Official High-Resolution Headshot

Barry Russell

IPAA President and CEO

Barry Russell is president and CEO of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), the leading national trade association of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies in the United States. Russell, who joined IPAA in the early 1980s, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the association and is responsible for its day-to-day operations.

Prior to being elected President in March 2000, Russell served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In this role, he was the principal deputy to the President, focusing on legislative policy development as well as the legal and financial administration of the association.

Over the last several years, Russell has worked with over thirty state and national associations to create IPAA’s grassroots network made up of over 50,000 individuals. This network helps the industry express important policy positions to Congress and Washington policymakers. In addition, Russell developed the IPAA Education Center which is dedicated to teaching students at various levels about energy policy and careers in the industry.

Mr. Russell currently serves on the board of the IPAA Educational Foundation, the Business Industry Political Action Committee, and the National Energy Education Development Project. In the past, he has served on the Board of the North American Prospect Expo (known as NAPE®), the Petroleum Technology Transfer Council and the Jefferson Energy Foundation.

In the past, he has managed IPAA’s environmental issues as one of IPAA’s registered lobbyists and served as a founding member of the Environmental Issues Council, an organization of trade associations based in Washington, D.C. In addition, he served on the committees that directed the association’s strategic planning in 1995 and 1989. He has been IPAA’s chief legal and financial officer since 1988 and an officer of IPAA’s educational foundation since its inception.

Russell began his career in the Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of General Counsel and Enforcement, where he represented EPA in civil and criminal actions against some of the nation’s largest utilities and industrial concerns. Prior to joining IPAA, Russell worked for several management consulting firms including Booz, Allen and Hamilton. During this period, he specialized in mergers, acquisitions, and corporate turnaround assignments, serving as the CEO of companies that were near bankruptcy. He was also active in international business, traveling to over 40 foreign countries during this period.

He received his law degree with honors from George Washington University Law School, and he graduated with distinction and honors from Penn State University with a B.S. in psychology and a B.A. in economics. He has also completed courses in environmental mediation and negotiation at Harvard University and MIT.