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Oil and gas tycoon Matthew Fleeger, CEO and President of venture management company Gulf Coast Western, exemplifies an admirable approach to investment in oil and gas exploration. Fleeger's focus is forming partnerships with investors by using the latest scientific tools to quantify risks and production potential, making sure each investor is fully informed of both downside risk and potential return on investment, and then bringing the best talents in the industry together to realize maximum production potential. Fleeger takes the same approach to the company's philanthropic investments, supporting seven non-profits through Gulf Coast Western while focusing on other charities with his wife, Valerie.
A great deal has been written about Fleeger and Gulf Coast Western's fifty years of stable success in the oil and gas industry. Not as much has been written about the unique point of view Matthew Fleeger brings to Gulf Coast Western and the industry as a whole.
The oil industry has gone through boom and bust cycles for generations. Situations like the pandemic can come out of nowhere to wreak havoc on the oil market. In situations in which expenses mount and revenues crash, Fleeger has a unique formula for success:
Focus on improvement.
Rather than investing attention in bad news, Fleeger says, the path out of the low points of the business cycle is to look for ways to cut overhead without losing talent. It's important to look for new sources of cash flow and new ways to monetize assets, keeping an open mind. That's how Gulf Coast Western weathered the crises of 2008 and 2020.
Every winner in oil and gas exploration, Fleeger says, has a fundamental attitude of optimism. If you are averse to risk, you should find another industry. But Fleeger also says that it's important to know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em, to look beyond current numbers and preliminary exploration reports to recognize when it's best to cut losses. In the 2008 crisis, Fleeger revealed in a conversation with Interview, he had been so intent on the expansion of the company that he overlooked a flaw in the studies on which he made his investment decisions in a crucial project. He made the decision to cut losses, but he also took steps to enable his partners to come out whole through a series of other deals.
For Matthew Fleeger, Gulf Coast Western is the family business, though it's not where he cut his teeth. Fleeger founded a successful medical waste disposal company not long after his graduation from SMU. He sold it after 13 years for $59 million.Â Fleeger also co-founded two chains of tanning salons, Palm Beach Tan and Mystic Tan, with revenues approaching $100 million annually.
Fleeger says that these businesses taught him how to keep his emotions from getting the best of him. He learned from his other recession-sensitive enterprise to look for expansion opportunities unique to hard times. And, of course, Fleeger learned the value of having cash reserves to take advantage of unique investment opportunities.
Under Matthew Fleeger's leadership, over 70% of Gulf Coast Western's partners have signed up for more than one joint venture. His rating with the Better Business Bureau has been a consistent A+. Matthew Fleeger's integrity keeps the door open for new ventures with longstanding partners and seasoned associates that have made Gulf Coast Western a premier investment leader in the oil and gas industry.
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