Before getting into the antique mall business in 2006, he worked for Marathon Oil and Unocal Corporation, then became vice president of Kiel Brothers Oil Company, the family’s gas station and convenience store business. In 2004, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and Greg Pence resigned.

In 2005, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels appointed him deputy commissioner of the state’s Department of Environmental Management — the very same agency that had cited Kiel Brothers for violations in the past.