Outstanding Young Alumni Q&A: Bob Ault
Tuesday, September 3, 2024
Media Contact: Hallie Hart | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | hallie.hart@okstate.edu
Editor's note: The Spears School of Business is releasing a series of feature stories to celebrate the 2024 Spears Business Hall of Fame inductees and Outstanding Young Alumni. Previous profiles highlighted Vickie Carr, Eddy Ditzler, Ken Eastman and Carl Wiese. Check back each week for a new profile leading up to the Oct. 4 ceremony.
First-year college students often have memorable stories about moving into campus housing, but few can say they shared Bob Ault’s experience.
Because of a last-minute vacancy, Ault had the rare opportunity to serve as a resident advisor, now known as a community mentor, during his freshman year at Oklahoma State University. In Bennett Hall, he enjoyed leading a community of student-athletes that included 2004 Final Four basketball stars Joey and Stephen Graham, four-time All-American wrestler Johny Hendricks and Cowboy quarterback Bobby Reid.
Ault, one of three Spears School of Business Outstanding Young Alumni award recipients this year, has maintained his love for leadership as a professional. Not letting his youth stop him from aiming high, he presided over the Edmond Public Schools Foundation as executive director, served on the Spears School Alumni Society Board of Directors and co-founded Redbud Partners, the Oklahoma City-based oil and gas service company where he is the CEO.
Ault, who grew up between Oologah and Claremore, received his bachelor’s degree in business administration and his Ed.D. in higher administration from OSU. The Edmond resident also holds an MBA from the University of Central Oklahoma.
How did your experiences at OSU and in the business school prepare you for your career path?
Ault: One instructor in particular really changed my perspective, and that was Andy Urich. I took as many Andy Urich classes as I possibly could. I did not agree with a lot of things that Andy spoke about or expressed in his courses; however, I really respected how he presented things and how he asked big questions. Those are the types of experiential learning environments that really help students orient themselves to say, “Hey, you’re moving into a new chapter of life. That’s important. You’re also starting your career. You need to step back and think about bigger-picture things, not just what debits and credits add up to on various sides of a balance sheet or income statement.”
Your career path is proof that starting with a Spears Business degree can open the door to a range of opportunities. What led to the jump from education to the energy industry?
Ault: My freshman year, I had a wonderful experience on an Andy Urich (class) trip to New York City, and I fell in love with the Northeast after that experience. That’s also where I met my wonderful bride (Lindsey). That’s another story but another thing that Spears is responsible for and probably the most important thing that Spears is responsible for. I ultimately wanted to move to New York. I worked for a few years in various places across New England. I started working at the Princeton Review in New York City and did that for a few years and had a wonderful experience there.
Then I decided I wanted to move back home and did that and stayed in education at the University of Central Oklahoma. At that time, I started my Ed.D. because I wanted to be a university president. That was my career dream. I also knew that being prepared for something like that meant it would probably be a smart deal to go run a business because a university is not just an institution of learning. It does a whole host of things. Those are massive organizations. I wanted to make a transition into business and also felt called to do that, so I visited with friends on which direction to go, and ultimately, I landed on oil and gas and made that transition.
You have stayed connected to OSU with the terms you served on the Spears School Alumni Society Board. What did that role show you about the business school that you didn’t know or see when you were a student?
Ault: OSU has made wonderful strides with Spears moving up the rankings. Obviously, they’ve done a wonderful job attracting great faculty. And then the development of everything around entrepreneurship at Spears is wonderful to see. Students are going to be doing highly creative, ever-evolving jobs, and that takes a different type of learning experience. OSU has done a good job of trying to bridge that gap and keep up with the times and utilize that focus on entrepreneurship as a guiding principle.
What advice would you offer to current Spears Business students?
Ault: One thing that I always advise is for students to unabashedly ask for help or utilize your resources. OSU is filled with wonderful people who are there to help serve students, so you’ve got access to great support staff. You’ve got access to all sorts of resources for job placement and career coaching and all sorts of things that just don’t exist in a lot of other places, career readiness-type support, which is wonderful. You’ve got access to world-class faculty. Talk to your faculty members. Ask them to help you with internships or ask them about scholarships. Same with administrative support staff and the other various Student Affairs support programs. Fully ingrain yourself in all of those things to get as much as you can from them and leverage as much as you possibly can. This is an institution that is very student-focused and is willing to help as long as you just ask for it.
What does it mean to you to receive this Outstanding Young Alumni award and be honored at the Oct. 4 banquet?
Ault: Obviously, I’m a forever Poke. Loyal and true. Go Pokes, and I’m excited about this evening and very honored and humbled to even be considered for it, let alone be one of the people selected for it. It’s great. Thank you guys very, very much.