2007 Institute of Technology Commencement Keynote Speaker

Richard M. Kruger

Richard M. Kruger is executive vice president of ExxonMobil Production Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation with responsibility for worldwide oil and gas production operations.

Kruger started his career with Exxon in 1981 in Houston, Texas, and in subsequent years he has held various technical, supervisory, and management positions in countries around the world. In 1994, he was named production advisor to Exxon Corporation’s Upstream senior vice president. In 1996, he became technical manager responsible for Exxon’s engineering activities in the former Soviet Union. In 1999, Mr. Kruger was appointed vice president, Africa Deepwater, ExxonMobil Development Company responsible for deepwater oil and gas field development in Angola and Nigeria. In 2001, he was appointed director and chairman of ExxonMobil’s Subsidiaries in Malaysia located in Kuala Lumpur. In 2003, he was appointed to vice president Asia Pacific/Middle East of ExxonMobil Production Company, a division of Exxon Mobil Corporation with responsibility for oil and gas production operations in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Japan, Qatar, Yemen and Abu Dhabi.

In 2005, Kruger returned to the United States when he was appointed vice president United States of ExxonMobil Production Company. In this role he focused on ExxonMobil’s recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita, negotiations on bringing Alaska gas to the Lower 48, and progressing large-scale gas development in the Piceance Basin. Kruger was named to his current position as executive vice president of ExxonMobil Production Company in October 2006.

A native of Minnesota, Kruger holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Minnesota and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Houston.

Kruger received the University of Minnesota’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2005. That same year, he established the Richard M. Kruger Scholarship Fund, an endowment to provide scholarships to students in the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Technology.

Kruger is an active supporter of the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast and a volunteer in
multiple youth sports organizations. He and his wife, Patti, and their three sons live in Houston, Texas.