Derek Ricke

Derek Ricke has a long and varied work experience. Derek started as a Captain in the US Army in 2004, where they directed a 156 personnel collection and analysis company in support of U.S. and NATO strategic interests across Europe, Africa, Middle-East and Central Asia to provide situational awareness. In 2015, they joined OptumRx as a Sr. Business Analyst, where they managed financial resources for a $20+ Million department budget for 300+ employees during a merger. Derek also led a department strategic planning team of 5 Quality Management executives to set department annual priorities, goals, objectives, and performance metrics to drive action across the department. Additionally, they developed custom financial and statistical models for 46 Lean Six Sigma projects to realize $60+ Million in hard benefits. In 2018, they joined HPC Solutions as the Director of Program Management.

Derek Ricke has an extensive educational background. Derek obtained a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 2004, majoring in Geospatial Information Systems and Computer Science. Derek then went on to obtain an Associate's Degree from the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in 2010, majoring in Mandarin Chinese. In 2015, they earned a Master of Business Administration from UCLA Anderson School of Management, majoring in Finance and Entrepreneurship/Entrepreneurial Studies. Derek also holds several certifications, including a Certificate in Leadership and Management from Leaders Excellence at Harvard Square (2020), Bloomberg Market Concepts from Bloomberg LP (2016), Project Management Professional (PMP) from Project Management Institute (2014), and Certified ScrumMaster from Scrum Alliance (2014). Currently, Derek Ricke is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Denver - Daniels College of Business, majoring in Business.