Robert O. Anderson passed away on Sunday, December 2, 2007. As the article below describes, he was one of
the nation's foremost businessmen. His many contributions to the oil industry,
to the economy of New Mexico, and to the responsible conduct of business have made him an
enduring legend. The Robert O. Anderson School of Management was named as a tribute
to him in 1974, and we will now carry that name proudly as a memorial. All of us at
Anderson have been touched by this great man.
Robert Orville Anderson, petroleum executive, rancher and civic leader, has been active in the oil industry since his graduation from The University of Chicago in 1939 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Mr. Anderson served Atlantic Richfield Company (formerly known as Atlantic Refining Company) as its Chief Executive Officer for 17 years, as Chairman of the Board for 21 years and as a member of the Board of Directors for 23 years. Mr. Anderson retired from the company in 1986 to form an independent oil and gas company. He served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hondo Oil & Gas Company, Roswell, New Mexico, from September 1986 to February 1994. He remains an active wildcatter for oil and gas, as well as other business interests.
Mr. Anderson served as Chairman of the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas from
1961 through 1964. He has served on the Board of Directors of Chase Manhattan Bank, New
York, Columbia Broadcasting System, New York; First National Bank of Chicago; Weyerhaeuser
Company, Tacoma, Washington; and Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc. of Los Angeles. In the
past 55 years his business endeavors have included - in addition to the exploration,
production, refining and marketing of oil - cattle raising and feeding operations,
mining and milling, and general manufacturing.
Mr. Anderson's first full-time job in the oil business was in 1939 with American Mineral Spirits Company, a subsidiary of Pure Oil Company, Chicago. In 1941, he acquired a substantial interest in a small refinery in Artesia, New Mexico, at which time he and his family moved to New Mexico. In the next 15 years he bought and expanded several refineries and purchased Wilshire Oil Company of California, which was subsequently sold to Gulf Oil Corporation.
Mr. Anderson has served on the Board of Directors of national Petroleum Council since
1951 and is the recipient of numerous honorary degrees and awards, recognizing his extensive
interest in public and charitable affairs. He was the first recipient of the Charles A.
Lindbergh Award for Significant Achievement in 1978; inducted into Junior Achievement
Business Hall of Fame in 1986. He was the first recipient of The Dwight D. Eisenhower
Medal of Excellence in 1989. He is Honorary Chairman of Aspen Institute, Aspen, Colorado;
Chairman of Lovelace-Anderson Endowment Foundation, Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was the Founder
of International Institute for Environment and Development, London; and is a Life Trustee
of California Institute of Technology and of The University of Chicago, and is a member of
the National Advisory Board of The University of New Mexico Anderson School of Management.
Mr. Anderson is a former member of the Board of Regents of New Mexico Institute of Mining
and Technology from 1987 to 1992, and in 1994 was named Distinguished Professor,
Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering.
Mr. Anderson was born in Chicago on April 13, 1917. He has been active for many years in political affairs, having served as New Mexico Committeeman on the Republican National Committee. He and his wife, Barbara, have been married sixty-two (62) years and have seven children, twenty grandchildren and one great-granddaughter. They maintain homes in Roswell and Picacho, New Mexico.
