Joint Force Leadership: How Seals and Fighter Pilots Lead to Success

Learn leadership tools and skills Navy SEALs and Air Force Fighter Pilots leverage to win on the ground, in the air, and in the fast-paced world of modern business.

Navy SEALs lead on the ground. Fighter pilots lead in the air. Together, they can lead anyone, anywhere. Joint Force Leadership brings together Jim “Boots” Demarest and Mark McGinnis’s combined fifty years of military and business experience, and presents battlefield and boardroom tested tools and skills that will resonate with business people, travelers, and military enthusiasts alike.

In military parlance, a “Joint Force” is the combination of forces from different service branches into a single unit. Each comes with its own culture, identity, and vocabulary. And just like corporate teams, getting these diverse groups to work together creates a unique problem set, and leading these teams is varsity-level work.

Demarest and McGinnis are both products of some of the best leadership laboratories anywhere: United States military service academies. Their lifetime of military and civilian leadership experience has taught them lessons they feel compelled to share. Their intent is to provide simple, practical, time- and battle-tested tools you can use right now to improve your leadership skills.

Jim “Boots” Demarest is a professional speaker and consultant with decades of leadership experience. A graduate of the US Air Force Academy, he spent ten years as an active duty F-15 Fighter Pilot, and was a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Fighter Weapons School “Top Gun” program. He served in Desert Storm as an F-15 pilot.

Following his active duty service, Jim graduated from Cornell Law School where he served as Managing Editor of the Cornell Law Review. He then spent nine years as a commercial litigation attorney in a national law firm.

Boots returned to military service in 2009 when he joined the Florida Air National Guard. He is a sought-after speaker on topics including leadership, strategic and tactical planning, and execution improvement. He has worked with NFL Teams, Fortune 500 and Global 2,000 organizations, and established companies and teams in the finance, healthcare, pharmaceutical, sales, legal, consumer products, banking, medical devices, and technology industries.

Mark McGinnis is a dynamic presenter, consultant, and leadership expert. A graduate of the US Naval Academy and four-year varsity football player, he has twenty-four years of Special Operations experience as a Navy SEAL. As a SEAL, Mark held leadership positions at all levels of command, and has led SEAL missions worldwide.

Following his active duty service, Mark worked for a Fortune 500 medical devices company as a Front Line Sales Rep and Regional Sales Director. He is the Founder and Managing Director of the SEAL Legacy Foundation, a not-for-profit providing direct support to the families of fallen SEALs.

Mark is a sought-after speaker on leadership, winning cultures, and team building. He is a seasoned professional speaker and leadership expert who has worked with college and professional sports teams, Fortune 500, and Global 2,000 organizations. His expertise in doing the hard tasks now and the impossible in a bit more time, makes him especially qualified to guide clients through the process of attaining an elite level of performance.