Steven J. Lindley, BBA ’74

Lindley is the managing member and president of Johnson & Lindley LLC and the managing partner of PinHigh Capital Partners LLC. Born in Odessa and raised in Midland, Texas, Lindley pursued his BBA at SMU, where he was active in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity. He began his business career in 1975 with First City National Bank of Houston. In 1980, Lindley joined Johnson & Lindley, a private, family-owned investment firm with interests in oil and gas, oilfield services and other private investments. He eventually became president of Permian Mud Services Inc., chairman of Champion Technology Services Inc. and the managing member of Athlon Solutions LLC. Permian/Champion and Athlon were eventually sold to Ecolab and Halliburton, respectively.

SMU is grateful to Lindley and fellow alumni Bruce Robson, ’74, and Joe Robson, ’76, for providing support that made possible the University’s new, state-of-the-art Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center. Although he was never a swimmer, Lindley’s longtime friendship with Bruce, a former SMU swimmer, helped inspire his support for the University’s new aquatics center. Lindley is active with SMU in various roles and is also active in the broader community, currently serving as a trustee on three Houston-based nonprofit boards.

Bruce Robson, BBA ’74

Robson is managing partner and chief executive officer of Robvest, a private investment partnership. Robson was active on the SMU swim team and in the SAE fraternity, through which he met his lifelong friend Steve Lindley. Both men completed their BBA degrees at SMU Cox in 1974. He led his brother John Joseph (Joe), ’76 — who also joined the swim team and SAE fraternity — and his sister Sybil Ann to SMU. His brother earned his BBA at SMU Cox, and his sister earned her BFA at the SMU Meadows School of the Arts.

Bruce’s business career began with First City Bank, and he later joined InterFirst Bank Dallas. After moving to Tulsa in 1984, he founded Robson Drilling and Robson Petroleum Company. In the mid-’80s, he acquired controlling interest in Dune Resources, a publicly traded Canadian oil and gas exploration company, and became president and CEO. Ten years later, he exited the oil and gas business and took over through his family’s ranching and farming interests in northeastern Oklahoma until 1999. In 2000, he formed Robvest. He continues his interest in ranching on his south central Oklahoma ranch and through his family’s ranching and farming businesses in northeastern Oklahoma. Robson has been active on boards in Oklahoma, Florida and Texas, and he is an active SMU alumnus. He and his brother partnered with Lindley in a generous gift that made possible SMU’s 42,000-square-foot Robson & Lindley Aquatics Center, dedicated in 2017.