As a third-generation, family-owned company founded in 1947, Danos has firmly established a robust leadership framework that combines a clear purpose and vision, shared values, industry expertise and accountability. Company leaders ensure that Danos acts ethically, in line with its purpose and with consideration for the well-being of employees and the wider community.

Leadership

Danos’ management structure has two primary components: a board of directors and an executive leadership team.

Board of Directors

The board of directors has six members, Chairman Hank Danos and members Eric Danos, Paul Danos, Mark Danos, Edward “Jed” DiPaolo and Greg Guidry. Hank, Eric, Paul and Mark Danos are second and third-generation owners, respectively. Jed and Greg are highly respected industry professionals with extensive executive expertise.

Hank Danos Owner and Chairman of the Board

For over four decades, Hank Danos has been the leader at the helm of Danos’ global success. In 1962, he joined the company his father and uncle founded, and from his first job as a roustabout to his current role as Chairman of the Board, Hank has been a hands-on leader and the driving force behind the company’s values-based approach to business.

Hank has been actively involved in professional organizations, including the executive subcommittee of Offshore Operators Committee (OOC), the Louisiana Association of Business & Industry (LABI), the LSU Board of Supervisors, the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA), and the LA 1 Coalition. Hank served in the Louisiana National Guard and earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Louisiana State University.

Paul Danos Owner and CEO of Danos LLC

Paul is responsible for ensuring the organization is living its purpose and adhering to the values at the very core of Danos. He leads the vision and strategy development and provides leadership to the highly capable team of executives who lead strategy and operational execution.

Paul joined Danos in 2005 as project manager of the offshore construction and fabrication division and later served as vice president of US operations. From 2010 to 2017, he held the role of executive vice president. From 2018 to 2020, Paul served as Co-CEO over strategic planning, business development and the production operations service line. Before joining Danos, Paul worked at Stonehenge Capital, Arthur Andersen and Plains All American Pipeline.

Paul is vice chairman of the board of the National Oceanic Industries Association (NOIA), recently served as president and board member of the South Central Industrial Association (SCIA) and is a graduate of the Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL) Leadership Louisiana program. In addition, he is active in his community with leadership roles at his church and serves on the board of Hope Extreme. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.

Eric Danos Owner and CEO of Danos Ventures

Eric Danos oversees the Danos Ventures portfolio. Established to strategically diversify the organization’s energy portfolio and develop additional channels to express the company’s purpose, Danos Ventures was founded in 2020. Eric began his career at Danos in 2004 as an operations manager for the international labor division. In 2008, he was promoted to vice president of international and was responsible for Danos’ activities in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Angola, Cameroon, China and Malaysia. Eric served as executive vice president from 2010 to 2017, then Co-CEO from 2018 to 2020 before assuming leadership of Danos Ventures in 2020.

Before joining Danos, Eric gained extensive financial experience working with Simmons & Company International as an associate of corporate finance, with Stonehenge Capital as an associate of a $500 million private equity/mezzanine fund, and with Chemical Americas Group at ExxonMobil Corporation as a financial analyst.

Eric earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Louisiana State University and an MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business. Eric currently serves on the board of Second Harvest Food Bank of New Orleans and New Horizons Foundation.

Mark Danos Owner and CEO of Danos Family Investments

Mark is responsible for leading the Danos Foundation, developing the family’s non-operational business and community interests and leveraging those to express Danos’ purpose and values fully.

Mark joined Danos in 2013 as a project manager in the construction and fabrication divisions and was later promoted to vice president of project services. Mark served as Co-CEO of Danos from 2018 through 2020 before transitioning to his current role.

Before joining the Danos organization, Mark worked for ExxonMobil for nine years. He supported operations and large capital project development in the U.S. and internationally, both in the upstream and downstream markets. For one year, Mark lived in Kenya as part of a mission outreach project with Africa Inland Mission. He earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana State University.

Mark currently serves on the board of Fletcher Technical College, Young Life of Houma and South Central Industrial Association, and he is a graduate of the Council for a Better Louisiana Leadership Louisiana program.

Edward “Jed” DiPaolo is a senior advisor for Duff & Phelps, LLC with more than 39 years of energy industry experience, including 27 years at Halliburton Company. Jed is chairman and CEO of JNDI Corporation, a private international consulting firm he founded in 2002. In addition, Jed serves on the board of directors of public companies Evolution Petroleum Corporation and Willbros Group Inc. He is board chairman of Seventy Seven Energy, a public spinout of Chesapeake Energy’s service business. He also sits on several private company boards in addition to Danos.

Jed earned his undergraduate degree in agricultural engineering from West Virginia University, where he also received an honorary doctorate in science. He serves on the advisory board for WVU’s College of Engineering and is a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Greg Guidry is a senior adviser to Oaktree Capital and director of portfolio companies Northstar Midstream and Blackbear Midstream. He retired from Royal Dutch Shell in 2018 after serving six years as executive vice president-unconventionals and nearly 37 years with the company. Greg has extensive expertise in unconventionals, where he helped lead Shell’s improvement and increased profitability in that market. He previously headed Shell’s upstream businesses across Europe. His industry expertise includes offshore and deepwater, along with shale plays and midstream.

Greg holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Louisiana Lafayette (ULL) and is a registered professional petroleum engineer in Louisiana. He serves on the Dean’s advisory council of the ULL College of Engineering and the Dean’s advisory board for LSU’s Honors College.

Executive Team

Danos’ executive leadership team is composed of six industry veterans engaged in the management of day-to-day business operations and strategic planning for the company’s future. In addition to leading strategy and operational execution, this core group is responsible for ensuring Danos stays true to its purpose, vision and values and provides industry-leading service and innovation to its customers.

Corporate Vision, Values and Policies

Danos’ commitment to ethical operations and full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations is a natural extension of the company’s core values and has established policies to guide business practices to ensure that commitment is upheld.

Vision

Become the standard for operational excellence and customer service by which every company in our industry is measured.

Values

• Integrity – We strive to create trust through honest and ethical conduct in everything we do.
• Safety – We believe every person working with Danos should return home safely to their families every time. We vigorously strive to protect our employees by providing the support, knowledge, tools and environment they need to work safely every day.
• Service – We will seek to meet or exceed the expectations of our customers by developing strong partnerships, addressing their needs with urgency and by providing excellent service.
• Improvement – We develop creative solutions to challenging business problems so that we may offer the most value to our customers. We will do this through developing our most important resource, our people, and by challenging current methods and thinking.
• Respect – We treat others in a way that preserves and builds their dignity. Danos’ core values have determined the way we conduct business.

Business Ethics and Compliance Policy

The company sets a high bar for integrity-based decision-making and accountability at all levels of the organization. Danos’ Business Ethics and Compliance Policy covers the following key areas:

Misuse of Company Assets

• Money, property or other assets belonging to the company shall only be used for legitimate business purposes.

Conflicts of Interest

• Company personnel shall not engage in any conduct or enter into any arrangement that might create an actual or potential conflict of interest.

Foreign Corrupt Practices

• The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) is a federal statute with two major components: anti-bribery prohibitions and record-keeping requirements. Company personnel may not pay, give, offer, promise to pay, lend or authorize the payment or giving any money or anything of value, directly or indirectly, to or for the use or benefit of any government official.

Gift Meals, Entertainment and Travel

• Exchanging gifts and providing meals, entertainment and other forms of hospitality can promote goodwill in business relationships and are accepted practices in many countries. However, these practices can also be subject to abuse. To avoid the appearance or creation of improper influence, company personnel and representatives must comply with established guidelines.

Books and Records

• The company shall maintain complete books, records and accounts that fairly and accurately represent the receipt and disposition of company revenues. All assets, liabilities, receipts and expenditures must be recorded in reasonable detail in accordance with the company’s standard business practices and generally accepted accounting principles.

Agents and Third Parties

• The prohibitions in this policy against corrupt payments, extravagant gifts, entertainment expenses and improper record-keeping also apply to agents, representatives, consultants, joint venture partners and any other third parties acting on behalf of the company.

Political Contributions

• Company personnel may not contribute to U.S. or foreign political parties or candidates for public office using company funds or assets unless such contributions are approved in advance by the CEO.

Financial Policies

Throughout its more than 74-year history, Danos has always endeavored to hold itself to the highest standards, continuously reviewing and monitoring its activities to ensure they are operating in a fashion that reflects its fundamental purpose and values right thing for its customers and community. The company maintains a set of rigorous practices regarding financial integrity to assure employees, customers, regulators and the industry that Danos is a secure, responsible, forward-looking and trustworthy business enterprise. These practices include external financial audits and board-approved delegation of authority. Danos also employs stringent prequalification policies for all new vendors and customers.

Industry Regulatory Compliance

In addition to developing its internal policies and procedures, Danos is also dedicated to meeting or exceeding all applicable energy industry state and federal regulations. This requires that Danos maintain up-to-date knowledge of rules, regulations and any changes, especially those required by BSEE, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Danos recognizes the importance of strict compliance with all relevant safety and conservation rules to partner with its customers effectively.

Danos' fabrication facility is fully certified to ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System standards and conducts rotating internal process audits to ensure compliance. Created by the International Organization for Standardization, the certification establishes Danos as a company that uses resources efficiently and has the right processes and people to deliver on and exceed customer expectations consistently.

Danos’ exemplary safety record is just one example of the company’s focus on accountability. The company is a multi-year winner of the NOIA Culture of Safety Award for establishing an institutional safety culture through behavior-based safety programs and innovation, including virtual reality for enhanced worker training and augmented reality to improve work processes. In 2020, Danos employees logged 7.7 million man-hours with a 0.15 total recordable incident rate (TRIR). 500% below the 2020 industry average of 0.90!

On many occasions, Danos has also been recognized by BSEE for its high standards of safety and proactive approach to ensuring its operations are consistent with industry best practices.

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Industry and community organization affiliations