That’s the beginning of this Energy Crüe episode where I sat down with Derek Nixon (President/CEO - Varel Energy Solutions) and his dad Jim Nixon (President - Varel International Energy Services) at the Petroleum Club of Houston where we poured ourselves a scotch and started chatting.

We discussed Jim’s entrance into the Varel world, and how after purchasing the company he shared his lofty company goal where several people laughed and didn’t believe it could be done. Through a clear vision, a new focus on quality to reduce credits, and building a solid team he succeeded and achieved his vision multiple times over.

Derek is now leading the team at Varel where communication, celebrating victories, employee empowerment, and innovation is the recipe for their success. From driving a rebrand during the pandemic, to what’s next at Varel, it was all covered.

As usual, it’s a blast talking with Derek, and the fact we got the man where he learned his gift of gab from was the icing on the cake.