LtCol (Ret.) Richard E. Haddad, USMC
President, Meggitt Training Systems

U.S. Naval Academy                          BS Chemistry, 1984
Michigan State University                        MBA, Marketing, 1993

Following his graduation from the US Naval Academy, Rich served 7 years of active duty in the Marine Corps, serving combat tours in both Operations Just Cause and Desert Shield/Storm, as well as counterinsurgency operations in Central America and the Drug War in South America.  He is an intelligence officer and held command as a Captain.  After leaving active duty he completed his MBA and joined H.B. Fuller, a billion dollar chemical company in MN.  He held a variety of business development, marketing and product commercialization positions during his 5 years with the company.  Two of those years he spent as General Manager, H.B. Fuller Adhesives (China), Ltd, a joint venture with the Guangdong Government. 

 In 1998 Rich joined TALPX, Inc. a start-up internet commodity exchange in the softwood lumber market.  Following 9/11, Rich was recalled to active duty and served two years at the Pentagon, supporting the War on Terror in Marine Corps Intelligence.  Following active duty Rich returned to Minnesota and joined Meggitt Defense Systems.  He worked in Business Development, Government Relations and most recently in Mergers and Acquisitions.  Following the acquisition of Firearms Training Systems, by Meggitt Defense Systems (Oct ’06), Rich took the position of President, Meggitt Training Systems.  Meggitt Training Systems is a combination of Meggitt Defense Systems’ training businesses in Georgia, Minnesota, Canada, Australia and the UK.

Rich retired from the Marine Corps Reserve as a Lieutenant Colonel in Feb of 2008, most recently serving as the Executive Officer, Marine Wing Support Squadron 471.  While at the Naval Academy Rich played rugby and was the Brigade Heavyweight boxing champion in 1984.  Rich was a player on the Marine Corps Rugby team (’85-’88), captain of the team (’89) and Officer in Charge of the team (’02-’03) over a 20 year career that included three military club championships and two inter-service championships.  He has served on the boards of the Naval Academy Alumni Association (Chicago) and the Marine Corps Reserve Association.  He completed Harvard Business School’s General Management Program in 2007.  Rich has been married to his wife Shannon since 1997 and they have two children – Cassandra (’00) and Nicholas (’01).