Students seeking firsthand knowledge about the business world now have someone to contact. The College of Business has named Peyton Yates as its first “Executive in Residence,” a position for those who are successful in business to help and mentor NMSU business students.

Yates is a former president of Yates Petroleum Corporation, an Artesia-based energy firm and the largest independent oil and gas company in New Mexico. He currently serves on the company’s board of directors and as president of Yates Drilling Company, an oil and gas operator in Artesia.

“Our family’s relationship with NMSU is incredibly strong,” Yates says. “We’ve had a number of family members attend NMSU. More importantly, we’ve had tremendous success with a lot of NMSU graduates. They’ve risen to some of the highest ranks of our company. We believe we get quality graduates from NMSU.”

More than 25 Yates Petroleum employees are NMSU graduates, and many of those graduates now have children attending NMSU.

In addition to mentoring and helping students with business projects, Yates will lend his expertise to NMSU’s Domenici Institute and other programs where his knowledge of business and energy is valuable.

Naming Yates as Executive in Residence strengthens a long partnership between the university and the Yates family. In addition to the Executive in Residence program, the Yates family has played a vital role in NMSU’s Dennis Darnall faculty achievement award, the Gerald Thomas Society, various NMSU athletic programs and several NMSU endowments.