Bob R. Simpson

Bob R. Simpson is an American businessman. He is the co-founder of XTO Energy and co-owner of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball (MLB) team.

Career

In 1985, Simpson founded Cross Timbers Oil Company and has served as Chairman of the Board since July 1, 1996.^[1] In 2001, the name of the company was changed to XTO Energy. In 2009 XTO Energy was ranked 325th on the Forbes Global 2000.^[1] In December 2009, ExxonMobil announced a proposal to acquire XTO Energy for $41 billion.^[2] The merger was completed in June 2010.^[3]

Baseball owner

In August 2010, Simpson and another Texas oil magnate, Ray Davis, served as co-lead investors in the $593 million winning bid to take the Texas Rangers baseball team out of bankruptcy.^[4] Simpson and Davis initially remained in the background, leaving the Rangers in the hands of managing partner and CEO Chuck Greenberg and President Nolan Ryan. They served largely as senior consultants, an arrangement that continued after Greenberg resigned in 2011, making Ryan the undisputed day-to-day head of the franchise.^[5]

In October 2010, the Texas Rangers played in the World Series for the first time in franchise history, but lost the series to the San Francisco Giants.^[6] In October 2011, the team again reached the World Series, but lost again, this time to the St. Louis Cardinals.^[7] Ryan left the ownership group in 2013, but Davis and Simpson have mostly left the Rangers in the hands of former General Manager and now team President Jon Daniels and have rarely interfered.

Education

Simpson received a BS in accounting and an MBA from Baylor University.^[8] He was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2010.^[9]

RayLynn Records

In 2012, Simpson, along with his wife Janice, started a record label for emerging musicians named RayLynn Records. Hear Me, the debut album from up and coming rock musician Kyle Sherman, was the first recording produced by the company.^{[10][11][12][13][14][15]}

References