PCS to Corporate America

We are bringing you a special encore episode following a truly historic time in America: our 250th birthday. In honor of this milestone, we thought we would talk about another type of founding: the founding of Cameron-Brooks. In this episode, you will hear from our very own Mary Lou White . She is one of the founding members of Cameron-Brooks and has been helping Junior Military Officers transitio...

In this episode, Lauren Kordzik sits down with Cameron-Brooks alum George Pesansky to discuss what his 30 years of hiring and building teams taught him about JMOs, and why the best companies keep coming back to hire these great leaders. George Pesansky came through Cameron-Brooks in 1996 as an Army officer. He didn’t know exactly what was next. He just knew he was ready for something new. Th...

It’s a tale as old as time. You launch your Zoom interview, you’re looking sharp, and you see the hiring mangers on the screen in front of you. And after some brief small talk, the interviewer looks at you and asks, “So, tell me about yourself.” This deceptively simple question can be a make or break to your interview. It sets the tone and helps build that first impression....

The April 2026 Cameron-Brooks Career Conference has officially come to a close. We had 48 interviews, 51 companies, and 540 interviews over two days. Every single candidate was pursued. Every single candidate who entered the follow-up process received an offer. In this episode of the Cameron-Brooks podcast, Brock Dudley sits down with three recent alums to talk through what actually happened at co...

30 Years of Conferences: What Michelle and Candy Want Every Officer to Know For more than 30 years at Cameron-Brooks, Michelle Spisak and Candy Belcik have worked with thousands of military officers navigating the transition from active duty to corporate America. In this mini episode of PCS to Corporate America, they share the honest, practical advice they wish every officer heard before starting...

Tom Morin went from Army Infantry Captain to the Leadership Program at Extant Aerospace . Matt Horsley went from Marine Corps Logistics Officer to Financial Leadership Program at BD . Josh Klimek went from Army Infantry Captain to Operations at Macerich . Three incredible officers. Three success stories. All  Cameron-Brooks, Inc. alums. These are just three of the officers are launching their busi...

Military to Corporate Leadership: Dave Parmly on Navigating Career Transitions, Integrity, and the Trusting the Process With over 40 years of experience spanning the US Military, KFC, Pilot Company, and CSUSA Shoffner, Dave Parmly has navigated multiple career transitions and leadership roles. Each of these transitions required preparation, trust, and the willingness to listen and adapt. In our la...

The Power of Mentorship From Military to Corporate America: Leadership Lessons in From A Supply Chain Leader, Jim O’Rourke Transitioning from military service to corporate America isn’t just about landing a job, it’s about preparing for a completely different operating environment. In our latest podcast episode, Cameron-Brooks alum Jim O’Rourke shares how humility, mentorsh...

A Year-End Look at the JMO Transition Market As the year winds down, a lot of Junior Military Officers are asking the same thing: What does the market actually look like right now? And what should I be doing about it? In the latest Cameron-Brooks podcast, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez , and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker , break down where things stand at the end of 2025. The short answer: the market...

Check out our latest Alumni Panel after the November 2025 Career Conference. Brock Dudley sits down with: Cody Williams (Army Air Defense, Major | Caterpillar, Senior Production Manager) Ian Burgess (Air Force Intelligence, Captain | Twist Bioscience, Account Manager) You cannot control the market, but you can control how prepared you are. Cody and Ian started early, stayed open to learn...

How Process Thinking Will Supercharge Your Military to Business Transition On this episode of the Cameron-Brooks Podcast, Senior Vice President Joel Junker sits down with Phil Ranck , founder of Lean Alaska and a retired Army CW4 logistician. Phil shares how Lean Six Sigma helped him shift from “fix the person” to “fix the process. Additionally, he shares why that mindset is critical for junior mi...

From Army Artillery Officer to Managing Director in Consulting Lauren Kordzik, Principal at Cameron-Brooks, sat down with Cameron-Brooks alum Pat Curran to discuss his leadership journey from the military to consulting. When Pat left the Army in 2013, he had a strong operations background and years of leading teams under pressure. After active duty, Pat started his business career at EMCOR and lat...

In this episode, I sit down with Cory Bouck —former Navy Naval Flight Officer , Cameron-Brooks alum, and author of The Lens of Leadership: Being the Leader Others Want to Follow . Together, we explore how military-honed leadership translates into exceptional business results. Today, Cory is making a significant impact in the private sector at Johnsonville Sausage , where culture, coaching, and per...

Lessons from Cameron-Brooks Alumni on Military to Business Transition Success Each Cameron-Brooks Career Conference represents a major career event for our JMOs. In these military to business transition successes, officers together years of military service and months, (maybe even years of preparation in the Development and Preparation Program). Then, they interview with Industry leading companies...

A Journey Toward Self-Transcendent Leadership In January 2023, I began a long-term goal to earn a Master’s degree. Initially, my intentions were to learn, grow, and yes, to “check that box” that I had a Master’s degree. While I did all three of those things, earning my degree in December 2024, what really happened is that I examined my leadership, who I was, who I was becom...

2025 Mid-Year Review: How Junior Military Officers Can Win in Today’s Market As we’ve passed the midpoint of 2025 and we look towards the end of 2025, our CEO, Chuck Alvarez , and Senior Vice President, Joel Junker, offered an in-depth review of today’s economic and career landscape. Their discussion was both candid and encouraging. And in doing so, they provided clarity on how JMOs ca...

Cameron-Brooks June 2025 Career Conference Review: Insights for Your Military-to-Business Transition Transitioning from the military to a professional business career is a pivotal moment for any Junior Military Officer (JMO). At Cameron-Brooks, our mission is to help JMOs navigate this career transition with clarity and confidence through a three-step approach: 1) Prepare 2) Search 3) Launch Our J...

E225: Avoid the Career Do-Over – Transition Rule #5 When it comes to transitioning from the military to the business world, you want to avoid the career do-over. Many officers define a successful transition by landing that first post-military job. At Cameron-Brooks, we define the transition not by accepting a job. We define a successful transition as 3-4 years down the road when you’ve trans...

Beau Hughes – HF Sinclair: Corporate Procurement Leader It was an absolute pleasure to have my good friend, Beau Hughes, join me on the PCS to Corporate America Podcast. Beau works for HF Sinclair as a Procurement Supervisor in their Corporate Procurement team.  Find out how Beau went from JMO to Corporate Procurement Leader in our latest podcast. Beau was one of the first JMOs I had the opportuni...

E223: Transition Rule #4 – Past Success ≠ Future Success Why do we say, “Past success does not equal future success?” This episode is for those transitioning JMOs who have experienced past success in the military and are working towards business leadership careers. Also, it is for those who have tasted success in the military and who want to avoid missteps  in the transition. I teamed...

April 2025 Post-Conference Review: Leadership in an Uncertain Market Our April 2025 Post-Conference Review is live! The officers who attended the Career Conference have officially completed the follow-up process and made important career decisions. Over the last four weeks, they met with hiring managers from companies across the country, both virtually and in person. These meetings gave them a dee...

Transitioning from the military to business brings immense opportunities and new challenges. While you bring valuable skills from your service, focusing on personal well-being and the importance of self-care is crucial for effective leadership in your next career. In this podcast, I interview Sarah Draper about how learning to pause, meditate, and spending time in silence are tools for self-care. ...

This episode is for JMOs who are ready to transition and don’t want to take a step back in their next business career. In it, we: Define who this is for: JMOs aiming to lead and take on greater responsibility in a Business Leadership Career. Explain the “Traditional Career Search”: Glassdoor, LinkedIn, Indeed, USAJOBS, etc. Define the “Non-Traditional Career Search.” Explor...

Develop an Investment Mindset:  As a Junior Military Officer, your military experience has shaped how you think, lead, and solve problems. But when it comes to your next step, developing an investment mindset for a military transition can be just as important as your skill set. That’s why Transition Rule #2 is: Develop an Investment Mindset. At Cameron-Brooks, we’ve seen this mindset make all the...

Why Is Transition Rule #1 – Don’t Do It Alone? When talking about the transition, why did we make Transition Rule #1 -Don’t Do It Alone?  At Cameron-Brooks, we’ve spent nearly 50 years helping Junior Military Officers (JMOs) make this transition successfully. A lot has changed in 50 years, and there is one thing for certain: There is so much information out there. There are a lot...