Matthew Ferguson never expected to find himself living near a bayou — not that he even knew what the word meant. Raised in the county of Bedfordshire, northwest of London, he grew up as a typical British lad. He played “football” and graduated from “Uni” with a degree in sports coaching in 2011. He then made his way first to Australia and then the U.S., working as a soccer coach and a sales rep for a soccer coaching recruitment company. When he accepted a position as the Director of the Bayou Soccer Club in Houma back in 2012, he soon realized he had settled in place unlike any other.
From the difficult-to-pronounce last names to the sometimes indecipherable local accents, Matt did his best to navigate the culture shock. He also had to adjust to levels of heat and humidity he’d never encountered before. Over time, though, he came to understand and appreciate the area’s unique charms. He took up hunting and fishing, exploring the bayous and byways that teemed with wildlife. Sampling the local cuisine inspired a new passion for fresh seafood. And he’s learned to keep an eye out for the alligators that creep around the dock at the family camp in Dulac.
After several years living and working in Houma, Matt traveled back to the UK in late 2019 to take care of some paperwork for his green card. He had no way of knowing that a global pandemic was about to strike, leaving him stuck in England for nearly two years. To make use of his time there, he started a PhD in sport and exercise science at the University of Birmingham which he later finished remotely when back in the U.S.
He was able to return to his previous job in Houma in 2021. It was about that time that he met Kayce, a local family practice dentist. He hadn’t originally planned to stay in Houma over the long-term, but meeting Kayce had changed everything. He began exploring other career options that would give him opportunities for growth and development in the Houma area.
The oil and gas industry is a huge economic driver for the local area, but Matt wasn’t sure how his skills and work experience would translate to such a different environment. He wanted to learn more, and since he was acquainted with Paul and Eric Danos through a local running group, Matt decided to reach out. He ended up meeting with Eric to pick his brain about where he might fit and what career paths were possible for someone like him. As they talked, Matt learned that starting out in safety might be an ideal fit for him because it would give him exposure to so many different aspects of the industry.
About a month later, he was visiting a friend who worked at Danos and was introduced to Safety Director Issac Dantin. Perhaps it was just good luck — it was Matt’s birthday — but Issac mentioned a job that had just come open the day before. To Matt, it felt like the stars had aligned, bringing him to that moment and that job. He applied and was hired as an administrative assistant in safety for Danos in November 2022. He was nervous about starting over mid-career, but he felt confident that he was in good hands with Danos.
Matt learned the ropes quickly, tracking safety KPIs, planning for meetings and assisting with employee retrieval. He sought out new experiences and opportunities wherever he could, visiting job sites during crew changes and getting exposure to every part of the business possible.
After about a year and a half in the job, Matt was feeling a bit more confident and ready to tackle new challenges. When a project manager position opened up in coatings, he decided to apply for it. He’d gotten to know the team there during his time with safety, and he felt it would be a good environment to continue building his skill set. He got the job around the time Danos acquired Performance Energy Services, which led to him working with people from both companies as the organizational shifts occurred. It’s been about a year now and he is enjoying the new opportunities and challenges that coatings offers. With Danos’ encouragement and support, he earned his AMPP Basic Coatings Inspector certification in January. He takes the technical aspects of the job seriously, and makes it a point to visit job sites as often as he can.
Despite his relatively late start in the oil and gas industry, Matt has no regrets. “It’s always a risk when you make a career change,” he says. “I’m glad I landed with a company like Danos that really supports its employees and encourages their professional development.”