After Brendan Mullen’s boyhood dream of attending Notre Dame was shattered, West Point recruited him, the pitch was: If you can’t play football for the Irish and Coach Holtz, then come to West Point and play against them. Impressed, Mullen signed a letter of intent. “Ultimately it was the best decision I could have ever made. Attending West Point and kicking for the Army football team for four years was a path I never anticipated, but one I cherish.” Mullen recalls.
After graduating from West Point, Mullen moved from the gridiron to the battlefield, serving in the U.S. Army for five years as a combat engineer officer. This included a stint in Washington, DC, where he supported the White House and Naval Observatory, serving President George Bush. He was ultimately deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as a Military Transition Team member, where he earned the Combat Action Badge in 2006.
That same year, Mullen traded the military for civilian life, joining forces with a fellow West Point classmate and Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran in a cyber security startup. When Mullen joined the company, he was the first employee and chief operating officer. When he left three years later to launch his own startup, MKS2 Technologies, the consultancy had grown to over 105 employees and $12 million in products and services. Read more.