2023 Airport Business Top 40 Under 40: Dan Seeley, CGC, LEED AP

When Dan Seeley received his Bachelor’s Degree in Building Construction from the University of Florida, he was not thinking of a career in aviation. However, as he worked his way through his career, he found himself working for a large general contractor involved in construction at Tampa International Airport (TPA).

Wanting to stay involved with aviation construction, Seeley took the leap and applied for a job opening at Tampa International Airport. Seeley was an easy selection for the construction project manager position. He worked his way up to senior manager of construction, overseeing the largest and most complicated projects.

“Here Tampa airport, our No. 1 rule is we're an airport first and a construction site second. That's a motto we talk about internally, externally, and it really goes to show when we developed our half a billion dollar rental car and APM project a few years ago,” he said, adding the airport was No. 1-ranked in customer service satisfaction from Conde Nast. "That shows that every decision we make has the customer experience in mind.”

Seeley was heavily involved in TPA’s billion dollar Master Plan Phase 1 projects. His responsibilities included oversight of the state-of-the-art multi-story rental car center along with a 1.4-mile APM with four stations.

He is now focused on Master Plan Phase 2. This $600 million phase includes a new Central Utility Plant, new loading docks, two new vertical circulation multi-story buildings, demolition of the administration building, and the expansion of new Express Drive Lanes.

Seeley is the TPA Liaison to Associated Builder and Contractors (ABC). By tapping into this resource, he is able to get more contractors involved in aviation construction, which promotes more competition.

He’s also the past owner-board member of Construction Management Association of America (CMAA), where he represents the aviation industry in a positive light and sparks interest in others that might not have been comfortable pursuing construction work in the aviation field.