Mr. Coleman Ruiz
Senior Fellow
Stockdale Center for Ethical Leadership
U.S. Naval Academy
201-E Luce Hall (Mail Stop 7-J), 112 Cooper Road
Annapolis, MD 21402-5022
Profile
Coleman Ruiz (USNA ’98)
Coleman has a few adjacent lives. He’s a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former officer in the Naval Special Warfare community (U.S. Navy SEALs). Coleman spent 13 years on active duty in the U.S. Navy serving overseas during six (6) combat deployments in both the Afghanistan and Iraq theaters of war. While serving as a troop commander and joint task force commander, Coleman led hundreds of operations, and dozens of sensitive military programs. He also served in U.S. Embassies in both Yemen and Kenya working directly with the Ambassador’s country team and host nation forces.
Coleman served as a training officer, instructor, and Director of Human Performance at both basic and advanced Naval Special Warfare (SEAL) training schools. He led training and development at the U.S. Navy’s most advanced special operations program, and most high-risk training program, including the infamous Hell Week in BUD/S training.
Coleman is a Co-founder, and Principal, at the Mission Critical Team Institute (MCTI). MCTI develops research and practice of the Selection and Professional Development of Mission Critical Teams which are small (4-12 agents) integrated groups of indigenously trained and educated experts that leverage tools and technology to resolve complex adaptive problems. Mission Critical Teams operate in immersive, but constrained (:5 minutes or less), temporal environments where the consequence of failure can be catastrophic.
Also, as a Partner with the Liminal Collective, Coleman works with elite individuals, teams and organizations, via a multi-disciplinary approach to solving complex problems, as they reimagine and prepare for never-done-before events. The Liminal Collective works across elite military, sports, business, creative, performing arts, technology, philanthropy, and the sciences from places like Nike, Red Bull High Performance, Navy Special Warfare, National Security, Cleveland Clinic, MacArthur Foundation, MIT, Logitech, The US Ski Team, and Australian Institute of Sport.
Finally, in the business sector, as a General Partner at Anchor Capital Holdings, LLC a special asset investment group in Annapolis, MD, over the last five years, Coleman has twice served as the President of two portfolio companies guiding the transaction, turn-around, and stabilization of both businesses. Coleman works with teams and leaders at the tactical, execution-level of their organizations. Strategy is important but it’s the everyday dirty-work of planning and running operations where teaming and leadership really happen.
Coleman has served as a trainer, educator, and advisor for over a dozen collegiate teams, and professional athletic organizations. He’s presented on teams and leadership at the Wharton School People Analytics Conference. He serves as a US Naval Academy Trustee for Athletic and Scholarship Programs, and serves as a board member at ISM Connect, a digital solution aggregator for brands, fans, and venues.
On his “free” time, Coleman has also served as the Executive Director of Carry the Load in Dallas, TX, a 501(c)3, as a board member at Tip of the Spear, a veteran-focused non-profit, and member of the Station Foundation’s veteran transition programs.
Coleman graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. in Mathematics and earned an MBA in Finance at the Government School of Business & Public Policy from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA.
