#89. From Flight Engineer to CEO: Powering the Data Center Boom with Rob Rice
About this episode
Rob Rice discusses his journey from flight engineer to CEO and the evolution of Gravity in the power generation sector.
How do you transform an oilfield services giant into a power generation powerhouse? Gravity CEO Rob Rice joins David de Roode and Victoria Beard Queen to reveal the "behind-the-scenes" of his company’s massive evolution. From his days as an Air Force flight test engineer to leading multi-million dollar divestitures, Rice explains why the future of the field is not in water or chemicals, but in standardized 400 kW natural gas generators. Tune in to find out! 00:36 Podcast Mission And Sponsors 01:59 Host Banter And Industry Events 03:39 Meet Rob Rice 03:54 Louisiana Roots And Air Force 05:46 First Rig Trip Spark 07:25 Early Career Texas Eastern 08:51 Enron And Overseas Work 11:28 Hanover To Archrock Leadership 14:41 Air Force Flying Stories 16:26 Gravity Origin And Reshaping 20:23 Power Rental Market Focus 26:11 Reliability Data Centers And Service 29:18 Strategic Partner Role 30:52 Looking Ahead For Gravity 31:01 Growth and Diversification 32:13 Company Size and COVID Reset 33:49 Remote Work and Tech Shifts 35:43 Deal Prep and Data Rooms 38:32 Motivating Teams Through Change 41:59 Professionalism First Impressions 45:24 Career Choices in Energy 49:10 Mentors and Paying It Forward…
People in this episode
Hosts: David de Roode, Victoria Beard Queen
Guest: Rob Rice
Topics covered
- data centers
- power generation
- oilfield services
- leadership
- career transformation
Keywords
- data center boom
- natural gas generators
- oilfield services
- leadership
- career choices
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Gravity, Texas Eastern, Enron, Archrock
Places: Louisiana, Air Force
More episodes of Oilfield 360 Podcast
- #94. Cam Hewell on Rethinking Managed Pressure Drilling
- #93. How do you turn a struggling frac sand operation into a 10‑million‑ton powerhouse?
- #92. AI Power Surge: Can Natural Gas Keep Up with Demand?
- #91. How Select Water Solutions Is Innovating Through Energy and Water Use Dynamics
- #90. Neal Lux talks about going from Coil Tubing Startup to CEO-Level Leadership
- #88. Deployable Nuclear, Offshore Power & Energy Innovation with Bobby Gallagher
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Oilfield 360 Podcast podcast page.