior to joining the company, he worked in the cruise line industry and as a consultant in Ernst & Young's National Cash Management Practice. Ruben is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where he earned a Rhodes Scholarship nomination. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School. Additional reporting by PR Newswire Ruben Sigala '97 Appointed Chief Marketing Officer of Caesars Entertainment

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