UT Arlington College of Engineering
UT Arlington

Maverick Engineering Alumni Spotlight
Mike Guyton – Prime Example of Responsible Leadership

Some people are seemed born to lead. Mike Guyton (’82 BSEE) is one of those people.

Guyton is the vice president of Customer Operations and Community Relations for the city of Fort Worth and Tarrant County for Oncor Electric Delivery, the nation’s sixth-largest transmission and distribution company. He worked for TXU Energy (the company’s former name) as a co-op employee while earning a bachelor’s degree; the company hired him as a staff engineer upon his graduation.

During his career, Guyton has served as a power consultant, district operations manager, customer engineering services manager, region distribution manager and region customer service manager, manager of new construction, and director of business management.

In 2001, Guyton was named to the first of many vice president positions, including that of TXU Electric & Gas, where he was responsible for the electric and gas distribution business administrative activities; of Oncor Electric Asset Ownership, responsible for economic development, relationship management, transmission services; of TXU Gas, the combined gas distribution/pipeline services and storage operations; and of TXU Energy, responsible for developing and implementing customer and market services processes.

But Mike Guyton’s accomplishments aren’t entirely within the business world. He has held other significant leadership positions within the community, including board membership with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of North Texas, Harris Methodist Hospital, the Fort Worth Zoo, the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Fort Worth, Inc. (a business development organization), the JPS Foundation (supporting public health services), and UT Arlington’s Fort Worth Campus Advisory Council.

This year, Guyton is also leading the Tarrant County Metropolitan United Way campaign, which has set a challenging goal of raising $24.5 million to support 43 partner agencies.

Mike Guyton shared some of his thoughts about UT Arlington, the College of Engineering and Maverick spirit.

What does it mean to be a Maverick and how does it apply to you? Being a Maverick means being confident without being arrogant, independent without be being isolated and graceful without being aloof.  I try to live [a] confident, independent and graceful [life].

What do you know about UT Arlington that others may not? I have learned that their master’s program in Fort Worth is quite good and will be very useful in the near future.

What is your most pleasing memory about your time here? I went to school there, my wife worked there; we rented and lived in one of the university houses.  It was a family affair and it was where my wife and I got our first start.

What lessons of life have you learned before or since then? A college education is absolutely critical now. A technical education is so important in the world my children and grandchildren are facing.  Encourage the present generation to look at math and science.  It will be the life blood of our country and economy.

What do you hope your legacy will be, both personally and professionally? I want my legacy to be that I invested in people, either financially or by being a mentor.  I am concerned now about how much I can help and give versus how much I can get.