From the Battlefield to the Boardroom, A Founder’s Story with Daniel Comparetto

Daniel Comparetto, From navigating the hostile and extreme environment of a combat zone in Afghanistan with his teams of Marines to advising C-suite level leaders with some of their most pressing challenges. He believes in a client and team-first mentality. He is constantly focusing on how he can be an enabler and performance maximizer, impediment remover, and force multiplier for everyone that he comes in contact with. With over a decade of experience leading teams at some of the world’s highest-performing organizations, Daniel is hyper-focused on pairing that experience with the talent and drive that his teams provide in order to deliver an experience of excellence.

I grew up in Winchester, VA, and served in the Marine Corps after joining in 2009. I operated in the Asia Pacific region for most of my time. This experience was tremendously impactful and fundamental to who I am today. When I wasn’t shooting, I was operating heavy equipment in either a constructive or destructive manner, both building out and demolishing infrastructure.

I was also heavily involved in logistical support for the various outposts all throughout southern Afghanistan. These experiences created the foundation for my leadership abilities today. I have been fortunate to obtain great formal education – an MBA from Indiana University, a degree in finance from George Mason University, and I currently serve as a Strategy & Operations leader at Deloitte.

I previously worked at MITRE, 3M, & Lockheed Martin in various internal finance and strategy leadership roles. My whole adult life and career to date have been predicated on not only learning how to survive in new and high-stakes environments but also thriving in those environments through rapid acclimation and extreme focus on impact potential. On the personal side, I am married to a Nordic princess who goes by Kayla and we have two children, Isaiah – currently 8 y/o and Bella – currently 5 y/o. We are actively involved in their sports, gymnastics, and dance activities.

Quite simply I started on the entrepreneurial path because I wanted more freedom and ultimately more control over my life due to the financial benefits associated with entrepreneurial success. I am fundamental that there are really only two basic avenues to build wealth in this country and they are through real estate and/or business ownership. I ultimately chose to begin my journey on the business ownership path. There have been two very influential mentors in my life that have helped develop me into the person that I am today.

The most influential leader that I am most grateful for is one of my senior leaders from the Marine Corps. He really leaned into my development when I was at a very influential stage of my leadership journey. Naturally, I had been exposed to leaders to that point but they all had very similar characteristics and leadership styles. Very much authoritarian and commanding types. Through this other leader’s guidance, I learned that there is another way to lead and it is much more effective and impactful. This leader was quiet. They focused on building relationships with multiple stakeholders and operated behind the scenes instead of making a show out in the open.

They played the long game and we’re constantly prepared. He taught me that no matter what the standard was, to hold yourself to a higher one. I learned that the greatest way to impact others is through leadership and that leadership is not a right, it is a privilege. He may have been a “Quiet Leader” but he has been the most influential and impactful leader that I have met to date.

Another important mentor in my life shared the below concept with me about two years ago when I was at a pivotal point in my career and life and it has forever changed the way I think and operate. “Become undeniable. Become so good at what you do and provide so much value to anyone that you come into contact with that it will be impossible for you to fail and not dominate whatever thing it is that you are pursuing in life. Every time that you have a negative feeling or you have negative thoughts about other people, immediately identify that and shift your focus to yourself and begin taking action on something that builds you up, makes you better, and moves you closer to your goals and dreams. Become so good and legendary that it does not matter what anyone else thinks about you from a negative perspective.”

Great leaders don’t reach the height of success without facing major challenges and crises. From my experience, I have seen that most leaders are better because of their experiences of weathering storms throughout their careers. A great leader will rise to the top in difficult times when tough decisions need to be made and decisive action must be taken. These are five of the most important areas that a Leader needs to focus on in order to lead effectively during turbulent times.

1) Culture