WASHINGTON, DC, July 17, 2023—HCI Equity Partners (“HCI”), a leading lower middle-market private equity firm, today announced a new partnership with Headlamp, a military veteran transition accelerator, and Sutton Growth Group, a capability-building firm focused on training. Headlamp works directly with the Department of Defense SkillBridge Program to assist transitioning veterans to civilian business roles. This collaboration aims to leverage the unique skills and experiences of military veterans. Headlamp will identify SkillBridge Fellows and place them at HCI portfolio companies, and Sutton Growth will provide business training to the Fellows.
The SkillBridge program by the Department of Defense is designed to provide transitioning service members with valuable civilian work experience and training opportunities. Through this program, military personnel gain private-sector experience, while simultaneously assisting companies in filling critical talent gaps. Headlamp will work closely with HCI to identify and select highly qualified SkillBridge Fellows to begin working at multiple HCI portfolio companies, including Echelon Supply & Service, WF Cabinetry, Tech24, MSI Express and AmerCareRoyal in technical, project management, supervisory leadership, sales and continuous improvement roles.
“Headlamp and Sutton Growth Group are providing critical services to help our veterans transition to successful business careers and HCI is proud to partner with them on this worthy effort,” said HCI Managing Partner, Doug McCormick. “We are committed to supporting transitioning veterans, and believe they bring leadership experience to employers that is unmatched. We are excited to kick off this partnership and look forward to working with these talented veterans in partnership with HCI’s platform companies.”
“Military veterans get the job done, and done right,” said Jim Ettamarna, of Sutton Growth Group. “We’re very selective about placing SkillBridge Fellows into top-notch organizations with great leaders, and HCI and Doug, with his military background, fit those criteria ideally.”
Headlamp CEO, Steve Chang, commented, “Having served in Special Operations, I learned a critical truth early on that humans are more important than hardware. We’re thrilled for the opportunity to team with HCI, which has a demonstrated commitment to leveraging human capital as a differentiator. And based on the leaders at HCI and the portfolio companies, we feel great about seeing veterans transition into that culture.”
About Headlamp
Headlamp was born out of US Special Operations, and is committed to supporting successful service-member transitions. Headlamp is rebuilding the backbone of American business by helping them leverage veteran talent. For more information, please visit: www.myheadlamp.com.
About Sutton Growth Group
Sutton Growth Group is a capability-building firm. Sutton Growth provides select clients with the proven talent, and high-impact learning and development, to build critical capabilities, successfully execute, and drive value creation. For more information, please visit http://www.suttongrowth.com/.
About the Department of Defense SkillBridge Program
The DoD SkillBridge Program is an opportunity for service members to gain valuable civilian work experience through specific industry training, apprenticeships, or internships during the last 180 days of service. SkillBridge connects service members with industry partners in real-world job experiences. For more information, please visit https://skillbridge.osd.mil/.