Burl S. Watson

Burl Stevens Watson Sr. (7 November 1893 – 16 August 1975) was the president and CEO of Cities Service Company during parts of the 1950s and 1960s.

He became president in 1954 and was chairman of the board and CEO beginning in 1962, taking the place of W. Alton Jones, who died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 1.

[citation needed] He was quoted often in newspaper and magazine publications on his views on the status of the petroleum industry and served as a national leader of the American Red Cross and Salvation Army.

There is a scholarship in his name at Alabama to this day due to a donation he made to the university, which was later enhanced by Cities Service Company.

They had two children, including Burl Stevens Watson Jr. who went on to become director of corporate finance of Cities Service Company.