Why Listen

My conversation today is with two different Veterans senior in the tech industry. In addition to talking about their long and successful career including operations, program management, product management and more, we talk about the ideal team player (based on their experience hiring hundreds of people), the difference between a good boss and a bad boss, differences in leadership out of the military, and more. This interview brings over 20 years of hard earned experience that is a wealth of knowledge regardless of your desired career path.

About Mike Sedgwick

Mr. Sedgwick is Vice President of Defense and Aerospace Products for SCI Technology, Inc. (SCI), a Sanmina company, in Huntsville, Alabama. Mike is responsible for oversight of SCI’s Aircraft and Tactical product organizations including the FireComm® and TOCNET® product lines. He has extensive expertise in wide-ranging areas including Strategic Planning, Defense & Aerospace Contract Management, P&L Accountability, Business Development, Project Management, Contracts, Budgeting, Scheduling, and Logistics.

Mike previous held the titles of Senior Program Manager and Director of Aircraft Systems with SCI.

Prior to his latest move to SCI, Mr. Sedgwick served as General Manager of AAR Integrated Technologies and Business Director for the Hypersonic Design and System Integration segment at i3. Mike has managed organizations and teams that include Program Management, Engineering, Contracts, Quality, Manufacturing, HR and Supply Chain to ensure the seamless production of sophisticated defense and aerospace hardware.

Beyond his impressive business credentials, he served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces. He currently serves in the U.S. Army Reserve as a Military Intelligence Officer. Previously, Mike served as Battalion Intelligence Officer (S-2) with 10th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and as a Company Executive Officer with the 82nd Airborne Division.

Mr. Sedgwick holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Engineering from Brigham Young University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

About Peter Cianfaglione

Peter Cianfaglione is Vice President of Operations at SCI Technology, Inc., a Sanmina Company, in Huntsville, Alabama. Peter is responsible for SCI’s manufacturing operations to include production, manufacturing, quality engineering, and supply chain.

Born and raised in Ottawa, Canada, Peter completed an Electrical Engineering degree at the University of Ottawa in the Regular Officer Training Program (the Canadian equivalent to ROTC). During and upon completion of his degree, he served in the Canadian Army as a Combat Engineer and Infantry Officer (including service with the Commando in the Canadian Airborne Regiment).

In 1993, Peter joined Motorola while transitioning to reserve service. He moved to the United States in 1997 with Motorola while continuing his service as a Canadian Army Reservist including exchange postings with 82nd Abn, 36th ID (Texas National Guard) and 4th ID. In addition to these roles, he also supported the sharing of information between the Canadian and United States militaries on lessons learned in IED awareness from both the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns.

Shortly after becoming a U.S. citizen in 2005, he was mobilized in support of recovery operations following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Following a move to Huntsville, Alabama, in 2006, Peter took on various capacities with Benchmark Electronics in electronics manufacturing while both continuing his role with the Canadian Army Reserves as well as completing a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering.

Peter returned to his home town of Ottawa, Canada from 2009-2011 to work for General Dynamics while commanding a reserve Engineer Battalion. While in Ottawa, he completed his third and final deployment. Upon his return to the United States in 2011, he resumed work with Benchmark Electronics in various capacities, including General Manager and Vice President - Global Accounts.

Peter is a graduate of the Canadian Army Command and Staff Course, New Zealand Grade 2 Staff Course and Canadian Joint Command and Staff Programme. He joined SCI in 2020 and is currently working towards completion of a PHD in Engineering. He and his wife of 25 years have seven children, two of which are presently serving in the U.S. military.

Why Listen:
The cannabis industry is absolutely exploding. In recent interviews I’ve talked with Veterans in the Crypto Currency / Blockchain space, as well as the Cyber Security space. Each of these industries seems to attract people who are passionate about the product or service, and a mission-driven culture. Well, in today’s interview, we talk about a very different industry that shares these same two characteristics: the marijuana industry. We talk about working in a stigmatized industry, how unique this field is given the current legislative environment, and how it’s not just an industry filled with stoners… there are legitimate operators, investors, and business people. And, we talk about why military Veterans should consider making this part of their career path.

About Cheriene:
Cheriene Griffith is Vice President Of Production at CannaCraft, a community oriented, sun-grown, sustainably farmed, Seed-to-shelf California cannabis producer & distributor. She started out at the Naval Academy, served in the Navy for five years, and has worked in Quality Assurance and Operations positions at the J.M. Smucker Company, the Crystal Geyser Water Company, La Tortilla Factory, CHEVOO, and more.

Why Listen:
Elliot has a long history in startups and operations. In this interview, we talk about the hiring process on how to play competing offers off of each other in order to get the best outcome possible. We talk about a variety of ways to get a job. We talk about Elliot’s experience in the General Manager position, a role that may be appealing to many Veterans. We talk about changing one’s job title from a big to a small company and how to approach this. And we talk about operations - operations in a tech startup, as well as operations in the cost-driven physical products world.

About Elliot:
Elliot Wilson is the Vice President of Operations at ZipRecruiter, which is the smartest way to hire and get hired. He started out at the Air Force Academy, after which he served in the Air Force for nearly three years. He has worked as a Senior Product Manager at Pictage, General Manager overseeing 250 employees at Lovejoy, and Area Director of Distribution at Sherman-Williams. He holds both an MS and MBA from Loyola Marymount University. 

Hector Rosekrans is the Director of Policy and Operations at Messari, which is building an open data library to enhance transparency for the cryptoasset industry. Prior to joining Messari, Hector worked at JP Morgan in capital markets operations and technology, where he researched tokenized securities for the Broker Dealer and Custodian. He developed a proof of concept smart contract for asset management on an Ethereum-based enterprise platform. Hector served as an Surface Warfare Officer in the US Navy, and has worldwide operational experience. He holds an MPP from UC Berkeley, where he studied cybersecurity and strategic deterrence, and a BSc from the US Naval Academy.

Why Listen: 

This is the second interview I've done about Blockchain and Crypto currency. It's a great primer on this technology as well as operations and startups. Hector is great at explaining each of these, as well as how he got his first job through Twitter! He also talks about why Veterans may have an unfair advantage in the emerging blockchain space. 

This is a terrific episode for any member of the Armed Forces. Rob joined Aol as their 500th employee and was there for their growth to over 10,000 employees. He went through a similar process with eTrade. But he got his foot in the door, directly out of the military, by applying to be a customer phone support person! His story is one of failing and taking risks, or being part of an internet revolution, and continuing to change his career path over time. I found his story inspiring and hope that you do as well.

This is a must-listen-to episode. Patrick covers so much ground in this interview - we talk about choosing a team that is lean and mean; we talk about his experience not being sure of what to do for 5-6 years, wandering from business school to consulting to ultimately finding a place he passionately calls home; we talk about work and life balance and how to think about this as an entrepreneur; and we talk about finance and entrepreneurship. There is so much great advice in this interview!

John Gossart is the Cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of GoodWorld (www.GoodWorld.me), the FinTech startup revolutionizing philanthropy and social payments.  GoodWorld was named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2016 and D.C.’s Best Technology Startup. Prior to GoodWorld, John was an original partner at RideScout (www.RideScout.com), the tech startup acquired by Daimler-Mercedes in 2014.

Joshua Jabin is the Chief Operations Officer (COO) at Travis Manion Foundation. He started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served in the Marine Corps for 12 years, first as a Aviation Supply Logistics Officer, obtaining his MS in Operations Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School, and teaching Mathematics at the Naval Academy. After his transition to the civilian sector, Joshua worked as a Senior Management Consultant at the ReefPoint Group, before joining the Travis Mountain Foundation about 2.5 years ago.

Chris Dattaro is an Operations Manager at Lyft in Washington DC. He started out at the Naval Academy, after which he served as a Surface Warfare Officer for five years. After departing the Navy, Chris participated in the Goldman Sachs 3 month Veterans Integration Program, before joining FBR, an investment bank, in an Institutional Equity Sales role. He briefly worked at Trustify as the Director of Recruiting before joining Lyft. Chris is married to an active duty Lieutenant and HR Officer and he is also active in his spare time coaching veterans about their career transition to the civilian workforce and working with veteran entrepreneurs.