You’ve probably heard the names John and Terri Havens floating around if you follow the Houston social scene, Major League Baseball, or the high-end wellness world. Usually, they’re mentioned in the same breath as "oil money" or "luxury spas." But honestly, that’s such a surface-level way to look at a couple that has basically spent the last two decades dismantling and rebuilding pieces of French history on American soil.
They aren't just "business owners." They are, quite literally, architectural preservationists with a massive seismic data empire that funds a very specific, very obsessive passion for the French countryside.
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The Oil and Gas Engine Behind the Lifestyle
Before we get into the 400-year-old chapels and the $1,000-a-night spa stays, you’ve got to understand where the capital comes from. John Havens is the muscle behind Seismic Exchange, Inc. (SEI).
His father, P.C. Havens, started the company back in 1975. When John took the reins in his early twenties, he didn't just sit on a family business. He moved the headquarters to Houston and pivoted the entire strategy. Instead of just brokering deals where they’d take a small commission, John started buying the data.
- He executed over 100 acquisitions.
- He grew their library 50-fold.
- Now, SEI owns the largest 2D seismic data library in North America.
Basically, if an oil company wants to know what’s under the ground in Texas or the Gulf, they likely have to write a check to John. That business acumen is what allowed the couple to branch out into things that most people consider "hobbies" but they treat like high-stakes ventures.
Cal-a-Vie and the French Obsession
If SEI is the engine, Cal-a-Vie Health Spa is the soul of the Havens' brand. They didn't build it from scratch; they bought it in 2000 after being frequent guests. But the version of Cal-a-Vie that exists today in Vista, California, is a far cry from the modest celebrity retreat it used to be.
Terri Havens is the visionary here. She’s a New Orleans native with French ancestry, and she has this "Southern Hospitality" thing down to a science. But she also has a "weakness for tapestries," as she’s said in interviews.
They didn't just buy French furniture. They bought French buildings.
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The Chapel That Crossed the Atlantic
This is the part that sounds like a movie plot. The Havens found a 17th-century chapel from a Carmelite convent in Dijon, France. It was slated for demolition. Instead of letting it turn to dust, they had the entire thing dismantled, piece by limestone piece. Every stone was numbered.
They shipped it across the ocean and rebuilt it on a hilltop at Cal-a-Vie.
They did the same thing with an 18th-century L’Orangerie (a greenhouse for orange trees) and a 1715 Parish House from Burgundy. When you walk through their properties, you aren't looking at "French-inspired" decor. You are looking at the actual walls that monks and priests walked through three hundred years ago. It’s a level of commitment to an aesthetic that most "luxury" developers wouldn't dream of touching because the logistics are a nightmare.
Rescuing the Neal House in River Oaks
You can see this same pattern in their personal life. When the couple moved from New Orleans to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, they didn't want a cookie-cutter mansion. They bought the Neal House on Lazy Lane in River Oaks.
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At the time, Houston had a bit of a "tear-down" culture. If a house was old, people knocked it down to build something bigger. The Neal House was a 1930s John Staub-designed chateau. It was historic, but it was a wreck.
John was skeptical at first. He’s a marathon runner and a numbers guy. Terri, however, saw the 42 sets of pocket doors and the hand-cut limestone and knew they had to save it. They spent six years renovating it. They eventually had it designated as a city landmark, basically telling the rest of River Oaks that "old" doesn't mean "obsolete."
More Than Just Baseball and Golf
People love to mention that John was a massive investor in the Houston Astros (he was vice-chairman for a while) and the Texas Rangers. And yeah, that’s a big deal. But if you look at their portfolio, it's always about community-centric "havens."
- The Havens Country Club: Formerly Vista Valley, they bought it and gave it a massive French-country-style facelift to match the spa.
- The Clubs at Houston Oaks: They teamed up with a few other families to turn an old Tenneco corporate retreat into a private club that feels like a family ranch.
It's never just a financial play. It's about creating these "bubbles" of high-end, curated experiences.
The Philanthropy Angle
It’s easy to look at the 18th-century tapestries and think it’s all about the glitter. But the Havens are deep into the Houston charity circuit for real reasons. Terri has chaired the Texas Children’s Hospital Ambassador group and worked with "I Am Waters," which provides bottled water to the homeless.
They’ve been honored by basically every major Houston org, from the Children’s Charity to the Hospice Award. Honestly, in a city like Houston, you can't just be rich; you have to be useful. They’ve managed to do both.
Actionable Takeaways from the Havens' Playbook
If you’re looking at their trajectory, there are a few real-world lessons you can pull from how they’ve built their lives and businesses:
- Vertical Integration Wins: John didn't just stay a data broker. He bought the data, the processing companies, and the reproduction firms. Controlling the supply chain is how you build a "moat" around your business.
- Passion as a Business Model: Cal-a-Vie works because the Havens actually care about the details. If you’re going to enter a crowded market (like luxury spas), you need a "hook" that can't be faked—like 400-year-old French limestone.
- Preservation as Value: In a world of "new," there is massive financial and social value in "old." Saving the Neal House wasn't just a charity project; it turned into one of the most prestigious properties in Texas.
- Diversify Your Social Capital: They aren't just "oil people" or "sports people." They are in health, history, sports, and energy. That kind of diversification makes you un-cancelable and eternally relevant in a city's ecosystem.
If you want to follow their lead, start by looking at what you’re already obsessed with. If you love something enough to ship a 17th-century building across the Atlantic for it, you’ve probably found your next successful venture.