Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Mountain Energy, LLC | Director since 2004

Paul L. Foster is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Mountain Energy, LLC, and Franklin Mountain Investments, LLC and its affiliated companies.  Affiliates include investments in energy, private equity, real estate, construction, aviation, sports, restaurants, medical devices, and other businesses.

Mr. Foster serves as a director on the board of Franklin Mountain Energy as well as on the boards of Franklin Mountain Investments and its affiliated companies. Mr. Foster currently serves as Chairman of the Board of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT).  He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Baylor College of Medicine and is a member of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission.  Mr. Foster also serves on the Executive Committee of the Borderplex Regional Economic Alliance.  He is a member of the Texas Business Leadership Council and the World Presidents’ Organization.

Previously, Mr. Foster served as Vice Chairman and Chairman of the University of Texas System Board of Regents and served as Chairman of the University of Texas Investment Management Company (UTIMCO).  He is a past director of the El Paso branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, was a member of the University of Texas System University Lands Advisory Board and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. 

Mr. Foster and his wife, Alejandra de la Vega Foster, are philanthropists and major supporters of the Borderplex region. They are co-founders of MountainStar Sports Group, owners of the El Paso Chihuahuas Triple-A Baseball team, the FC Juarez Bravos Liga MX Soccer Club, and the El Paso Locomotive United Soccer League Championship Club.  

Since the early 2000’s, Mr. Foster has been the leading catalyst in the revitalization of El Paso’s Downtown, purchasing a number of major downtown buildings, many of them historic. His most recent completed project was the full restoration of the then 90-year-old Plaza Hotel, now operating as The Plaza Pioneer Park.  Currently, Mr. Foster is restoring and revitalizing the 87-year-old S.H. Kress Building in Downtown El Paso.

Mr. Foster has received the Baylor University Distinguished Alumni Award, was inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame, and in 2007 and 2013 was presented with the City of El Paso’s highest honor, the Conquistador Award.  He was named El Pasoan of the Year twice, inducted into the El Paso Business Hall of Fame, and was previously named El Paso’s Entrepreneur of the Year.  Mr. Foster has been a director of WestStar Bank since 2004.