Archie W. Dunham is the retired chairman of the board of ConocoPhillips, the fifth largest corporation in the country. He was chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer of Conoco Inc. from 1999 to 2002, after being elected president and CEO in 1996. He became chairman of ConocoPhillips in 2002. Dunham was instrumental in orchestrating Conoco’s IPO separation from DuPont in 1998, the largest in U.S. history, and in negotiating the merger of equals between Conoco Inc. and Phillips in 2002. He currently serves on the boards of directors of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation; Union Pacific Corporation; and Pride International. He is also a member of the Deutsche Bank Advisory Board of Directors.

As chairman, Dunham was active in several professional, business and advisory organizations, serving on the boards of directors of the American Petroleum Institute, the National Petroleum Council, The Business Round Table, the U.S.-Russia Business Council, the United States Energy Association, Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans and the National Board of the Smithsonian Institution. He currently serves on the board of trustees of the George Bush Presidential Library Foundation, the Bipartisan Policy Center, Inc., the CEO Forum, and the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, an organization created by President Bush to advise the Administration on measures required to better protect the nation’s critical infrastructure from terrorist attack. He is the past chairman of the National Association of Manufacturers, the United States Energy Association and the National Petroleum Council. In 2005, he was appointed by President Bush to the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships.

In 1998, Dunham was recognized by the World Affairs Council as Houston’s International Citizen of the Year. In 2000, Dunham was recognized by the New York Mercantile Exchange as CEO of the Year for Global Vision in Energy, and was presented the International Achievement Award by B’nai B’rith. He was presented the Ellis Island Medal of Honor and the Horatio Alger Award in 2001 and was recognized as a “Legend of the Industry” in 2003. In 2004, Dunham was recognized by the Greater Houston Partnership as the International Executive of the Year, and he was presented the John Rogers Award for a career of extraordinary professional and civic achievements in 2005. He was inducted into the Offshore Energy Center Hall of Fame in 2006.

Locally, Dunham is a member of the Mayor’s International Travel Task Force, the board of directors for Memorial Herman Healthcare System, and a senior member of the board of visitors of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He is s past trustee of the Houston Symphony, the Houston Forum, the Greater Houston Partnership, and the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast, and senior chairman and past president of the Houston Grand Opera. 

Born in 1938, Dunham holds a bachelor’s degree in geological engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Oklahoma. He remains associated with the university through service on the O.U. Foundation and has been honored by both the College of Business Administration and the College of Engineering as a distinguished graduate. In 1994, he was recognized by the Oklahoma Board of Regents for his demonstrated leadership on behalf of the University of Oklahoma, and in 1999 the University granted him an honorary doctor of humane letters degree. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 1998. Houston Baptist University granted him an honorary doctor of humane letters degree in 2003. He served in the U.S. Maine Corps from 1960 to 1964 and currently serves as a member of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. Dunham and his wife, Linda, are active members of the Second Baptist Church of Houston, the largest church in the United States.

The most meaningful award he has ever received was being named Houston’s Father of the Year in 1998. He’s the proud father of three wonderful children and eight fabulous grandchildren. He’s been married to his childhood sweetheart, Linda, for nearly 50 years.