Robert James Eaton was born in February of 1940 in Buena Vista, Colorado and raised in Arkansas City, Kansas. He is a prominent U.S. automobile businessman.

Eaton graduated with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Kansas in 1963. He was in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. He was the Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Corporation from 1993 until 1998.In addition, Eaton has been a chairman of the National Academy of Engineering, was elected a director of Chevron in September of 2000, and has been on the board of International Paper. He is a trustee of the University of Kansas Endowment Association. He lives in Naples, Florida, with his wife, Connie.