J. Larry Nichols, 81, is a co-founder of Devon and served as a director between 1971 and 2016. He served as executive chairman from June 2010 to 2016 after previously holding the position of chairman since 2000 and chief executive officer since 1980. Nichols served as law clerk to Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice Tom Clark of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1967 to 1968. He then served as special assistant to Assistant Attorney General William Rehnquist in the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Nichols is vice chairman of the National Petroleum Council and serves on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers. He is a former chairman of both the American Petroleum Institute and the American Exploration & Production Council. Nichols has a bachelor’s degree in geology from Princeton University and a law degree from the University of Michigan.