About

Mike McDonald is the President and co-owner of Triad Energy, Inc., an oil and gas exploration and production company that he co-founded in 1981, with his late partner, Thomas Stapleton.

A native of Mississippi, Mike McDonald found his way to Oklahoma as a JAG officer, serving at Enid’s Vance Air Force Base. Working as a tax consultant in his spare time put McDonald in contact with oil and natural gas producers in northwest Oklahoma, and in 1981 he officially joined Oklahoma’s energy industry when he partnered with Tom Stapleton to form Oklahoma City’s Triad Energy, Inc. McDonald is a past chairman of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, past chairman of Oklahoma Energy Resources Board, and a past president of the Wildcatters Club of Oklahoma. He is also a past president of the Domestic Energy Producers Alliance and is chairman emeritus of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma. McDonald received his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Mississippi and holds a Master of Laws (Taxation) degree from New York University.

Tom was a founder and partner of Triad Energy, Inc. He was well respected by industry peers for his geological talent, business acumen, and unimpeachable integrity. It was a pleasure to work with him. Tom was a graduate of the University of Oklahoma where he earned a B.S. in Geology. Tom was a longtime member of the Wildcatters Club of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, and the Oklahoma City Geological Society. From 2001 to 2008, he was a member of the Alumni Advisory Council for the University of Oklahoma School of Geology and Geophysics.

Tom is succeeded as Vice President of Triad Energy, Inc. by his wife, Gayla Stapleton.