Meet Gary, former President and Founder of Haydon Companies, Gary was born in Hope, Arkansas and grew up in Aguila, Arizona, graduating from Wickenburg High School. As the son of a ranch hand, his humble beginnings provided him the work ethic and grit that has made him the man he is today. Hard work was part of growing up, so construction was a likely profession for Gary. In his nearly 40-year career in construction he has performed almost every job in the industry ranging from laborer, iron worker, heavy equipment operator, superintendent and project manager. He went on to attend Arizona State University and graduated in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Construction.
In 1991, he founded Haydon Companies and has grown the company into one of the largest general contractors in the Southwest with a unique ability to perform building, heavy civil and landscape construction. Over the course of the last 30 years, Gary has overseen the company’s growth and strategy, and has prided himself on creating a firm that is able to provide clients with all the resources, expertise and stability of large construction company while maintaining the flexibility and responsiveness that are characteristic of a much smaller firm.
Gary is a member of the Greater Phoenix Leadership, an organization that allows him to continue his work to improve the economy of Phoenix and Arizona through the coordinated efforts of business executives and policy makers. He is also a member for the Arizona Chapter of Associated Generals Contractors of America, where he served two consecutive terms as Board Chairman. During his tenure, Gary led AGC’s efforts to advocate for Arizona’s transportation and infrastructure development with policy makers in Arizona and Washington D.C and was instrumental in helping create the “We Build Arizona” Coalition (www.webuildaz.org) with the goal of expanding Arizona’s economy, creating jobs, and increasing and protecting state and local infrastructure funding.
When Gary is not mentoring and coaching the next generation of leaders, you can find him traveling abroad with his wife or flying his airplane.