Name:
Bobby Shackouls

School:
Mississippi State

Career highlights:
Board of Directors, ConocoPhillips
Chairman, President and CEO, Burlington Resources Inc.
President and CEO, Meridian Oil Inc.
Executive Vice President and COO, Burlington Resources/ Meridian Oil Inc.
Chief Operating Officer, Torch Energy Advisors Inc.
Executive Vice President of Operations, Torch Energy Advisors Inc.
Various managerial positions, Plains Resources Inc.
Various managerial positions, Houston Oil & Minerals Corporation
Various engineering positions, Exxon Company U.S.A.

Bobby Shackouls, Mississippi State ’72, enjoyed chemistry class in high school, so he decided
to major in chemical engineering. He was also influenced by his father, a skilled technician who worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. At the time, he was simply leaning into his natural abilities and had no idea he was taking the first step in creating a highly successful career in the oil and gas industry.

Making the most of his college experience, Shackouls excelled in his studies, joined SigEp’s Mississippi Beta chapter and played on intramural teams for the Fraternity. Recalling those days, Shackouls said, “I loved the relationships that I developed with my brothers, some of which have lasted a lifetime.”

As graduation approached, shifts in the industry, growing regulation and increased public concerns about the environment had lessened the demand for chemists. Shackouls was nervous because he’d secured only one job interview. It was here that his hard work in college paid off: Most applicants didn’t meet Humble Oil & Refining’s GPA requirements, but the company noticed Shackouls because of his top marks. He was offered a job as a reservoir engineer in New Orleans, a position where his strong chemical engineering background proved to be an asset.

“As soon as I arrived in New Orleans, my older colleagues started teaching me the business, and I became enthralled by it,” he said.

From that job forward, Shackouls carved out a path for himself in the industry, making sure to take advantage of every opportunity that came his way. Humble (which by then had changed its name to Exxon) soon promoted Shackouls to operations engineer, but he longed to return to his reservoir engineering roots. So he left the security of Exxon to take a job at Houston Oil & Minerals, a small company where Shackouls became employee no. 84.

The move brought about a major advancement in his career: Just four months in, he was selected to manage production at a new natural gas field in the Gulf of Mexico.

Over the years, as the number of companies in the industry shrank due to mergers and acquisitions, Shackouls’ stature grew due to a series of senior management positions. In 1993, he was tapped to serve as chief operating officer of Burlington Resources. Two years later, he became president and CEO of the company. Shackouls built Burlington Resources into an industry leader by reducing inefficiencies and closing a series of mergers and acquisitions that grew the company. When it was acquired by ConocoPhillips in 2006, the company sold for nearly $36 billion — more than 10 times its value when Shackouls joined the company.

While running Burlington Resources, Shackouls joined the board of directors of Kroger, currently the country’s largest traditional supermarket chain. At first glance, his experience in the energy industry might seem incompatible with the grocery business, but during his 21 years on the board, Kroger grew into a major gasoline and diesel retailer by tying fuel discounts to purchases in its stores.

A 2003 recipient of the SigEp Citation, Shackouls became a trustee of the Sigma Phi Epsilon Educational Foundation the same year and served for nearly a decade. He also served on the Citation Nomination Committee, helping to recognize other high-achieving brothers.

A longtime donor to SigEp, Shackouls is an active supporter of philanthropic causes. He supports a number of Houston-based nonprofits and endowed the Shackouls Honors College he established at Mississippi State with his wife, Judy (Houston Oil &
Minerals employee no. 27). Remembering his humble roots, Shackouls said the Honors College is one of his proudest accomplishments.

When young people just starting their careers ask how they can create a similar career path, he advises, “Get a degree in mechanical engineering, followed by an MBA. And learn all you can from more experienced people.”

All in all, it’s been a pretty impressive career for someone whose only previous experience in the energy industry was a part-time job at a gas station during high school.