Artis’ Story

By the time Artis was 40 years old, he was already a senior executive in a company of 70,000. Since that time, he has continued to climb, and is currently in charge of a $15 billion business as Fuels Executive and Company Officer. Artis has 25 years of experience in organizational behavior, engineering, supply chain, operations, sales and marketing. He has worked all around the world, and spent 2.5 years in Singapore overseeing the Asia Pacific region for the Wholesale Fuels business. Some of his career highlights include serving as the Global Sponsorships Director and the US Lubricants Sales Director. On four occasions, Artis has been selected to represent ExxonMobil as a part of its corporate advertising campaigns with commercials on television throughout the United States.

At his core, Artis is a God-fearing family man with humble beginnings. He was born in Selma, AL, and he and his four siblings were was raised in Mobile, AL by a hard-working and determined single mother, Juanita. He attended public schools throughout his life, and graduated valedictorian from Ben C. Rain High School. Artis was the Captain of the Red Raider football team and Class President. He excelled in college as well, receiving a BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Alabama and an MBA in Finance from the University of Memphis. Artis’ greatest pleasure is spending time with his wife, Kim, and two sons, Hunter and Hendrix.

A lifelong learner, Artis received leadership certifications from the Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University, Columbia University, and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Artis has a passion for helping others. His path was not linear and it was not easy. Artis did not have exposure to business leaders while growing up, and learned a lot along the way. He enjoys making the journey a little bit smoother for those behind him. Whether the goals are corporate, entrepreneurial, community-oriented, or personal, Artis is highly sought out as a mentor and an advisor. He was selected as a Distinguished Departmental Fellow by the University of Alabama. He served as the lead of his alma mater’s Minority Engineering Program’s task force with a focus on increasing the percentage of black engineers graduating from the University, and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Capstone Engineering Society. Artis is a former President and current Advisory Board Member of ExxonMobil’s Black Employee Success Team, and recently founded and chairs the Black Leadership Team, which is comprised of Black executives throughout the corporation. He previously served as an advisor for the Coalition for Economic Empowerment, and also spearheaded the Leadership Academy for youth at Impact Church. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Beta Eta Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to empower African Americans in the areas of education, health, and economic independence. Artis was selected to join the prestigious Executive Leadership Council as a member of Class 2020.

Artis is a dynamic, compelling and inspiring speaker who regularly tells his stories of adversity and triumph across the country - from his earliest memories in Alabama to his journey finding personal and professional success - providing pragmatic solutions for empowering leaders at all levels to turn adversity into opportunity. He has spoken to the following organizations just to name a few: Harvard University, National Society of Black Engineers, Alexandria Rotary Club, Jack and Jill of America, PRIDE, Thunderbird Alumni Association, American Association of Blacks in Energy, UA Black Alumni Association, Cross Employee Resource Group, Women’s Leadership Team, The Collective Generational Mentoring Foundation, and the Global Organization for the Advancement of Latinos.