Tommy Sowers

Tommy Sowers (born February 23, 1976) is an American entrepreneur, academic and politician.

He had an 11-year career in the Army, achieving the rank of Major.

During his military career he served as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point.

He went on to teach at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and Duke University.

He most recently serves as President and Chief Operating Officer of a private jet operator.

Born and raised in Rolla, Missouri, Sowers graduated from Rolla High School in 1994 and lettered in both golf and soccer.

During his senior year he cross enrolled in computer science at the University of Missouri at Rolla (later MS&T) and conducted research for the Bureau of Mines.

He attended Duke University on an ROTC scholarship, where he led both the ROTC detachment and the Interfraternity Council.

He was a Rhodes finalist from Missouri and graduated cum laude with an A.B. in public policy in 1998.

In 1998, Sowers was commissioned in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

First assigned to the 1st Infantry Division, Sowers led a combat engineering platoon in the NATO campaign during the Kosovo War.

While stationed in Germany, he represented his division in the Best Ranger Competition as well as an Eco challenge.

Between 2004 and 2006, while at 10th Special Forces Group, Sowers served two deployments in the Iraq war as a Green Beret, leading and advising U.S. and Iraqi units on counterinsurgency operations.

During his 11-year military career, Sowers was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge, Military Freefall Badge, Ranger Tab, Special Forces Tab, Belgian Commando School Brevet, two Bronze Stars, Joint Service Commendation Medal, NATO Service Ribbon, and numerous Distinguished Honor Graduate awards.

He left the Army with the rank of Major.

From 2006 to 2009, Sowers served as an assistant professor at the United States Military Academy at West Point, teaching courses in American Government, Advanced American Government and Media & Politics.

While at West Point, Sowers led a cadet summer trip to India, focused on service learning in the Himalayas and interaction with the Tibetan Government in Exile, including an audience with the Dalai Lama.

As a politician he is most known for his 2009-10 Congressional campaign, during which he received national attention for his call to end the conventional war in Afghanistan, his fundraising and innovative use of social media to connect with voters.

After the campaign he focused his attentions on working in the nonprofit sector with Iraq and Afghanistan War veterans to improve their lives and the lives of their families.

He is the co-founder of GoldenKey Networks Inc. which includes GoldenKey, a venture backed real estate startup.

In fall 2009, Sowers taught in the History and Political Science Department at the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri.

Sowers went on to complete a PhD program at the London School of Economics in 2011.

His dissertation was entitled "Nanomanagement--Superior Control and Subordinate Autonomy in Conflict" and it explored how technology adopted by hierarchical organizations dramatically affects how superiors monitor and direct the actions of subordinates.

In 2011, Sowers became a management consultant with McKinsey and Company.

During his time at McKinsey he was trained in their mini-MBA program and served private equity clients in assessing mergers and acquisitions, predominately in Latin America.

On May 9, 2012, President Barack Obama nominated Sowers to be Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sowers testified before the United States Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs on July 18, 2012 and was introduced to the committee by Senator Claire McCaskill.

Sowers was confirmed by the full Senate on August 2, 2012, at the time the youngest Senate confirmed Assistant Secretary in the nation, and was sworn into office on August 20, 2012.

While at the VA, Sowers represented and advised the Secretary of Veterans Affairs on matters relating to media relations, public affairs, and intergovernmental affairs.

He has testified before the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs regarding the VA's efforts to increase the number of veterans accessing their VA benefits.

Sowers served as a primary spokesman for the VA, making appearances in numerous national print and televised media.

He served in the post until April 2014.

In April 2014, Sowers accepted a position as visiting faculty in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University.

In 2015, Sowers, along with fellow founders Shayne Sowers and Narayan Krishnan, created a firm now known as GoldenKey an online marketplace in the real estate industry.

In March 2016, Fortune Magazine listed GoldenKey as a top Raleigh-Durham start-up to watch.

During the summer 2016, Sowers led GoldenKey through its participation in the NFX Guild accelerator program.

In 2018 Landis acquired GoldenKey.

Sowers served as the Southeast Regional Director of NSIN--National Security Innovation Network, part of the Defense Innovation Unit, a US Department of Defense program.

In 2018 he was reappointed as visiting faculty in Duke's Department of Political Science to teach the first iteration of Hacking for Defense in spring 2019.

Hacking for Defense was featured in NPR and in Duke Magazine.