Management
James Aylward – Chief Executive Officer
James Aylward was a pilot assigned 102nd fighter wing MANG. During his twenty years of service he was operationally qualified in the F-106 Delta Dart where he flew air defense alert missions with 24th NORAD providing 24/7 air sovereignty, and defense for the Northeast Coast and Canada. For the next 13 years Jim was a mission ready F-15 Eagle pilot. James flew multiple real world missions over that time from drug interdiction sorties out of Howard Air Force Base in Panama to combat air patrol in support of Operation Northern Watch, the enforcement of the no-fly zone north of the 36th parallel in Iraq.
During this time James maintained a Top Secret security clearance (TSS) and worked with numerous classified weapons systems and documents. James has worked in various marketing, sales and sales management roles since retiring from military service. He is a graduate of Saint Louis University with a B.A. in aviation sciences. Jim is currently a matriculated MBA candidate at the University of Massachusetts Isenberg Business School where is, at the ripe old age of 50, and against his better judgment, pursuing an MBA. He is also a graduate of Air Force squadron officer’s school and Air Command and Staff College. He currently resides in Western Massachusetts with his wife and four children.
Mark Aylward – President
Mark has over 20 years of experience in IT Staffing as a recruiter, account manager, manager and business owner in local, national and international markets. From January of 2006 until December of 2007, Mark has been the Branch Manager for the Central Florida operations of Strategic Staffing Solutions. This position was the result of a 2-year employment agreement, which stemmed from the sale of Mark’s company, I-Tech Solutions to Strategic Staffing Solutions in January of 2006. In January of 1997, Mark founded I-Tech Solutions. I-Tech was a technical staffing firm specializing in temporary and permanent placement of Information Technology resources nationally. Mark founded I-Tech with one partner and after building a profitable multimillion dollar entity, he and his partners sold the company to Strategic Staffing Solutions in January of 2006.
Prior to co-founding I-Tech Solutions, Mark was Southeast Regional Manager for Computer Professionals, Inc. While at Computer Professionals, Mark managed three offices and 350 consultants. Mark’s region was responsible for generating over $40 Million in annual revenues.
In 1993, Mark Co-Founded Career Enhancement International. First year revenues were $2.5 Million. In year two, Career Enhancement double it’s first year’s revenue and in year two Computer Professionals acquired Career Enhancements.
Mark holds a BBA in Marketing from the University of Notre Dame. He resides in College Park, FL.
Martin Richard – Vice President Business Development
Martin Richard brings over 10 years of business and human performance consulting to the Lucid team. A noted thought expert on leadership in high-pressure situations, Martin is the author of the book, SCRAMBLED, published earlier this year.
He is also a sought-after public speaker. Martin’s distinguished military career includes flying combat missions in both the F-111 and F-15 fighter aircraft. He was the fourth pilot scrambled during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America. He was the Air Force military advisor to the Czech Republic and is still an active member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.
His current position is the Chief of Combat Operations in the 102d Air Operations Group. There, he provides command and control of all high value assets for the Air Force. He also monitors and coordinates all defensive cyber operations for the Air Force Network Operation Center.
Martin is a Cum Laude graduate of the University of Maine with a BA in Political Science. He also is a distinguished graduate of Air Force Squadron Officer School, Air Command and Staff College and Air War College. Martin resides in Sandwich, MA.
for it is better to be alone than in bad company.”
