Building Success from the Ground Up
Davis Wooten is proof that hard work and dedication do pay off. Starting his career as a laborer during the summers and climbing the ladder to his current role as S.T. Wooten’s utilities division manager, he has seen the many sides of the construction industry.
For his hard work, dedication and influence on the industry, Wooten earned a spot on Roads & Bridges’ inaugural Top 25 under 40.
His path to the public utilities division of the firm follows in the footsteps of his father, who served in the department for 47 years. They are distant relatives of the company’s founder.
“Davis is a role model for others in the company and the industry,” said Michael Alford, vice president of S.T. Wooten. “He’s dedicated, and he’s been willing to put the time in to learn systems and processes. He’s worked his way up which is hard to find in young people today because it seems that they don’t think they need to be a laborer or work their way up.
“But learning things from the bottom up as Davis has done allows you to see the whole picture and learn the little things you’ll need to shape a future career in this industry.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree in construction management from East Carolina University, Wooten joined S.T. Wooten as a project engineer. Over his 12 years of employment, he has received several promotions due to his detail-oriented leadership and strong work ethic.
“I am a firm believer that anything is possible if you set your mind to it and work hard,” Wooten said. “If I had to choose, I would say that I am most proud of how I have advanced my career at S.T. Wooten over the past 10 years through hard work and dedication to the company.”
In 2021, Wooten passed the licensing board exam for public utilities qualifier, and now he is one of three qualifiers across the company, which include the CEO and vice president. This makes him the company’s sole representative in qualifying the firm for public utilities work under its general contractor license.
Wooten is quick to innovate to overcome a project challenge and improve workflows. His expertise in project management software have allowed him to optimize several workflows at the firm, including speeding up the bidding and takeoff process. He displays strong proficiency with Heavy Bid, Agtek 4D, Blue Beam and Heavy Job.
His creativity and problem-solving also benefit the communities he serves. His concepts for storm drainage and utility items while on the firm’s estimations team led to improved economic performance and reduced public impact on two large design-build projects.
“He’s very detail oriented, very thorough. He thinks things through. He knows the specs and the standards,” Alford said. “And he’s a hard worker. It doesn’t matter what extra effort is needed to get the job done – he’ll put forth that effort.”
One of those projects was the widening of Interstate 40 in North Carolina, a section of which was named No. 5 in the 2025 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Road Awards.
His attention to detail and involvement in all aspects of a project have makes him a go-to person on the jobsite. His behind-the-scenes experience into the different roles of a job site have afforded him insight that have resulted in successful bids, more accurate project estimations and higher-quality work outputs.
“Start at the ground level and get your hands dirty,” Wooten said. “Everyone wants instant gratification nowadays, which is understandable, but you will gain much more knowledge and understating of how things actually work by starting in the trenches, not behind a computer.”
Wooten sees the labor shortage as the biggest challenge in the industry, which is dually an opportunity to inspire the next generation, a role he has taken upon himself as a coach to the 65-plus employees he oversees.
“The biggest challenge I see is developing the labor force,” he said. “While I see this as a challenge, I also see it as an excellent opportunity to show the next generation what is possible in the civil construction field.”
Not only is he a coach, but Wooten is also always ready to offer his colleagues a helping hand and takes the time to ensure everyone on a job site understands the inner workings of the project at hand.
“It’s really about character. Davis will take the time to help anyone. He’ll help with small tasks or big projects – in the field or on the computer,” Alford said. “He takes the time to do things right and makes sure everyone understands how to do something. He treats everyone the same, across all levels.”