Co-Founder and CEO
With a background in mergers and acquisitions, finance and entrepreneurship, Ashmore helped Co-Found KJ Energy, assembling a highly talented technical and executive management team. Ashmore was the first founding member of the KJ Energy Executive Team and helped build the company from back-of-the-napkin concept into one of East Texas’ most successful and prolific technical and drilling companies, having drilled some of the most successful horizontal liquids-rich gas wells in East Texas.
Ashmore and his co-founders set out to build a ‘unique’ company with the ‘radical’ belief that he could turn around revenue losing assets, build a highly profitable E&P company while mutually benefitting all stakeholders in the process, not at their expense. While the industry shunned the notion of profits at the time, in favor of growth via debt, the US energy industry complex now demands that E&P companies, both small and large, generate profits over this debt fueled growth.
As such, this ‘unique’ insight, conservatively aggressive and ‘audacious’ concept of profits while respecting all stakeholders, helped spark the region’s resurgence and a renaissance of rich gas that, until recently, was once deemed sleepy, boring and dead. Today, commerce and rigs are revitalized with all stakeholders benefitting.
Ashmore is a native Texan (whose family hails from East and West Texas) is a 40 Under 40 recipient and a Rhodes Scholar Finalist having graduated from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, where he founded his first entrepreneurial endeavor – goat trading. He has his MBA with a concentration in Real Estate and Finance from God’s University, Texas A&M as a Ford Scholar. Ashmore has been featured on Fox News, CNN, Washington Post, New York Times, Houston Chronicle, etc.
He frequently speaks to large groups, while also forcing his kids to listen to his life lessons on entrepreneurship, ethics, faith, hope and the art of making good things happen. With business talks such as “Shoe Shining”, “Goats”, “Steel Cleats”, “Shotgun”, “White House”, “Hustle, Grit & Never Quit”, “Trump” and “Ham Sandwich”, Ashmore has a passion for sharing life-long lessons that translate into successful businesses.
Ashmore and his wife, Kelli, founded ‘Stuff the Sleigh’ (www.thesleigh.org), a year-round foundation that helps provide hope and joy and helps alleviate the insidious burden and pain from innocent children fighting for their lives against the ravages of pediatric cancer.
1789 Minerals has assembled a Best-In-Class Technical Team comprised of some of the best landmen on the ground in each basin we serve. Additionally, we have some of the most adept technical talent that has a deep understanding of the geology, petrophysics and engineering within each unique formation. We also take a data analytics approach to help triangulate on the best opportunities for both our sellers and 1789
At 1789 Minerals, Ashmore and his business partners now set on the path to do the same thing in the non-operated, mineral and royalty space – create a highly efficient and profitable private company, with a unique capital structure, not traditionally employed, with scale. As a result, 1789 Minerals will be in a position to help all stakeholders benefit from this new structure, including sellers, in need of access to their stranded capital.
Land Team
With more than 20 years of experience as independent landmen, the 1789 Minerals’ land management team has collectively leased well over 500,000 acres throughout Ark-La-Tex, NM and OK as independent landmen and worked on significant projects, organically leasing 150,000+ contiguous acres in the Eagle Ford for one of the most well-respected energy private equity firms and the Permian.
The 1789 Minerals’ Land Team handles all of the land management activities for the company and works closely with 1789’s in-basin land teams, including due diligence, division order management, surface and sub-surface leasing, negotiations, title curative work, pipeline ROW and overall project land management work. The team has also worked on behalf of numerous small independent operators, family trusts and operators such as: EOG Resources, Apache Corp., Noble Energy, Halcon, Rosetta and Venado Oil & Gas, and are Registered Petroleum Landmen with The American Association of Professional Landmen and members of the Houston Association of Professional Landmen.
1789 Minerals has a deep and esteemed advisory board comprised of some of the energy industry’s most well respected executives leading global acquisitions & divestitures (A&D) at majors and large independents, energy risk mgmt. senior leadership, founders of equity funds, energy investment banking senior mgmt., global valuation services, oilfield service company founders and executive leadership coaching. This rich history, talent and insight enables 1789 Minerals to patiently, efficiently and wisely scale for the benefit of all stakeholders.
Our Mission, Vision & Values:
Our Mission, Vision and Values are more than just some empty, hollow words on a sheet of paper. This is who we are, our transparent selves in how we conduct ourselves and our businesses. We simply treat others as we would like to be treated.
Values – Simply Put: We Treat All with Mutual Respect and Integrity
Audaciously Genuine & Authentic – Who We Are is How We Treat Others When No One is Looking
Loyal – Staying True to Those Who Are True
Ethical – Do the Right Thing, All the Time
Committed – Honoring Our Promises
Excellence – Going the Extra Mile
Passionate about Execution & Performance, We Acknowledge and Reward Performance and Excellence with Integrity
