From the moment I climbed into my father’s 1948 Taylorcraft in Southeast Alaska, I was hooked on aviation. Prior to that, my uncle who worked at NASA let me tag along to his astronomy club meetings and sci-fi conventions, which got me hooked on space. So, it was only natural that after I finished flight school, I began studies towards a degree in physics. Due to defense budget cuts and airline bankruptcies of the early 90’s, pilot jobs were hard to come by. I leaned into my newly honed physics skills and entered the aerospace world as an engineer and scientist instead of as a pilot.From Johnson Space Center to Marshall Space Flight Center to the Missile Defense Agency, I continuously sought challenges in technical areas that included thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and nuclear physics. I decided that married with children and working full time was the ideal moment to enter a graduate astrophysics program. Miraculously, I made it halfway through the curriculum before raising the white flag in surrender.So how did I end up in this executive role? Well, in 2018 I was drowning in work and needed help. So, I got a partner. Then there were two of us drowning. So, I got more help. Then we were all drowning. So, I started marketing, recruiting, and training. It worked out so well, that more customers came. I expanded our lab facilities and continued marketing, recruiting, and training. The more success we had, the more I wanted to keep building. Watching the team I had put together develop new ideas and methods and SUCCEED was as fun and rewarding as anything I’ve done in my career. However, with all these mouths to feed, I needed a plan, a strategy you might say. Richard, Chief Strategy Officer, was born.As CSO, I learned that the battle looks completely different when you’re in the middle of it than it does to the generals up on the hill. I realized I needed more tools to be the best general I could be. Harvard Business School to the rescue. Now I have my sights set on a role as CEO. That’s a long way from a 1948 Taylorcraft and sci-fi conventions.