Jim Kneale is president and chief operating officer of ONEOK Partners, where he also serves on the board. Kneale also is president and chief operating officer of ONEOK.

Kneale was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and graduated from high school in Amarillo, Texas. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in accounting from West Texas A&M, in Canyon, Texas.

Kneale joined ONEOK in 1981 as vice president of energy operations and then moved to the Oklahoma Natural Gas Company division as vice president of accounting in 1992. He continued to serve in various executive positions until being named president of the utility in 1997, holding that post until 1999 when he became chief financial officer of ONEOK.

A graduate of both Leadership Oklahoma and Leadership Tulsa, he is a recipient of Leadership Tulsa’s Paragon Award.

He is very involved in the community and serves on the boards of directors of the YMCA of Greater Tulsa, the Tulsa Area United Way, the Tulsa Metropolitan Chamber and the Oklahoma Business Roundtable. He also on serves on the board of directors of the American Gas Association and is a member of the UMB Bank Advisory board for Oklahoma.