UT Law class of '86 UT JD

Current Position and Prior Work History: Richard joined Plains in 2009 and currently serves as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary for PAA and PAGP. He is a member of the executive management team with general responsibility for legal matters.

Prior to joining Plains, Richard worked for 10 years at Duke Energy, serving his first two years as General Counsel for Duke’s unregulated businesses and then for eight years as President of Duke Energy International (Duke’s unregulated international subsidiary that owned power generation, pipeline and other assets in Latin America, Australia, Europe and the Middle east).

Prior to joining Duke, Richard worked for 12 years at Vinson & Elkins L.L.P., where he was a partner with a focus on acquisitions, divestitures and development work for various clients in the energy industry.

Education: Richard graduated cum laude from Rice University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, political science and managerial studies. He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1986 from the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, Texas.

Personal: Richard and his wife, Kris, were married in 1993 and have four children. Richard was born and raised in Houston and Kris is a native of New Orleans.

Outside Activities: Richard currently serves on a number of non-profit boards, including Houston Ballet, Rice University Jones Graduate School of Business (Council of Overseers), Holy Cross Seminary/Hellenic College (Brookline MA) and Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Houston, TX).