David Le Norman Named Among Most Admired CEOs

A person working in the challenging oil industry these days succeeds by diversifying, innovating and embracing new technology. David Le Norman does those things well as founder and managing partner of Reign Capital Holdings LLC, which is helping grow the energy, real estate, automotive and technology sectors in Oklahoma.

With his collaborative style, Le Norman looks to create symbiotic relationships between the company’s holdings, a strategy that provides a competitive advantage and gives him fresh perspective as the industry evolves.

In 2019, Reign Capital developed the Executive Hub to cater to oil and gas professionals and other independent entrepreneurs who were displaced or downsizing, said Ashley McClain, Reign’s communications director. This move proved prescient as COVID-19 hit the next year and more people needed help.

“David sets the tone for his organization through a tireless work ethic, always pushing forward but stopping to show compassion and encouragement for those less fortunate or struggling,” she said. “The path to success, though, he says is simple – just outwork and outthink your fellow players while listening to everyone’s ideas.”

Le Norman is generous in serving nonprofits. He and his wife, Cory, established and funded the Comprehensive Nutrition Center at the University of Oklahoma Children’s Hospital at OU Health, and he is the single-largest donor at Hearts for Hearing, said Kris Hopper, Hearts for Hearing’s chief external affairs officer.

“David Le Norman’s list of accomplishments and the organizations and causes he helps support could continue for pages; however, he is also a modest person whose primary motivation is to help others achieve their full potential and life’s dreams,” she said.

Le Norman founded Reign Capital in 2019 and it now includes more than 25 employees, plus an additional 170 with the Merit Auto Group. His 40-year career has a strong track record of assembling teams, assets and strategies in the upstream oil and gas segment. Prior to entrepreneurship, he spent a decade with Texaco in various engineering and business development roles. He has a bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Wyoming and a Master of Business Administration from Oklahoma City University. He also has done master’s work in engineering at Oklahoma State University.

He is the first chairman of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, recently formed through the merger of the Oklahoma Independent Producers Association and the Oklahoma Oil & Gas Association. He has been vice chairman and public education chairman of the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board and was voted the OIPA’s member of the year in 2018.