Susan M. Cunningham

Susan Margaret Cunningham (born 1956) is a Canadian geologist and management figure in the global oil and gas industry. Cunningham has worked in the petroleum field since 1980, occupying various exploration and development roles within Amoco, Statoil ASA, and Noble Energy Inc. Cunningham is a member of the board of directors of Chord Energy. Over the span of her career, Cunningham has been recognized for exemplary leadership ability and professional achievement by organizations not limited to the National Diversity Council and the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers).

Education

Graduating in 1979, Cunningham holds a BSc in Geology and Physical Geology from McMaster University in Ontario, Canada. Her research for this project was facilitated by the Ontario Geological Survey, who aided the collection of data and samples as well as the chemical analysis involved in testing her samples, completed in 1998. Among them were managing director of Denmark and Sweden, and exploration manager of Deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

1997–2000 Cunningham began working for the Norwegian energy company, Statoil ASA in 1997, where she took on the role of exploration manager of South Africa, and in 1998 returned to working with the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico as Statoil's Vice President of exploration.

While working with Noble Energy, Cunningham was also active in other organizations. From 2005 and 2014, Cunningham was a member of the board at Cliff's Natural Resources and from 2010 to 2011, was the Chair of the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) as a representative of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG).

2017–present In 2017, Cunningham was hired by Darcy Partners, where she worked as an advisor for the consulting firm until 2019. She has received numerous professional awards throughout her career, including the Top 25 Most Influential Women in Energy Award in 2019, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) Heritage Award in 2014, in addition to the WISE-BIO Houston Leadership in Technology Award. This publication addresses previous scientific conclusions with new findings concerning the three major stratigraphic units in the Rukwa Rift Basin. Through their drilling explorations Ms. Cunningham and her collaborators found that the data did not support the previously believed age dates. The focus of this paper was how to create productive management through having a wealth of options to act and ensuring projects progress as planned. The article further touches on three defined steps in her approach, value of information, value of flexibility and value of sequencing decisions to gain both information and flexibility. The lecture was part of a series organized by McMaster's Academic Women's Success and Mentorship (AWSM).

Public assets and net worth MarketScreener evaluates Ms. Cunningham’s assets amount to a total of US$1,741,879. Ms Cunningham’s net worth, as of December 2016, was approximated at $8.48M USD.