Araujo thought he would one day become a doctor when he started his higher education journey at Pomona College in 1984, but life had other plans.
After taking a few biology classes, Araujo found that he wasn’t enjoying it. However, he decided to move forward with completing the requirements for his bachelor’s degree in the subject, which he received in 1988.
In thinking about alternative career paths, Araujo’s mind began to turn to mechanical engineering. After meeting a family friend one day who worked as an engineer in the oil industry, his mind was made up.
“He had worked in three different countries and had these really great stories about meeting new people, experiencing new cultures — all these different life experiences,” he said. “It was really inspiring. I was already thinking about switching over to engineering at the time because I do enjoy numbers and applying them to engineering.”
The same year he graduated from Pomona College, Araujo began pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering with a specialization in petroleum at California Polytechnic State University. His first experience in the oil and gas industry was in 1990, when Araujo was able to get a summer internship with Chevron in Bakersfield.
“It was really my first exposure to oil and gas directly,” he said. “They sent me out to the field. I was working with the rigs and some of the operators, just learning the basics. It was really enjoyable. It really gives you a good understanding of the core of the business.”
After graduating from Cal Poly in 1991, Araujo began what would ultimately become a career of over 30 years in the industry. It all started after he moved to Bakersfield that year to work as an engineer for Shell.
While his job at the company gave Araujo a foundational understanding of how the oil and gas industry operates, he wanted to learn more about the business side of the industry.
When he learned that Shell would pay for employees to pursue a master’s degree, Araujo jumped at the opportunity and soon found himself enrolled in CSUB’s MBA program.
“I was really learning how to run a business, how to look at a company from a business perspective,” he said. “With my background, I was used to looking at the clinical aspects of business and focus on production.”
It was challenging at first managing both his classes and his work as an engineer, but Araujo quickly adapted. He went on to earn his degree in 1995 after three years in the program.
“The MBA program was challenging, but it was a good experience,” he said. “I had very little time for anything else. My weekends were mostly spent doing classwork, but looking back, it doesn’t feel like a sacrifice at all. It helped get me to where I am today.”
Araujo said he enjoyed his time at CSUB, especially in getting to know his professors and his fellow students.
“CSUB was great,” he said. “The professors were very accessible, very practical as well. I was able to make friends with a lot of the students and teachers. We kind of created a little community that was very inviting.”
After earning his CSUB degree, Araujo continued to work at Shell for a few years until an opportunity he had long hoped for — a chance to work abroad — came in 1997. Araujo was hired as an asset team leader for the company Repsol, which involved leading a team responsible for improving the performance of fields in Spain and Egypt.
“I’ve always wanted to work in different places around the country and around the world,” he said.
Araujo would end up spending most of his career working overseas, mostly for the Apache Corporation. He held several roles with the company over the course of around 18 years, which involved him overseeing production operations in countries such as Canada and Argentina.
It wasn’t until 2020 when he would return to Bakersfield, where he started his career. After learning that the Berry Corporation was looking for a new chief operating officer, Araujo thought it would be a good opportunity to expand his management experience.
“I’ve always been fond of Bakersfield,” he said. “My two kids were attending university in California at the time, so it also gave me the opportunity to be closer to them.”
Araujo said he enjoyed his initial experiences at the company, especially because it was a smaller company than the others he had worked for, which allowed for more flexibility.
“I love that if you have an idea, you can just implement it and see how it goes,” he said. “There’s very little internal bureaucracy. You run your own show.”
Then in 2023 came an opportunity Araujo had never expected: he was hired to lead the Berry Corporation as its CEO.
“It was kind of mixed feelings,” he said about learning he got the position. “I was really proud, but I knew all the responsibility would be on my shoulders. You’re the guy who has to answer all the questions. At the end of the day, the buck stops with me, but I’ve always embraced it.”
Although he has only been with the company for five years, he’s proud of what he has helped the Berry Corporation accomplish during that time, such as keeping oil and gas levels flat despite production declines.
“We want to grow the company. We are still a fairly small oil and gas company,” Araujo said. “We’ve had a lot of achievements in California, but we want to be able to gain scale and double or triple the size of our production. We want to not only maintain the core area that we have in California but to diversity the company in other basins.”
Cifuentes, who joined Berry in 2024, said Araujo is a visionary leader who is always open to ideas from his team.
“He is always approachable and makes it a priority to connect with his team members, regardless of their position within the organization,” she said. “He maintains an open-door policy and is genuinely interested in understanding the perspectives and experiences of those around him. In every way, Fernando sets an example of kindness, excellence and what it means to be a true role model.”
Araujo said the Berry Corporation wouldn’t be the success it is today without the hard work of his team.
“I’m lucky that I have a great team and great advisors. I rely on their daily work,” he said.
Looking back on his career, Araujo is proud of what he has accomplished and that he was able to continually expand his expertise in the oil and gas industry.
“I’m really happy in the fact that on a personal level, I started in the field and I worked my way up from technical roles to bigger and bigger managerial roles. I’m really proud of that personal and professional growth through my 35 years in the industry,” he said.
Araujo believes it’s his hard work and dedication that has allowed him to lead such a successful career.
“I never asked for a raise and promotion, but somehow things came to me just by working hard and delivering on my work,” he said. “I’m lucky in that I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve done. Every place I’ve worked has had its own challenge. As the CEO for a public company, I’ve been able to learn a lot about what it really takes to run a company. I’m learning new things every day.”
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