Ryan Seymour
Age: 34
City of residence: Peachtree City, Ga
Current title: Sales Manager, Business Owner
Place of business: Gulf Atlantic Packaging
Professional responsibilities: Currently manage a sales team of 25 spread across the United States. Distributor, end of line packaging consumables and equipment.
Accomplishments/Honors: Southeast Top 11, All SEC Freshman, 7th Round Draft Pick Seattle Seahawks, Five year NFL Career, SEC Academic Honor Role 2011 2012. Father and husband.
Community Involvement: Offensive Line Coach for middle school and high school athletes.
Why did you go into your particular field? Networking and building relationships has always come easy. I knew I was destined for sales early in my career. A little luck, great timing, and others willing to help me have truly paved the way for my success.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? An Architect or a professional football player. My favorite player growing up was Tony Boselli from the Jax Jaguars.
What was your first job? At the age of 15 I took my firs summer job washing golf carts at Kings Bay Trident Lakes.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? Regarding Networking: “As a student athlete of Vanderbilt, if you are only spending your time hanging out with other football players. Then you are hanging out with the dumbest, brokest kids on campus.” James Franklin - Penn State Head Coach
What’s your favorite thing about your job? Getting to work with my wife, her family, and two of my best friends Matt and Alex.
What do you know now that you wish you knew when you first started your career? That’s it ok to not have all of the answers. Early in my career I was so worried that if I didn’t have the answer to a question, that I would still need to come off smarter than I was. Now, when I don’t know something, I am first to admit I don’t the answer, BUT I will find out.
Who do you consider to be your greatest mentor and why? My father Mark Seymour has and always will be my greatest coach, mentor, and example of what a great leader should entail. From an enlisted submariner to the President of his company, my father has always lead by example and encouraged me to follow my dreams.
When you’re not at work, what do you do to relax? Riding around Peachtree City in our golf cart with an ice cream cone from Dairy Queen. My daughter Charli loves ice cream almost as much as her daddy. Although my daughter typically wears half of it on her shirt.
What is something about you that most people don’t know? Fun fact, I took a steel drums class in college and can play a mean “under the sea” from Disney’s Little Mermaid.
How do you hope to grow in your career? Working with a family business certainly comes with its fair share of challenges, however I hope to strengthen the relationships within my circle so that someday we can pass along GAPCO to many generations of Seymour’s and Atkinson’s.
If you couldn’t do what you’re doing now, what would you be doing? I work in my family’s business. To be honest, I couldn’t imagine my life anywhere else than where I am today. Becoming a husband and a father has been my greatest accomplishment. I can say I am truly blessed and wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.