A Conversation With Todd Wilcox
Todd Wilcox
Biography
Todd Wilcox is a decorated combat veteran, a former CIA case officer and a successful entrepreneur and business leader, recently recognized as an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2015 finalist. Todd is also a devoted husband and father of three daughters and lives with his family in Orlando.
With a single mother working two jobs to make ends meet, Todd was at times the primary caregiver for his younger siblings in the South Tampa low income neighborhood where he grew up. At age 13, Todd got his first job washing dishes in the TECO (Tampa Electric) cafeteria. Later in his teen years, with the help of a mentor, Todd realized that he was hanging out with the wrong crowd and his life was heading in the wrong direction. His mentor convinced him that an education was his only chance to break out of poverty. Todd buckled down and graduated from Tampa’s Robinson High School and earned an Army ROTC Scholarship to the University of Tampa.
After earning his degree in finance, Todd was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in the U.S. Army. He went on to serve as a rifle platoon leader with the 101st Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm. Upon promotion to Captain, Todd volunteered for a transfer to the U.S. Army Special Forces branch and after earning his Green Beret he commanded a Special Forces A-team in a counter-terrorism role in East Asia.
After 8 years of military service, Todd resigned to accept a position with the CIA to join America’s global war on terrorism. While completing two years of Arabic studies and then serving from various U.S. Embassy postings in the Middle East and North Africa, Todd was also raising two daughters on his own as a single parent. His last assignment with the CIA was on the Joint Terrorism Task Force in the FBI field office in Orlando.
In 2006, Todd left government service and created Patriot Defense Group (PDG), a defense contracting company dedicated to serving those who defend America. Todd founded two other companies and the combined business operations over the past nine years range from specialized security training for U.S. special operations to defending corporate clients against cyber-security attacks and the ground delivery of the U.S. Postal mail to our troops in Afghanistan.
Todd’s business success has been recognized by the Wall Street Journal and through awards such as Orlando Business Journal’s “Veterans of Influence.” His military and national security expertise earned him a seat on the board of directors of the National Defense University Foundation and the board of advisors for the Rand Corporation Center for Middle East Public Policy.
Todd has also created a new venture to improve the quality of leadership in the USA. For more information on that venture, see: