NGSA president announces retirement; search for successor under way

Dec. 17, 2013
Natural Gas Supply Association Pres. R. Skip Horvath announced he will retire during first-half 2014 after 15 years at the trade association’s helm. A search is under way for his successor.

Natural Gas Supply Association Pres. R. Skip Horvath announced he will retire during first-half 2014 after 15 years at the trade association’s helm. A search is under way for his successor.

“Over the last decade and a half, Skip dedicated NGSA to advocating for a healthy and competitive natural gas market, and he and his team played an important part in shaping the most liquid, transparent natural gas market in the world,” NGSA Chairman Greg Vesey said.

Horvath became NGSA president in 1999. He previously was the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America’s executive vice-president and chief operating officer.

“Many discussions with the board that hired me about [NGSA’s] mission led us to commit to ensuring a competitive and efficient market that benefited natural gas consumers and the US economy,” he recalled. “It is enormously gratifying to see that vision playing out just as we hoped it would in 1999.”

Vesey said, “Under Skip’s guidance, NGSA put a priority on collaboration with other natural gas associations to promote cooperation and communication among the gas sectors, and NGSA became skilled at punching above its weight on regulatory and policy issues in Washington.” Vesey also is vice-president of gas supply and trading at Chevron Corp.

Horvath’s work in the gas industry has spanned the terms of 13 of the 15 chairmen that the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has had in its history, according to NGSA. It said he also helped establish and lead the Natural Gas Council, a forum for gas industry leaders to discuss common concerns, and was instrumental in determining its operating principles.

He also founded the Distributed Power Coalition of America and served as one of four individuals tasked with setting up the Gas Industry Standards Board (now known as NAESB, the North American Energy Standards Board) and the Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, NGSA said.

Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].