Mr. Paton received his BS in Marine Engineering from the Maine Maritime Academy in addition to a US Coast Guard, Merchant Marine Officer's License and a US Coast Guard Reserve Commission. After serving on active duty with the Coast Guard as a marine inspector and investigating officer, he was employed as a ship's officer aboard the Texaco fleet and later as a design engineer for the SSN-688 Los Angeles Class Submarines. He then joined the engineering division of The Travelers Insurance Companies at their headquarters while obtaining an MS in Engineering Science and an MBA from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York.

Mr. Paton held several senior level positions within the financial services industry and in risk management, including serving as the Risk Manager of Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Group, United Technologies Corporation, Insilco Corporation, Second Vice President, Risk Management of the Travelers Insurance Companies, Director of Risk Management at Berkshire Health Systems, Chief Risk Management Officer of MPTN Foxwoods Resort Casino, Senior Vice President of the Phoenix Insurance Companies, President of Phoenix Global Solutions, Pvt. Ltd (Bangalore), Chairman of American Phoenix Life and Reassurance Co. Ltd. (London), and as an officer and board member of insurance or financial services affiliates and subsidiaries in Argentina, Japan, New Zealand, Brazil, Bermuda, the United Kingdom, India, Turkey and Oman. He was named a Loman Research Fellow by the Society of CPCU and later earned the CIC and CRM professional designations.

During this entire period, he continued to serve as a US Coast Guard Reserve Officer and held positions as Chief of Operations, Reserve Group Portland; Commanding Officer, USCG Port Security Unit, Portland, Maine; Planning Officer (N-3) Coast Guard District Headquarters, Boston; Liaison Officer to the State Area Command, Connecticut National Guard Headquarters and as Reserve Group Commander, USCG Group Long Island Sound. He is retired with the rank of Commander.

Mr. Paton previously taught Risk Management, International Negotiations and International Business, as an adjunct professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's, Hartford Graduate Center . He currently serves as a Director of the Connecticut Workers Compensation Trust and as a National Director of the Steamship Historical Society of America. He heads Coventry Consulting Group, LLC, a risk management consultancy. Mr. Paton resides in Coventry, Connecticut .