Joel Richards, III is the lead independent director and is chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee and a member of the compensation committee. He was Foundation Coal's lead independent director prior to the merger with Alpha. He was appointed to Foundation’s board of directors in March 2005 and served as the chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee since that time. He served as a member of the board of directors of Foundation’s predecessor, RAG American Coal Holdings, Inc., from 2000 to 2003. Mr. Richards has served as a member of the board of directors of The Layton Companies, Inc. since September 2008, in which he is member of its audit and compensation committees. The Layton Companies, Inc. is a privately held and nationally ranked firm specializing in construction management for a wide variety of commercial and public clients. Since 2002, he has been a principal in a management consultant firm. 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. He was senior vice president finance and administration at Meridian Minerals Company, where he worked from 1985 to 1990. Prior to that, he held various management and labor relations positions at Burlington Northern, Inc., Union Carbide Corporation and Boise Cascade Corporation. Mr. Richards earned his Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Masters in Administration from Brigham Young University.