Larry Harlan was born in 1955 and earned a BBA degree in Petroleum Land Management from the University of Texas in 1978 and an MBA from Oklahoma City University in 1982. In December 2013 he retired from Exxon Mobil Corporation following a career just short of 35 years. He spent the first 14 years of his career in the Land Department with assignments covering the U.S. mid-continent, south Texas, Gulf Coast and federal offshore areas of exploration and production operations. In 1993 he moved into the Public and Government Affairs Department with assignments in Exxon Pipeline Company, Exxon Ventures CIS (former Soviet Union), ExxonMobil Chemical Company, ExxonMobil State Government Affairs Manager and ExxonMobil Development Company.
In 2010 he moved to Exxon Mobil Corporation as Corporate Citizenship and Community Investment Manager which included serving as Executive Director of the ExxonMobil Foundation. During these assignments, he had responsibilities and contacts with ExxonMobil operations and affiliates around the world. While working for ExxonMobil he was active in industry trade associations and committees including the Association of Professional Landmen, Association of Petroleum Pipelines, American Chemistry Council, and the American Petroleum Institute. From 2017 to 2021, Mr. Harlan served as Executive Director of TOPCORP, a consortium of the University of Texas at Austin, Colorado School of Mines and Penn State University providing oil and gas training for regulatory inspectors from petroleum producing states and provinces.
Mr. Harlan and his family have lived in Lakeway, Texas since 2014 and are active in community affairs. He chaired the 2020 City of Lakeway Comprehensive Plan Committee and is presently a member of the Lakeway Economic Development Committee. Mr. Harlan also serves on the Board of Water Control and Improvement District (WCID) 17.