Archie Wallace Dunham (born December 20, 1938) served as president and chief executive officer of Conoco Inc. from January 1996 to August 2002, then as chairman of

ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips Company is an American multinational corporation engaged in hydrocarbon exploration and production. It is based in the Energy Corridor district of Houston, Texas. The company has operations in 15 countries and has production in t ...

, following the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company, until his retirement on September 30, 2004. Dunham was chairman of Chesapeake Energy (now

Expand Energy Expand Energy Corporation, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is the largest independent natural gas producer in the U.S. based on net daily production. The company operates in the Appalachian Basin of the Marcellus Formation in Pennsylvania and Wes ...

) from 2012 to 2015 and chairman emeritus from 2015 to 2019.

Early life and education

Dunham grew up in Oklahoma. After earning a bachelor's degree in geological engineering from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

in 1960, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

. Dunham served four years in the Marines, then returned to the University of Oklahoma to complete an MBA in 1966.

Career

Archie Dunham joined Conoco Inc. in 1966 and subsequently held a number of commercial and managerial positions within Conoco and E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company ("DuPont"). Dunham served as senior vice president of polymers and executive vice president of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, Conoco's former parent, from 1995 to October 1998. Dunham served as executive vice president of exploration production and executive vice president of refining, marketing, supply and transportation for Conoco. He served as chairman, president, and CEO of Conoco Inc. (integrated energy company) from August 1999 to August 2002 and also served as chairman of ConocoPhillips (integrated energy company) from August 2002, following the merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company, until his retirement on September 30, 2004. Dunham was previously a board director of

DuPont Dupont, DuPont, Du Pont, duPont, or du Pont may refer to: People * Dupont (surname) Dupont, also spelled as DuPont, duPont, Du Pont, or du Pont is a French surname meaning "of the bridge", historically indicating that the holder of the surname re ...

Phelps Dodge Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, James & Co., the part of the ...

Pride International Pride International, Inc. was an offshore oil drilling company headquartered in Houston, Texas. As of February 2011, it operated 26 drilling rigs. In May 2011, it was acquired by Ensco (now Valaris Limited). History The company was founded in 19 ...

Union Pacific The Union Pacific Railroad is a Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United States after BNSF, ...

and

Louisiana-Pacific Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (LP) is an American building materials manufacturer. The company was founded in 1973 and LP pioneered the U.S. production of oriented strand board (OSB) panels. Currently based in Nashville, Tennessee, LP is the ...

. He was past Chairman of the United States Energy Association, the National Petroleum Council and the

National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 s ...

. Dunham is also a member of the board of visitors at the University of Oklahoma. He was a director of the

American Petroleum Institute The American Petroleum Institute (API) is the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and natural gas industry. It claims to represent nearly 600 corporations involved in extraction of petroleum, production, oil refinery, refinement, pipeline ...

, the U.S.–Russia Business Council and the Greater Houston Partnership. He served on the board of the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, the board of visitors of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, the board of trustees of the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, the George Bush Presidential Library, and the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. He served as a trustee of

Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera (HGO) is an American opera company located in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1955 by German-born impresario Walter Herbert and three local Houstonians,Giesberg, Robert I., Carl Cunningham, and Alan Rich. ''Houston Grand Opera at ...

and was a member of The Business Council and The

Business Roundtable The Business Roundtable (BRT) is a nonprofit lobbyist association based in Washington, D.C. whose members are chief executive officers of major U.S. companies. Unlike the United States Chamber of Commerce, whose members are entire businesses, ...

. He was also a former member of the

Deutsche Bank Deutsche Bank AG (, ) is a Germany, German multinational Investment banking, investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. ...

advisory board of directors. In 2012, Dunham was appointed Independent Non-executive chairman of Chesapeake Energy (now

). He was chairman emeritus from 2015 to 2019, when he retired from the company.

Marriage and children

Archie and Linda Dunham married in 1960. The couple have three children: Steven, Laura, and Cary.

Awards

*1996: Inducted into the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering as "distinguished graduate.
Distinguished Graduates Society
*1998 Community Partners Houston Father of the Year *1998: Inducted into Oklahoma Hall of Fame *1999: Honorary Doctorate in humane letters from the University of Oklahoma. *2000: New York Mercantile Exchange award for CEO of the Year for Global Vision in Energy *2000: International Achievement Award by B'nai B'rith *2001:

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to promote and ensure the American Dream for future generations, honor the achievements of outstanding Am ...

*2001: Ellis Island Medal of Honor *2003: Honorary Doctorate in humane letters from Houston Baptist University *2004: Greater Houston Partnership International Executive of the Year *2005: John Rogers Award *2006: Inducted into Offshore Energy Center Hall of Fame *2010: Houston Baptist University Spirit of Excellence Award *2011: U.S. Marine Corps Globe and Anchor Award *2014: Houston Baptist University President's Award *2017: University of Oklahoma Trailblazer Award *2018: Houston Baptist University Founders Medal

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunham, Archie W. 1938 births Living people American chief executives of energy companies ConocoPhillips people United States Marine Corps officers University of Oklahoma alumni