David Skidmore
David Skidmore In 2019 retired from BP plc as Vice President of Lower Carbon Power. Before this, he was Vice President of Refining & Marketing for BP based in Moscow. He is now focusing on developing a portfolio of Non-Executive Director positions.
David began his career with Amoco as a petroleum engineer in the US Gulf Coast, Alaska, and Tulsa. David has been based in Europe since 1999, where he worked in Germany, London, and Moscow. While at BP’s headquarters in London, he worked in the M&A team that completed the landmark acquisition in Russia creating the oil company TNK-BP. In 2009, David joined the Board of TNK-BP Holding, the Russian holding company of TNK-BP, becoming Chairman from 2012-2013. He also served on boards of subsidiary companies within TNK-BP in Russia.
From 2011-2016 he served on the Board of Ruhr Oil, based in Germany. David holds a BS in Petroleum Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, an MBA from Oklahoma State University, as well as an Executive MBA from Columbia University. He has been a Registered Professional Engineer and also holds a corporate governance certification from INSEAD’s International Independent Directors Program in Paris.
David serves on the Board of the Penn State University Rugby Foundation and is a donor to the Chicago Lions Charitable Association.
David’s rugby career began in 1973 on a sandlot football field in suburban Philadelphia, where someone suggested to him to try rugby while at Conestoga High School. After playing four years at Penn State, he moved to Houston and played with Houston RFC. He then played with Tulsa RFC, and finally with the Chicago Lions from 1991 – 1999 where he also coached the Lions in the late 1990s. David started playing representative rugby with the Allegheny Rugby Union while at Penn State, followed by Texas RFU, Ozark RFU, and Western and Midwest Territorial RFUs. David was selected to the USA Eagles for their tours to Japan in 1985 and Russia in 1988 and was a member of the Eagles squad from 1985 to 1988. For a couple of years, after he stopped playing International rugby, he was a member of the USA Eagles selection Committee.
David lives in Barcelona with his wife Linda and enjoys traveling, skiing, rugby, motorcycle racing, and whenever he can, enjoying a decent bottle of wine. Playing rugby has played a major role throughout my adult life, and I have enjoyed the many opportunities and friends around the world it has given me. Not only do I believe in the mission and goals of the US Rugby Foundation, but I also deeply respect my fellow Board members, many of whom I have known for decades. I am extremely proud to be associated with the Foundation as well as the other Directors and Governors.