10 Things You Didn’t Know About Fluor CEO David Thomas Seaton
David Thomas Seaton is the CEO and Chairman of the Fluor Corporation. The company is one of the biggest construction, maintenance, engineering and procurement businesses in the world. He has led an interesting life in addition to achieving massive success in his career. To let you know a little more about the genius behind Fluor, here are ten things about David Thomas Seaton that you didn’t know.
1. He went to school at Thunderbird University
He attended college at the University of South Carolina. He was in the advanced management program at the Wharton School of Business as well as the international management program at Thunderbird University. David Seaton is one of those people who started out with a bachelor’s degree which he earned from the U of SC, and then later went back for an advanced management education.
2. He started out poor
David Seaton applied for work at Daniel Construction because he needed to make enough money to get married. He wasn’t wealthy at the time, so he knows what it is to live like the majority of us, not in the lap of luxury. Daniel Construction was an entity of Fluor and he was hired. His first jobs with them were in sales and operations.
3. Seaton worked his way up
David applied himself to the work that he was assigned with Fluor and he steadily received promotions. He joined the company in 1985. He earned a reputation within the company for doing the jobs that nobody else wanted to do. When it came to working, he didn’t back away and his incredible work ethic and willing to tackle the tough jobs was recognized.
4. He didn’t plan on staying with Fluor
When David Thomas Seaton first joined the team at Fluor, he really didn’t plan on staying there. He needed to make some money to get a start in life and to support his fiancee when they married. He planned to move on to bigger and better things, but after being with the company for a few years, and learning the business, he realized that he enjoyed it and he was good at what he did. He’s been with Fluor for over thirty years now and he’s not planning on going anywhere. It took him decades, but in 2011, he was named as the Chief Operating Officer of Fluor in the position that would prepare him to take over as CEO.
5. He’s been around the world
There are not many places in the world that David Seaton has not been. With the various positions he’s occupied at Fluor, he’s traveled throughout the world. He was put in charge of the company’s activities in the Middle East and China. This required him to travel to locations within these regions. He’s a genius at international relations and he’s one exec that Fluor is fortunate to have on their team.
6. Seaton serves on a variety of boards
Since rising to high-level positions with Fluor, David Seaton has assumed several board positions on a variety of companies. His input is considered to be very valuable. He’s a board member for Fluor, in fact, he’s the Chairman of the board. He also sits on the board for the Mosaic company, the US Saudi Arabian Business Council, the American Petroleum Institute, the business roundtable of the International Business Council, he’s the co-chair of the B20 Working Group on Improving Transparency in Anti-Corruption and he is a National Trustee for the Boys and Girls Clubs of American among others.
7. He’s an award-winning CEO
David Thomas Seaton was distinguished with an important recognition. He received the South Carolina State Guard’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He’s made a lot of significant contributions to the betterment of the company that he works for but he’s done the same for the surrounding communities and beyond. He’s a man with a conscience and with a heart for making the world a better place to live for everyone involved.
8. He would be good in an Indiana Jones type film
According to those who know him well, if you were to make a Hollywood movie about his life, it would have to be something like Indiana Jones. The reason for this is because the exec appears to be fearless. He’s been to a lot of places and he doesn’t back down from a challenge. He’s naturally adventurous and this is what makes him so perfect for the job. He’s one of the most interesting execs you’d ever want to meet.
9. He oversees a company with thousands of employees
Fluor is a company that is over 100 years old and it’s also a Fortune 500 operation. Fluor has 72 offices throughout six continents in the world and they employ more than 40,000 employees. Seaton is in charge of all of this.
10. He thrives in harsh condition
Seaton has worked in some of the harshest conditions in the world. He’s been in regions that feature jungles as well as spent time in Australia’s outback. He wasn’t on a fun-filled safari or expedition either. He was hard at work for Fluor. He’s been in almost any kind of environmental condition you can imagine from the frigid waters off of Russia’s coast to the jungles of Indonesia.