10 Things You Didn’t Know about Anadarko Petroleum CEO R.A. Walker
R.A. Walker is both the CEO and the Chairman of Anadarko Petroleum. This means that he is responsible for running one of the biggest oil companies in the United States, which boasts an annual revenue that can be measured in the billions. Here are 10 things that you may or may not have known about R.A. Walker:
1. Went to the University of Tulsa
Education-wise, Walker went to the University of Tulsa, which is a private research university that has a number of things that stand out about it. For example, its campus makes extensive use of the Collegiate Gothic style, which is a subset of the Gothic Revival that was popular from the 18th century to the 20th century. Furthermore, the University of Tulsa is home to the Gilcrease Museum, which has one of the biggest collections of Native American artifacts that can be found in the entire world.
2. Got Both of His Degrees at the University of Tulsa
Speaking of which, Walker got both of his degrees at the University of Tulsa. First, there was his Bachelor of Science. Second, there was his Master of Business Administration.
3. Golden Hurricane
When he was at the University of Tulsa, Walker was a Golden Hurricane, which is the name used for the school’s sports teams. To be exact, Walker was a member of the men’s golf team, which is an experience that he remembers with fondness. Besides the friendship that he cultivated in that time, he has credited the University of Tulsa for developing his work ethic as well.
4. Used to Be in Banking
There was a time when Walker was in banking. In fact, when he was studying for his MBA, he was working on a full-time basis at First National Bank. Furthermore, before he went over to Anadarko Petroleum, Walker spent some time working as an investment banker for UBS.
5. Asked to Join Up with Anadarko Petroleum
When Walker went over to Anadarko Petroleum, he did so at the invitation of Jim Hackett, who had been his predecessor at the corporation. It should be mentioned that the two had met when Hackett was working for Prudential after graduating from the University of Tulsa, meaning that it is an interesting example of how good networking can pay off for business people.
6. Chief Financial Officer From the Start
Walker became the Chief Financial Officer when he joined up with Anadarko Petroleum. Generally speaking, such executives have a wide range of responsibilities, which include overseeing financial reporting, monitoring cash flows, and examining the corporation’s operations for both strengths and weaknesses.
7. Became Chief Operating Officer
Later, Walker went on to become Anadarko Petroleum’s Chief Operating Officer, who tends to be the executive responsible for overseeing the corporation’s operations as a whole. As a result, the people occupying said position are often regarded as the second in command, which in turn, means that it is very common for them to hold said position before being further promoted to CEO.
8. Irritated By Pressure to Focus on Short-Term Investments
As the man in charge of Anadarko Petroleum, Walker has expressed irritation at the pressure that shareholders have been putting on oil companies to focus on short-term investments at the expense of longer-term prospects. Suffice to say that Walker sees this as limiting because he believes that it is important for oil companies to able to develop prospects that might not be able to pay off until years and years into the future.
9. Got Surprised By U.S. Stance on NAFTA
It is interesting to note that Walker was one of the executives who were blindsided by the Trump administration’s stance on NAFTA. To be exact, he didn’t expect moves that would have a detrimental effect on natural gas prices, which is why he has since had a more negative outlook on said product.
10. Trustee for the Houston Museum of Natural Science
Besides his business matters, Walker is a trustee for the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Said museum is notable in that it is one of the most visited museums in the whole of the United States, which can be attributed in part to its large number of special exhibits.
