Meet Our CEO: Jeffrey A. Fatora
Mr. Fatora is a native of Columbia, Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Science in Physics at the University of New Mexico in 1991 and was subsequently commissioned as an Ensign in the United States Navy the same year.
Following completion of the initial training pipeline, he reported to the Nuclear Attack Submarine INDIANAPOLIS (SSN-697) in Pearl Harbor. During his tour as Electrical Assistant, Chemical and Radiological Assistant, and Assistant Engineer, INDIANAPOLIS completed two Western Pacific deployments from 1993-1995.
In 1995, he was assigned to the commissioning crew of LOUISIANA (SSBN-743) at Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut, where he served as Main Propulsion Assistant and Tactical Systems Officer. During his tour, the ship completed the builder's trials and all examinations required before entering active service. He was the first Officer of the Deck qualified on the ship.
From 1997-1999, he taught Target Motion Analysis at Naval Submarine School in Groton, Connecticut. He completed the Submarine Officer's Advanced Course and his Masters of Science in Metallurgy at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
During his tour as Combat Systems Officer on PROVIDENCE (SSN-719) from 1999-2002, the ship earned numerous awards as the top submarine in the Atlantic Fleet. During her 7-month Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf deployment in 2001, PROVIDENCE executed four separate strikes into Afghanistan in support of OPERATION ENDURING FREEDOM.
From 2002-2004, he served as a Staff Officer, Submarines at the NATO Southern Region Maritime Headquarters in Naples, Italy, where he managed the affairs of the Standing Naval Force, Mediterranean, during OPERATION ACTIVE ENDEAVOUR.
Following successful completion of the Submarine Command Course in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, he reported aboard PITTSBURGH (SSN-720), where he served as Executive Officer from 2004-2006. During his tour, the ship completed a two-year Engineered Overhaul at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, NH.
In 2006 Commander Fatora reported to the Pentagon and was assigned as The Secretary of the Navy's principal representative to the House and Senate Appropriations Committees for over $5 billion/year of procurement and R&D funding for all Submarine, Undersea Weapons, and Military Intelligence Programs. Throughout his final tour on active duty, he established uncommonly strong relationships with key Defense Appropriations Committee and personal staff members through extensive international and domestic travel, briefings, and engagements - resulting in tremendous support for undersea and intelligence programs.
Upon completing over two decades of Naval Service, Commander Fatora retired from Active Duty in 2010 and transitioned to the Staff of U.S. Senator Bill Nelson of Florida. For three years, he represented the Senator on all legislation and constituent matters relating to Defense, Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs for the nation's 3rd most populous state. He developed and implemented strategies to manage highly complex defense and veterans' issues of national significance in coordination with federal, state, local, and industry stakeholders - changing the course of several high-profile Department of Defense programs. While on Senate Staff, he completed an MBA at American University and a Graduate Certificate in Legislative Studies at Georgetown University.
Mr. Fatora joined the Luxembourg-based eCommerce real estate auction provider hubzu.com in 2013 as V.P. of Operations. Working directly for the President, he successfully leveraged his leadership skills and technical expertise to drive unprecedented improvements in operations, compliance, customer care, and profitability. The Hubzu team quadrupled its revenue run rate to nearly $200M in 18 months, and Mr. Fatora was promoted to Chief Operating Officer.
Departing Hubzu in 2015, Mr. Fatora moved to Seattle to join the home services eCommerce startup porch.com (Forbes #3 Hottest Startup of 2015) as the Head of Solutions Delivery. Through 2017, he created and implemented a comprehensive business development lifecycle framework and transitioned the company to an outsourced marketing provider to deliver $500K in savings to the bottom line. Building a new operational infrastructure around the core business, he created $3M/year in run rate in only 9 months.
Returning to the online auction industry in 2017 as Chief Operating Officer with bidspotter.com, Mr. Fatora overhauled all aspects of business operations to increase EBIT 39% YoY with a strong 7% YoY revenue lift and aggressive cost-cutting. The team created $10M in enterprise value in 12 months.
Together with his longtime business partner, the duo founded wecruiter.co, the world's first paid referral-based crowdsourced talent acquisition platform ever created. As Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Fatora built the entire operational infrastructure of the company from the ground up, leading to a successful launch in 2020.
Leaving Seattle for the Florida Coast in 2021, Mr. Fatora created the Cybersecurity startup Secure Amelia to assist high-net-worth Floridians with online risk reduction through training and direct services. He is certified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and holds a Top Secret security clearance.