Matt Vivian

Matt Vivian

Author: collide. December 22, 2025 Duration: 54:56

Plymouth roots, Detroit suburbs, and a water ski club team romance somehow turn into running a huge Eagle Ford production machine, plus parenting, hockey nights, and still finding time to chase a 14er. Matt Vivian from bpx energy shares how he went from Shell training to startup chaos to leading 1400 plus wells, why bottom up daily habits beat top down chaos, and how LinkedIn went from lurking to actually connecting with people again.

Click here to watch a video of this episode.

Join the conversation shaping the future of energy.
Collide is the community where oil & gas professionals connect, share insights, and solve real-world problems together. No noise. No fluff. Just the discussions that move our industry forward.
Apply today at collide.io


Click here to view the episode transcript.

00:00 Mid December catch up
01:17 Michigan roots and school
03:10 Getting into energy
03:30 Caroline, water skiing, family
11:14 Shell start, Houston to Denver
13:22 Questar and Bakken years
16:36 Startup grind at Rimrock
20:24 Sale, reset, and next move
22:16 Joining bpx in Eagle Ford
25:28 How bpx fits with BP
29:05 Role scope and growth
31:00 Daily priorities and reports
35:54 Weekends, trust, time off
40:18 Tech and AI habits
41:36 Life outside work
44:55 LinkedIn shift
50:59 Looking ahead at bpx and BP

https://twitter.com/collide_io

https://www.tiktok.com/@collide.io

https://www.facebook.com/collide.io

https://www.instagram.com/collide.io

https://www.youtube.com/@collide_io

https://bsky.app/profile/digitalwildcatters.bsky.social

https://www.linkedin.com/company/collide-digital-wildcatters


Jeremy Funk hosts What The Funk?, a podcast that moves past the standard industry headlines to find the human pulse of the oil and gas sector. This isn't about market forecasts or technical jargon, but the lived experiences of the people who make this complex world turn. Each conversation delves into personal journeys, the unexpected challenges faced on and off the rig, and the distinct personalities that shape this global industry. You'll hear from engineers, field operators, executives, and innovators as they share stories of problem-solving, career pivots, and the realities of working in a field that powers modern life. Produced by collide., these discussions explore the intersection of business and personal career paths in a way that's rarely highlighted. Tune in for candid, often surprising narratives that reveal the resilience, humor, and ambition driving one of the world's most critical industries. This podcast connects listeners to the voices behind the pipelines, offering a genuine look at the careers and characters defining energy today.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

What The Funk?
Podcast Episodes
Tech, CyberSecurity, and the Big Game [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
Jeremy sits down with Bryan Becker to explore his journey from a small town in Iowa to building a career at the intersection of IT, cybersecurity, and data. The conversation spans cryptocurrency and blockchain, the GameS…
Drilling Down Success: Family, Entrepreneurship, and the Oil Business [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:31
Jeremy sits down with Justin Gauthier for his return to What the Funk to talk about family, entrepreneurship, and evolving careers in the oil and gas world. From growing up in a family business and working on drilling ri…
Talk to me, Mikey T! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:37
Michael Tanner is an emerging star in the Oil and gas industry. The Finance, Planning, and de facto IT lead at King Operating tells us about his surprising path to working for an operator, moving from Denver to Dallas, h…
The Cold Lake Closer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:07
Once an Electrician, now a Tech Founder, Shawn Martens has created a business built to last in IronSight. Shawn joins Funk to talk about his path from small-town pond hockey player to big-time business slayer, going from…
Getting ahead with CarbonCred [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:12
Tim Beentjes is onto something big. The CEO of CarbonCred has cracked the code on how employees AND businesses can monetize carbon emission reductions. The concept is measured and fascinating. Take a listen as Funk and T…
Gimme Jimmy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:06
Jimmy Sebastian comes on the pod for a trip down memory lane and to chat all things Data & Analytics. Seven Lakes Technologies, now a part of W Energy Software, took the industry by storm in the mid 2010’s as a disruptiv…
A Tenacious P(odcast) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:46
Sarah Compton, aka "Tenacious G" (The G is for Geologist) is amazing. The former college Softball player wanted to study volcanoes but ended up in Oil & Gas. Sarah and Funk dive into life, business, softball, and getting…
Measuring Success: Ernie in the Haus(er) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:10
The Smart CEO of C-Smart Analytics. A nit with wit. A guy in a tie. Ernie Hauser is many things, and today, he is a guest on "What the Funk?". Continuing our streak of Mid-Atlantic hustlers, Ernie talks about dressing fo…