Interviewer : Tyler Priest

Affiliation : University of Houston

Kenneth Waldorf was raised in southern California, and attended both Berkeley and the U.S. Naval Academy. After graduating, Waldorf went directly to work for Exxon in its marine engineering section, and later with Humble Oil. Waldorf soon moved over to work at the Zapata Corporation, and was elevated to vice president of engineering. Still in his early thirties, Waldorf took on heading up all marine service for Zapata. Zapata sold its marine services group to Tidewater Marine Services in 1992, at a peak of 526 vessels. With that success in hand, Waldorf retired.