Werner, USAA, First Command, RecruitMilitary and Scrum Inc. Honored With 2024 Patriots In Business Awards

Werner, USAA, First Command, RecruitMilitary and Scrum Inc. were honored today as winners of the 7th annual Patriots in Business Award for their leadership in helping America’s veterans, active-duty military and military spouses. The award, presented each year by Chief Executive magazine and Thayer Leadership, is part of an ongoing effort to raise awareness among corporate leaders of best practices in helping these important communities. The award ceremony will take place on Nov. 11 at the 12th annual Veterans Day event in New York City, in partnership with Nasdaq MarketSite.

The Patriots in Business Award—presented this year in the categories of large, medium, small and military-service oriented organizations—recognizes outstanding businesses that lead our nation in supporting active-duty military members, veterans and their families and exemplify the U.S. Military Academy values of Duty, Honor and Country through their business practices and throughout their community and industry.

“Werner is proud to receive the Patriots in Business Award,” said Werner Chair and CEO Derek Leathers. “We appreciate veterans and military-connected individuals’ invaluable contributions to our workforce and owe them immense gratitude for their sacrifices while serving our country. Our priority at Werner is to honor their distinguished service by creating the best opportunities for them, as they transition to civilian life and new careers.”

“We know from transitioning veterans that purpose matters; helping them understand how the value proposition that was clear in the military can be translated to the corporate environment matters,” said Wayne Peacock, CEO, USAA. “What we teach in the military is around mission first, so however you describe your corporate purpose past just the bottom line is really important.”

“This honor affirms our commitment to coaching military families in their pursuit of financial security and recognizes our innovative efforts to recruit veterans and military spouses as financial advisors,” said Mark Steffe, First Command President/CEO. “Supporting our military community isn’t just good business; it’s our duty to champion those who preserve our freedom.”

“We are honored to be selected for the Patriots in Business Award,” said RecruitMilitary CEO Tim Best. “We take great pride in our mission to connect employers with the military community.”

JJ Sutherland, CEO of consulting firm Scrum, reminds that hiring veterans isn’t just good, it’s also good business: “It’s a competitive advantage for us because of the viewpoint that what veterans, who are trained to adapt and overcome, bring is incredibly valuable to our private sector clients.”

The companies rose to the top of a highly competitive, nationwide judging process in which a panel of veterans’ affairs experts and business leaders with military backgrounds assessed each nominated company’s programs. The business executives on the panel included: Nicholas Pinchuk, Chair and CEO, Snap-on Incorporated; Michael Volk, Managing Partner, GuidePoint Security (2022 Patriots in Business Award honoree); Troy Vaughn, President, Principle Services LLC (2021 honoree); Charlie Quinn, VP of Recruiting, HumCap (2020 honoree); John Perez, Director of Military & Veterans Affairs, Johnson & Johnson (2022 honoree); Tom Karinshak, EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Comcast (2020 honoree); Erich Sanchack, CEO, Salute Mission Critical (2023 honoree).

“The Patriots in Business Award is about identifying great companies who can show other business leaders the way to engage with this amazing talent pool,” said Marshall Cooper, CEO, Chief Executive Group. “These are truly the best of the best when it comes to working with the veteran community.”

Said Dan Rice, Co-President of Thayer Leadership: “These are truly phenomenal organizations who showcase the enormous opportunity—and competitive edge—that come from working with veterans and their families. We can all learn a lot from what these companies are doing related to veterans’ support.”