IP3 Announces Passing of Co-Founder and Board Chairman, Robert “Bud” McFarlane

It is with deep sorrow that we announce the death of our chairman, friend and colleague, Robert Carl “Bud” McFarlane. He passed away surrounded by family on May 12 of complications from a prior illness.

IP3 benefits from the five decades of experience in which Bud McFarlane served the United States of America honorably as a soldier, diplomat, and national security adviser. A Naval Academy graduate, he served two tours in Vietnam as a Marine and then returned home to tirelessly serve his country.

We honor his contributions by staying focused on the goals set out in IP3’s founding. He derived an enormous pleasure in mentoring and created deep and unique friendships which shaped our organization. His legacy lives on in our joint efforts to innovate mechanisms for infrastructure investment and support the delivery of clean, secure energy to the United States and international markets.

His distinguished career bore the scars of today’s hyper-partisan democracy. Nonetheless, he remained steadfast in his commitment to protecting peace and promoting prosperity for citizens at home and abroad. The nation cannot adequately thank Bud and his family for their collective sacrifices. His evolution to elder statesman demonstrated both grace and perseverance, qualities that led him to challenging projects and cast him as a mentor to many in both public and private life.

His vision for an alliance structure to ensure clean, secure, and low-cost energy to the U.S. and all of its allies has been proven starkly necessary by recent events. For those of us who worked with him regularly, his enthusiasm and rigor will be sorely missed; yet he will continue to inspire and guide future generations of global leaders.