Alumni Highlights
Charles L. Harrington
Cal Poly experience:
B.S. BioResource and Agricultural Engineering
What he does now:
Chuck Harrington is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Parsons Corporation, an international engineering, construction, and technical and management services firm headquartered in Pasadena, California, with more than 12,000 employees and more than $3.4 billion in revenues.
Chuck joined Parsons in 1982, working on a variety of diverse programs in locations ranging from Saudi Arabia to the North Slope of Alaska, and a broad range of markets from oil and gas to nuclear fuel reprocessing. In early 1991, he relocated from Pasadena, California, to Charlotte, North Carolina, and took over sales to federal government organizations in the southeastern United States. He later became Vice President and Program Manager of a multibillion-dollar engineering and construction project with the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Site. Prior to his appointment in 2006 to the position of Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer, he was the founding President of Parsons Commercial Technology Group, one of Parson's four global units.
A native Californian, Chuck graduated Magna Cum Laude from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor's in BioResource and Agricultural Engineering, and he graduated with honors from the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, with a master's in business administration with concentrations in finance and marketing. Chuck also attended the Advanced Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Chuck is a registered professional mechanical engineer and a graduate of the Parsons Rotating Management Program.
In addition to his responsibilities at Parsons, Chuck serves on the boards of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, Los Angeles Sports Council, the California Polytechnic State University President's Cabinet, the Anderson School of Management at UCLA, the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and several volunteer organizations. Chuck is a member of the California Club and Lakeside Golf Club in California; and Carmel Country Club and the Old North State Club in North Carolina. He also sponsored Parsons' support of Toastmasters International.