SSI congratulates Dennis Washington, owner of Seaspan Marine Corporation, on today being named the Entrepreneur of the Year by the University of Victoria’s Gustavson School of Business.
Washington, via the Seaspan group of companies, owns Vancouver and Victoria Shipyards which utilize ShipConstructor software and production outputs for shipbuilding projects.
His life has been an extraordinary business success. Fifty years ago, when he was 29, he founded Washington Construction with a tractor and motor grader. His company built a forest service road and then went on from there to do highways. He then got into dam and mining construction. His copper mine in Butte, Montana was such a success that it allowed him to diversify even further. He expanded into real estate, aviation, railroads, shipping and shipbuilding and has become so successful that according to Forbes Magazine, he is now the 245th wealthiest individual in the world.
That is impressive in and of itself but what means the most to Washington is that he wants to be remembered as, “the guy who made his money the old fashioned way.”
He has homes in both Montana, USA and British Columbia, Canada.
And, because this is a shipbuilding blog, it should be noted that his hobby is cruising on his 332-ft yacht, the Atessa IV which is a beautiful vessel. Check out this YouTube clip about it: