W. Kent Shortridge

Vice President (Oklahoma Natural Gas)
Senior Member of the Advisory Board

Biography

Kent Shortridge is Vice President of Pipelines and Storage for ONEOK, Inc. A 1990 graduate of OU’s School of Industrial Engineering, he joined Oklahoma Natural Gas Company, a division of ONEOK, Inc., and entered their five-year engineer training program. During this time he gained both field and corporate office experience in the petroleum industry. Upon completing the program, he became a project development manager in Corporate Development for ONEOK, a department pursuing acquisitions, mergers, and investments throughout North America. After completing a merger that doubled the size of ONEOK, he returned to ONG and held positions as manager for Norman Area, general manager of measurement, and regional manager for the Tulsa Metro.

While pursing his career, Mr. Shortridge has received an MBA and is a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma, Leadership Norman, and the Central Oklahoma Regional Leadership Institute. He has served on several boards in the Norman community including the United Way, Norman Chamber of Commerce, Norman Public School Foundation, and the Salvation Army. In 2004, he served on the United Way Campaign Cabinet for the Tulsa Area United Way.

Mr. Shortridge considers his industrial engineering degree the foundation for his success. “The IE education I received from OU prepared me to solve engineering-related problems with the ability to communicate the solutions to others,” he writes. “I firmly believe the discipline provides industrial engineers an advantage over other engineers due to the focus on business management in the IE curriculum. . . . We have the ability to work with others in analyzing problems, creating solutions, and communicating with one another in a business environment. With an IE degree you get a head start in your career advancement.” ”