Robert "Al" Walker

The game of golf brought North Carolina native Robert “Al” Walker (BS ’79, MBA ’84) to The University of Tulsa in 1976. Nancy Aaronson (BSBA ’77), a member of the women’s golf team, encouraged Walker to take a recruiting trip to Tulsa. “I liked it and enjoyed the recruiting trip enough that at the end of the day, I became a Golden Hurricane,” he says.

Walker played with a cadre of teammates who were close during their time at TU. “I have a lot of good memories of the guys I played with,” he recounts, “and the men’s and women’s teams always practiced together on Mondays. We were like cousins.”

One of the funnier stories he recalls involved a past tradition of the athletic dorm taking on other students during an annual midnight hockey game at the local ice rink. “Hank [Haney], who was also a very good high school hockey player, separated his shoulder, so I ended up driving him to the hospital around 1 or 2 in the morning. It resulted in two weeks of him not being able to play golf and getting in trouble in the process. I still tease him from time to time when I see him.”

The men’s and women’s golf rosters read like a who’s who in sports and business. Haney (BS ’77) is one of the top swing instructors in the country. Ron Streck (BS ’76) joined the pro circuit and still plays as a PGA Tour Champion today. Bob Prince (BSBA ’81, MBA ’85) serves as co-chief investment officer at Bridgewater Associates, a global investment firm managing $150 billion in assets. Mike Alsup (BS ’78), who Walker counts as one of his closest friends, plays with the USGA senior amateur. Nancy Lopez, Cathy Reynolds and Aaronson all found success in the LPGA.

Also notable on that list is Walker, whose path to success includes stints at First National Bank, Prudential and UBS before landing at Anadarko Petroleum as CFO. Today, he serves as chairman and CEO of one of the world’s largest independent oil and natural gas exploration and production companies and leads just shy of 5,000 employees and 7,000 contractors.

Walker’s time as an undergraduate at TU laid a solid business foundation for the success that followed. He and Prince earned their MBAs at night while working together at First National Bank. They both left the bank several years later, and Walker headed to New York to work on buyouts and fixed income investing for Prudential’s general account. He spent the last part of his 13 years with the company as senior managing director of an asset unit that had about $33 billion under management.

He moved to Houston in 2000 to work in the oil and natural gas industry and later ran UBS’ worldwide upstream energy practice as an investment banker. That’s when Jim Hackett, Walker’s predecessor at Anadarko and someone he’d met during his days at Prudential, asked him to join the company.

Now in his seventh year as chairman and CEO, Walker says, “I’ve enjoyed my time at Anadarko. It’s been very good for me, and I have a lot to reflect on.” He cites the purchase of Kerr McGee and Western Gas on the same day in 2006 as one of those highlights: “We made three good companies into an even better company.”

Walker remains grateful for the lessons he learned at TU, particularly the work ethic cultivated while working full-time and earning his MBA at night. “That work ethic proved important as I learned when I went to work for Prudential. My plan was to stay for only about five years and do something else, but the harder you work, the more opportunities you get, and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time as the succession opportunities opened up at Anadarko.”

He counts his long-term friendships — some since the second grade — as keeping him grounded over the years. “Having those endearing, enduring friendships has been one of the things that’s made it easy for me as I’ve walked through life,” he says.

Family also plays a central role in Walker’s life. He’s a proud father of four, ranging in ages from 15 to 5. He says balancing work and family is a challenge with such a demanding work schedule, but he concentrates on maximizing the time they spend together. “Some weeks I do that better than others, but one of the most rewarding things in life is watching your children develop and having a spouse you’re able to do that with.”

On being selected as a TU Distinguished Alumnus, Walker says, “I didn’t see it coming and had no idea. It’s one of those things I was incredibly surprised by and had no expectation of.” In light of all that Walker has achieved over the course of his esteemed career, it’s certainly no surprise to his TU family.