M6 Leadership Spotlight: Gavin McCulley
This week, we’re chatting with Gavin McCulley, who has served as the President of M6 since 2017. Gavin and his leadership team have scaled the company from a team of five to the dynamic company it is today. As a former U.S. Army officer and Army Special Forces member, his military background has instilled in him a discipline and focus on excellence that drives his entrepreneurial spirit and shines through in his mission to put Warriors First. In our interview, Gavin shares insights on effective leadership, the qualities of a good team member, and his vision for the future of M6.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you ended up joining M6 as president.
I’m a former U.S. Army officer and I spent time both serving in the 18th Airborne Corps and in the U.S. Army Special Forces. After my time in service, I went into private equity. When I discovered Morgan 6, it was a very small five person shop focused on IT support for the Department of Veterans Affairs. What I loved about it was the entrepreneurial spirit and the fact that it was a service-disabled, veteran-owned small business.
Along the way, I decided that it was a great opportunity for me to leave the investment side to join the entrepreneurial side. I thought if I purchased it that I’d be able to grow the platform. It seemed like a really exciting thing to do. So, I took on the president role in 2017 of Morgan 6.
What from your military experience have carried through your career?
The best things that I carry with me from my military career are discipline, a focus on excellence, and teamwork because the discipline to do things right, to do them to the best of my ability, to make sure that the team is giving their best, and focusing on accomplishing that mission is what helps us to best support our customer.
What pivotal assignments have helped you to develop as a professional?
Since leaving the military, one of the things that has helped me to be successful has been a focus on my own growth and education. I have what I call a schizophrenic entrepreneurial journey. I started right out of the military in sales selling for a large diagnostic company. That was great because it helped me to understand professional corporate business acumen. It also helped me to understand the sales process and customer discovery: understanding what your customer needs and how to deliver products to them. That was a foundational moment for me because everything from that point forward was about learning to be the executive and learning to be a leader who could create a team that could deliver the products and services that our customers need.
After I left sales, I entered into private equity. This was a really exciting time for me because I got to discover all of the different aspects about business from finance and marketing to leadership, and to be able to go into different companies and see how each company does it, the good and the bad. I was able to take a lot of lessons from that. Ultimately, that resulted in me discovering my entrepreneurial passion.
One of the most interesting things that I got to do after leaving the military was to attend Harvard and attain my master’s degree in management. After 15 years of being out of school, I went back. Over five years, while leading Morgan 6, I got to study with some of the best and brightest minds in the world. This was the most impactful because I got to apply the lessons I was learning in the classroom in real time in my company and help to grow Morgan 6 into the organization that it is now.
What’s something interesting or unique about you that others might not know?
A couple of interesting factoids about myself: I am a licensed pilot and I love to fly. I’m also a purple belt in Jiu Jitsu. So, I’m about halfway to my black belt – it is a humbling and incredibly difficult sport!
Who do you admire as a leader, past or present, and why?
One of the leaders from history that I admire the most is George Washington. The task that was put on his shoulders at such a young age and how he inspired an entire nation to freedom is something that is just so hard for us to understand in these times, but as you learn about the man more than just the leader, you understand that he was a human being who rose to the occasion. I think that that’s the greatest source of inspiration for me.
Another leader that I really admire is Daniel Morgan. He is a revolutionary war general who completely changed the way that the war was fought by being unconventional and bringing all sorts of innovation to the battlefield. That’s inspired us at Morgan 6 and why we’ve named the company in his honor.
And, a third leader who really resonates with me is from the Revolutionary War: Francis Marion, known as the Swamp Fox. He was probably the first Special Forces commander in the United States Army. His unconventional tactics and innovative ways of waging war against the British inspire all of us today, especially as we serve our customers in the Special Operations and Intelligence communities.
What’s the best way to determine if someone is a good leader?
In my opinion, the first trait of a great leader is someone who listens and truly opens not only their ears but their hearts to the people that they’re talking to in order to truly understand before they attempt to make any changes. I think that that’s the first sign of a good leader. Absent of that, and I don’t think you have much.
M6 has been very intentional with how it has used values to build the foundation for the company. Why are these values important to you and to the company and how does this sort of focus give M6 an advantage in the business world?
At Morgan 6, we deliberately chose six core values that serve as the compass for everything that we do and everything that we aspire to be. And we use these core values not just as something that goes on the wall, but something that we talk about in our daily interactions. We try to tie every decision that we make back to those core values to keep us on track and keep us focused on what’s important to us, not only as a company, but also for our customers. This gives us an advantage because it’s a constant anchor that keeps us focused and on track with not only who we are, but delivering on all of our promises to our customers.
Of the core values at the company, is there one in particular that really resonates with you?
All of our core values are incredibly important and part of our day-to-day life, but the one that resonates the most to me, or at least stands out in my own heart, is ‘Iron Sharpens Iron.’ It’s that call to always get better and always be better and to hold each other accountable for improvement. And that’s why it’s one of my favorites.
What does Warrior first mean to you?
At Morgan 6, we call each other warriors and our slogan is Warriors First because we are warriors, we serve warriors, and we aspire to that warrior ethos. Whether you’re a veteran and served in uniform or not, that doesn’t matter. We call you to be a warrior for whatever you’re focused on. If you’re an IT warrior or a subject matter expert or an intelligence warrior or an HR warrior…you can bring that warrior ethos to your job and that’s what we expect at Morgan 6.
What has been your most rewarding experience with the company so far?
The most rewarding experience that I’ve had to date with Morgan 6 is our most recent annual meeting. It was just such an honor and a privilege to sit amongst such high-caliber executives and leaders and discuss the future of the company in a way that we never have, and to look around and see how far we have come since the humble beginnings of five people now to over 70 and sitting there just in awe of the team that we’ve assembled. And so to me, that’s the highlight of my career so far.
When you think about building the team at M6, how are you thinking about talent? Who makes a good team member?
At Morgan 6, we define a great team member first and foremost as somebody who aligns themselves to our core values. That’s got to be where we start. And then we look for the passion and the drive behind the alignment to those core values and what we call ‘get it, want it, and have the capacity.’ You need to have those three things in addition to alignment. So we look for the people who exude that, who demonstrate that, who live on purpose, who bring a sense of positivity and energy to their work, and also look to be part of a team rather than to be an individual. These are the things we look for most, and we always say we hire for culture first and ability second. I can teach you how to do something, but I cannot instill those values in your heart. You have to have those first.
Where do you see the company growing in the next five to 10 years? What parts of the future are you most excited about?
Morgan 6 has a great reputation in the information technology and software development sectors, but where the company is going now – what we’re really excited about – is our focus on irregular warfare, gray zone competition, and information operations. These are areas that the company is focused on because we know that this is going to make the biggest impact to our national defense strategy over the next 20 years. We’ve worked really hard to bring in some of the best subject matter experts that are coming straight out of uniform services and agencies like the CIA and DIA. That’s where Morgan 6 is headed. That’s our future.
Rapid Fire Questions
What’s the best title you’ve ever had, personal or professional?
The best title that I’ve ever had, personal or professional is Dad. It’s an honor and a privilege to be the dad to two young daughters and to be able to set the example for how to live an intentional life and how to lead and how to treat other people. So while I’m really proud of my title as President of Morgan 6 and other areas of life where I serve, there’s nothing better than being a dad.
What’s the best location you were stationed or a place you’d want to be stationed if you had the choice?
Well, I was stationed at Fort Liberty for almost my entire career, but where I am right now in sunny Charleston, South Carolina, nothing beats it. I’m sorry to all those folks who aren’t here but Charleston, where there are palm trees and beaches and history, is a great place to be.
What can we find you doing in your free time?
In my free time, I spend a lot of time with my family. We love doing anything on the water, so we’ll be on the beach, by the pool, or on the boat. Those are all great places that you’ll find me. And for my own personal time, I really love flying and I love Jiu Jitsu. And then spending time in self-education, that’s a constant pursuit of mine.
Are there any books or movies that you’ve read or watched lately that you think are amazing that you want to tell people about?
A movie that I recently watched that I just loved was One Love – it’s the biopic of Bob Marley. He was such an inspiration to so many and I had no idea how impactful his life was and the courage it took to lead his people to freedom and unification is just absolutely awe-inspiring.
A book that I found interesting recently is The Art of Intelligence. It really lifts the veil on the clandestine services and explains what it’s like to be an operator behind enemy lines. It follows the career of a CIA agent through pre 9-11 and post 9-11. It’s just a fascinating read for anybody who’s interested in intelligence.
Who would you most like to have dinner with or be stuck on a desert island with?
Well, the desert island would have to be my wife.
If I could have dinner with any historical figure, it would definitely be Ben Franklin. Not only was he a Founding Father and an incredible genius, but the stories of his wit and humor make me think that he would be a guy I would love to hang out with.