Hill Country: Texas Native Leads Danos' Onshore Ops
Melanie Hill grew up with her three sisters on a family farm northwest of Houston, doing chores and helping raise animals. In fact, the cattle they raised became a college fund. Because of her aptitude for business, she was put in charge of the farm’s bookkeeping while still in high school. She graduated from college in accounting and earned her CPA license with the idea of eventually working in corporate finance management. The first job she took was as an auditor, but when a friend recommended an open position for a staff accountant at Wood, she decided to give the oil and gas industry a try.
As she learned the accounting side, it wasn’t long before she began to wonder about the operations side of the business. She chatted up coworkers in order to learn more, peppering them with questions about production and field operations. Melanie soon realized that maybe she wasn’t really cut out for cubicle life after all. When the former farm girl was offered an opportunity to be mentored by an operations colleague, she jumped at the chance, eventually taking over as his replacement when he retired a year later. Even though the learning curve was steep, Melanie enjoyed this new work — seeing the impact of good practices and decision-making reflected in improved financial outcomes.
In 2020, Danos approached her about helping them seed new opportunities in Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. She agreed and eventually became manager of this new onshore area referred to as the “Rockies.” Following her success there, she became Operations Manager of Shale Production for all three of Danos’ shale regions. In 2023, the three regions were reorganized as a single unit under Darryl Rousse as VP of Production Services. Melanie was promoted to General Manager for Shale Production, charged with integrating and streamlining all of the company’s onshore production activities.
One reason Melanie was chosen for this new role was her knowledge of the onshore market. She knew Texas and the greater Mid-West/Western area well, understood its challenges and had experience in both finance and production. On her home turf, she was comfortable and worked well with customers who relied on her expertise. Her first-hand experience gave her valuable insight into what made onshore businesses successful. With support from Operations Manager Greg Short and a team of three regional managers, Melanie would help Danos evolve its onshore group into a focused, coordinated team able to compete with anyone in the market.
There are few women in senior operational leadership positions, and Melanie is proud that Danos entrusted her with such an important role. “I’m so grateful to Danos for giving me this opportunity, but even more so for all the support from senior leaders I’ve received,” she said.
At a recent meeting with other professional women in South Texas, someone asked her what made Danos different from other companies. “I told her: they don’t just say they care about people. They show it in everything they do.” She credits the Danos family for prioritizing people and their development over short-term profit. She also points to how the Danos Foundation has engaged with local communities, providing grants to local nonprofits and supporting disaster recovery efforts. “Danos does things the right way, and it really shows,” she said.
