NACD Awards 2023 Zall Scholarship Award

COLORADO--(September 5, 2023)—Denver, CO (September 2023) – The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Colorado Chapter, the advocate for the profession of directorship, announced Matt Wurtzbacher, NACD.D.C., as this year’s recipient of NACD’s Ronald I. Zall Scholarship. Ronnie Zall’s full life ended on May 4, 2017 and we are all the privileged benefactors of his pioneering work and dedication to director education. The NACD Colorado Chapter honored this dedication with the presentation of the annual award during the chapter’s August Event. The first member of NACD’s faculty and its director for two decades, Ronald Zall (Ronnie) predicted that all boards would one day embrace director education.

“Matt's commitment to board leadership and his impressive achievements in this field made him a standout candidate for this scholarship. We are confident that he will continue to make significant contributions to the world of board leadership and beyond,” said NACD Colorado Chapter President Barbara Faulkenberry. Chapter Chair Mike Fordyce added “We would like to extend our warmest congratulations to Matt and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Ronald (Ronnie) Zall was the first member of NACD’s faculty and the organization’s director for two decades. In 2014, NACD established a scholarship to be awarded by the Colorado Chapter to honor his work. The award covers the cost of an NACD educational offering. The characteristics of a recipient are that they are an active member of NACD; currently serve on private, public or exempt boards; and demonstrably value the pursuit of director education.

Mr. Wurtzbacher joined Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company in July 2023 to serve as interim CEO. In 2019, Mr. Wurtzbacher formed Flourish Energy LLC for the purpose of acquiring and operating oil and gas producing assets in the United States. Mr. Wurtzbacher currently serves on the board of Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company, Challenger Point Energy, LLC, Wellspring Church and the Kendall and Taylor Atkinson Foundation.

Prior to forming Flourish Energy, Mr. Wurtzbacher co-founded Caerus Oil and Gas LLC, a private company engaged in the acquisition, development and production of affordable, clean-burning natural gas in the Piceance Basin of Western Colorado, where he served as President, Chief Operating Officer and a member of the Board of Managers.

Mr. Wurtzbacher has over 35 years of diverse upstream oil and gas experience throughout North America including nine years with Forest Oil Corporation, where he served as Senior Vice President – Corporate Planning and Development.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Wurtzbacher served in various engineering and management positions with Tenneco Oil Company, Chevron Corporation, Apache Corporation, Enron Oil and Gas Company and Schlumberger.

Mr. Wurtzbacher holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering from the Edwy W. Brown Department of Petroleum Engineering and Geology at Marietta College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University, is a licensed Professional Engineer in the State of Colorado and in the Province of Alberta and is an NACD Certified Director.

About NACD Colorado

NACD Colorado Chapter empowers directors and transforms boards to be future ready. The chapter provides a forum for local NACD members to exchange knowledge and discuss leading governance practices with other Colorado area members.  Members in each of the NACD’s 22 chapters participate in a national dialogue on building a global marketplace in which businesses are sustainable, profitable, and respected – one where stakeholders trust directors to provide effective oversight and develop strategies that create long-term value for shareholders.  To learn more about NACD Colorado Chapter, please visit www.nacdonline.org.

About NACD

For more than 40 years, NACD has been on the leading edge of corporate governance, setting standards of excellence that have elevated board performance. NACD arms today's directors with insights and education that drive their mission forward, while preparing a new generation of boardroom leaders to meet tomorrow's biggest challenges. NACD is a community of more than 23,000 directors driven by a common purpose: to be trusted catalysts of economic opportunity and positive change—in businesses and in the communities they serve. To learn more about NACD, visit www.nacdonline.org