Joel Richards, III (65) was appointed to Foundation Coal's board of directors in March 2005 and remained on our board after the merger with Foundation Coal on July 31, 2009. He has been a member of our compensation committee and chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee since the merger and was a member of Foundation Coal's compensation committee and chairman of its nominating and corporate governance committee from 2005 until the merger. From April 2006 until the merger, he served as Foundation Coal's lead independent director. He also served as a member of the board of directors of Foundation Coal’s predecessor, RAG American Coal Holdings, Inc., from 2000 to 2003. Since 2002, he has been a principal in a management consultant firm, Joel Richards and Associates, LLC. Mr. Richards was executive vice president and chief administrative officer with El Paso Energy Corp. from 1996 until his retirement in 2002. From 1990 through 1996, he served as senior vice president human resources and administration at El Paso Natural Gas Company. At El Paso, Mr. Richards served on its executive committee which reviewed and managed, among other matters, risk throughout the organization and served on its corporate safety committee for several years which quarterly performed a corporate safety performance review of all El Paso company business units. He was also senior vice president finance and administration at Meridian Minerals Company, where he worked from 1985 to 1990. Prior to that time, he held various management and labor relations positions at Burlington Northern, Inc., Union Carbide Corporation and Boise Cascade Corporation.
Mr. Richards has served as a member of the board of directors of The Layton Companies, Inc., a privately held and nationally ranked firm specializing in construction management for a wide variety of commercial and public clients, since September 2008, of which he is member of its audit and compensation committees. Mr. Richards earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Masters in Administration from Brigham Young University.
Qualifications: Mr. Richards has more than 30 years of experience in the natural resources and energy industries and has held many senior leadership positions. Mr. Richards also served on Foundation Coal’s board of directors and was its lead independent director from April 2006 until the merger. Mr. Richards also has other corporate governance, compensation/human resources and audit expertise which he developed through his prior leadership positions, including his membership on The Layton Companies’ board of directors and specifically its audit and compensation committees.