TAPPING MILITARY TALENT: SHOES ON THE GROUND

摘要

Michael O'Leary joined the Army straight out of high school. He served as a paratrooper, part of the 82nd Airborne Division, and ultimately spent one decade in the service. Although his time in the military ended in the 1990s, it continues to comprehensively shape his life today. O'Leary, president of The Grimes Companies, a third-party logistics and supply chain management service provider based in Jacksonville, Fla., instinctively taps into his Army experience to navigate the many trials and tests he encounters managing a company. "My time in the military defines the way I approach challenges and obstacles," O'Leary says. "Being a veteran guides my decisions and actions. All of them." O'Leary believes a military background is far from the only kind of background that can form a strong foundation for a career in supply chain and similar fields, but says his years in the Army have been critical to his personal experience. And O'Leary, who during more than one decade at the helm has helped Grimes develop from a trucking company focused on northeast Florida to a regional logistics company for the entire Southeast, says he has witnessed others find their footing in the supply chain field with the stalwart aid of their military background to guide them.