When Charles Gormley retired from his 27-year military career in 2011, “it felt like I was just getting out of high school,” says the Kew Gardens resident.
Even after Gormley, a retired Marine Corps sergeant, landed a job as an engineer at Long Island City’s Kerns Manufacturing Corporation early last year, he still felt unsure of his future in the civilian workforce.
“I was looking for someone to help me decide what I wanted to do,” explains the 49-year-old.
That’s when he signed up for American Corporate Partners, a yearlong mentorship program that pairs post-9/11 veterans with businessmen who can offer long-term career guidance.
Starting in February 2013, Gormley and his Florida-based mentor, retired PepsiCo Inc. executive Lou Imbrogno, traded bimonthly calls, emails and texts. They discussed everything from the nuances of civilian company structure — “Promotions aren’t as clear-cut as they are in the military,” notes Gormley — to whether business school was a logical next step.
“I have a better idea of how I eventually want to become a senior manager executive,” Gormley says of the mentorship. “It really helped me focus.”
That sense of a clear — and fulfilling — professional path was exactly what founder Sidney Goodfriend hoped to provide when he launched the Manhattan-based program back in 2008.
“The majority of the people [who] come to us aren’t sure what careers are best for them,” says Goodfriend, noting that many of the nationwide program’s current 2,000-plus veteran protégés are already employed. “Our main objective is to find [them] long-term careers, not just jobs.”
Over the years, the list of participating institutions has swelled to more than 50 Fortune 500 companies — Barclays, Bloomberg, Disney and General Mills among them — all of which encourage their top executives to serve as business gurus for returning soldiers.
Mentors and protégés are matched based on shared career and personal interests and enjoy a great deal of autonomy when it comes to the focus of their discussions, says Goodfriend. Depending on what the veteran needs, topics run the gamut from interview skills and resume-building to industry-specific advice.
When retired Army Major Bob Kinder signed up for American Corporate Partners in fall 2013, he was both interviewing for corporate jobs and considering starting his own consulting business. The Weston, Mass., resident, 52, hoped an experienced professional could help him choose the right path.
His mentor, Paul Travers, a New York-based vice president at MetLife, has done just that — mainly by prompting Kinder to think about the kind of work he will find most fulfilling.
“We figured the entrepreneur route is the way I want to go,” says Kinder, who recently launched Talon Solutions, a leadership consulting outfit. “Paul’s not pushing me in any one direction, but encouraging me to pursue something I’m passionate about.”
Just being around somebody who is so motivated, who is looking forward to the next phase of his career and who served our country was, quite frankly, energizing.
- Jeremy Sunshine, UBS sales manager and former mentor
Travers, himself a Navy vet, was uniquely qualified to help Kinder with the military-to-civilian transition during their Skype sessions and phone chats.
“The military has its own way of speaking and acting, and I can connect with that,” says Travers. “I’m helping Bob with the corporate-America perspective, and the things that might not be readily apparent to someone who’s been in the military for such a long time.”
The veterans aren’t the only ones reaping the program’s rewards.
“Truth be told, I probably got more out of it than he did,” says Jeremy Sunshine, a UBS sales manager who mentored former Marine Corps Capt. Michael Petit over the past year.
Petit, who’s since landed a gig working at Goldman Sachs, impressed Sunshine with his diligence, curiosity and focus.
“Just being around somebody who is so motivated, who is looking forward to the next phase of his career and who served our country was, quite frankly, energizing,” says Sunshine.
And when the mentorship leads to a dream job, as it did for Marc Gauval, the experience is all the sweeter.
An Army Reservist, he had been working in the financial services industry for more than a decade when he was mobilized and deployed to Saudi Arabia in July 2012. When he returned home to Montclair, NJ, last fall, he immediately connected with mentor Peter Daytz, global head of investments at Citi Trust, in order to tap into the executive’s network — and, hopefully, find a job.
“Peter was extremely gracious and proactive in introducing me to folks he knew in the financial industry,” says Gauval, now 47. “It was a very positive and supportive feeling.”
Daytz led Gauval to an open investment specialist position with Citi Private Bank, which Gauval landed earlier this year.
“It’s been a really, really great experience,” says Gauval of his new position. “And from where I started, it has basically been the ideal transition.”