Don Dunham, MBA

About

Don Dunham is the 2025 Spring Brenton Halsey Distinguished Visiting Professor of Chemical Engineering. He is excited to be teaching ENGR 4880/6501 ‘Business and Technical Leadership in Engineering’ and engaging with the faculty and students throughout UVA. 

Don was a Global Oil & Gas Executive (Shell and BP) – accomplished business development, finance and operations executive.  He has extensive experience in the Oil & Gas industry overseeing international locations, operations, and leading joint ventures. Don is knowledgeable leader that effectively leads remote teams and provides critical data, insights and recommendations to drive short and long-term decision making and performance. Don thrives on developing teams & individuals, creating value and continuous improvement.

Don retired from BP plc where he was the Upstream VP for Joint Venture Management, leading Upstream business assets to top tier JV performance.  Don has had the fortune to travel to over 50 countries as he developed his energy career in commercial, finance, natural gas marketing, asset management, performance unit management, chief of staff and JV leadership positions in Ohio, London, Aberdeen, Alaska, East Yorkshire, England, and Houston.  Don is an intrapreneur having completed a number of creative out-of-the-box projects and developed a number of new businesses in his career.

He is a double Hoo earning a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering and after 4 years as an Upstream engineer at Shell in California an MBA degree in General Management from Darden.  Don has received executive education at Stanford, MIT, Wharton, JMW and the Center for Creative Leadership.  Currently, Don is CEO/President of Cavalier Professional Services, Inc. doing consulting in the energy and finance space, and Member/Manager of Just Like Home Properties, LLC managing/developing residential investment property.  Don has been on 3 Boards (Habitat for Humanity (Anchorage), Boy Scouts Denali Council and Energy Performance Systems).  Don is also currently active with The Darden School entrepreneurial community as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Batten Institute’s iLab Incubator, Charlottesville Angel Network, and Charlottesville Business Innovation Council. Don has many active mentorees.

Education

BS Mechanical Engineering, University of Virginia

MBA General Management, University of Virginia Darden School of Business