Two Blue Aces Provides a Variety of Services for Clients Near and Far
Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. H.D. “Jake” Polumbo and Two Blue Aces, the strategy, leadership and solutions consulting firm he and his wife, Sandra, founded, continue to tackle challenges at the highest levels.
Two Blue Aces, which includes Polumbo and five other retired Air Force generals, are working with multiple clients, such as the state of Florida and a county in California, on various projects. They also assist companies with succession planning and mentoring, among other things. They are selective when it comes to taking on new clients.
Polumbo is also writing his third book; he wrote the first two with various partners – “Leadership at 100 Feet” about his own specific leadership journey and “Leadership from 30,000 Feet” about the five most important qualities of good leaders– but is going at it alone for “Leadership from 70,000 Feet” about his two commands in the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance program.
“We are trying to explain our leadership experiences to validate our ability to help companies with their succession planning, mentoring and strategy,” Polumbo said. “The books are like a calling card for our leadership and experience. We hand them out like business cards.”
The Work of Two Blue Aces
Polumbo said several companies realized that retired generals are actually good listeners who can coach and mentor.
He shared a success story with Winter Haven company Tucker Paving, who recently won the CFDC’s George W. Harris Jr. Economic Development Award for Success in Large Business, which is given to companies with at least 100 employees. CEO Larry “Chip” Tucker started Tucker Paving in 1994 and now offers services that range from underground utilities and demolition to concrete curbing and asphalt resurfacing.
“Chip Tucker hired us to help with leader development and succession planning across the management team,” Polumbo said. “Chip was the president of the company and wanted to get his son, Barret, even better prepared to take over the company.”
Barret Tucker worked with Polumbo for three years and was named president at age 32.
“We started working together, meeting once a week,” Barret Tucker said. “One thing he would talk about is arriving at an air base and always being presented with a new team, new opportunities, new challenges. It’s no different than what we do every day.”
His work extended beyond Barret. “What he’s really helped us with is professional development and leadership for myself and our team,” Barret said. “He helped us develop training programs and an internship program with students from Florida Polytechnic University.”
The company has grown about 20% since Barret took over, now employing about 340 people, he said. “The market is good; there’s a lot of work in Polk County.”
Barret Tucker is doing very well since he took over as president, said Polumbo, who also serves as an adviser to the president of Florida Polytechnic University, assisting the leadership team with strategy and long-range planning.
Other Jobs
Two Blue Aces has two big clients:
- Florida, which hired the company two years ago to help with a project envisioned by the Florida Defense Support Task Force. “They hired us to help them develop an advanced military training range for 5th Generation units across the state that need better training opportunities from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean.”
- Yuba County in California, whose Yuba Water Agency has hired them for the last few years to develop a Community Investment Strategy that allows them to work better with their biggest employer in the county, the U.S. Air Force at Beale Air Force Base.
The six generals working at Two Blue Aces are:
- Maj. Gen. Larry Martin and Maj. Gen. Richard Haddad in Tampa
- Jake Polumbo in Winter Haven
- Maj. Gen. Rob Polumbo in Boca Raton
- Maj. Gen. Chad Franks in Monument, Colorado
- Maj. Gen. Kurt Neubauer in Phoenix, Arizona
“We still consult for everything from the Defense Primes like Northrop Grumman and other high-tech companies that want to do business with the Department of Defense to drone startups in Florida. We are willing to work with business development teams, which requires a lot of time on the road. I like to hand that work off to the younger generation of generals and save more time for mentoring and coaching.”
