Robert Pizzini is the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of iFLY Va Beach Indoor Skydiving. He brought this multimillion-dollar technology to Virginia Beach in 2015. In 2018 iFLY Va Beach was awarded the Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year. In 2019, Robert launched Elevate Your Leadership, a leadership experience that refreshes and energizes seasoned executives, develops new leaders, and builds high performing teams. In 2022, he authored his first Best Selling book titled Elevate Your Leadership, how to develop, Maintain, and Advance Lifelong Leadership. Robert’s efforts earned the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Leadership Award.

Robert retired from the U.S. Navy in 2010 after 26 years of service in Navy Special Operations as a Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Technician, and EOD Officer. He completed a combat tour with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Arabian Peninsula, Balad, Iraq. His personal decorations include the Bronze Star.

Mr. Pizzini received his Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from New York Regents College and graduated from Troy State University with a Master of Science degree in International Relations and National Security. He is also a graduate of Air Command and Staff College and was an adjunct professor with American Military University’s School of Homeland Security from 2007-2010.

Professional affiliations include Executive Committee, Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce, and board member of The Warrior For Life Fund. Robert is a USA Hockey Level 4 coach, and coaches high school hockey.

Andrew Alberts grew up playing hockey on the frozen lakes of Minnesota. He now resides on the North Shore of Massachusetts with his wife and three children. After graduating from Boston College with a degree in Communications, he played nine years in the NHL, retiring in 2014. Following his playing career, Andrew worked as a TV Hockey Analyst for NESN and the Boston Bruins in 2017 & ’18. Currently, he works as the Director of Player Development at Sense Arena, a VR cognitive training tool for athletes looking to improve their hockey and tennis skills. In 2023, Andrew joined the Warrior for Life Fund as an official ambassador.

Mr. Kouvaris has been Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Chestnut Hill Ventures LLC since March 2002. Prior to Chestnut Hill Ventures, he was the Vice President of Finance for GCC Investments, LLC, a subsidiary of GC Companies, Inc. Before joining GC Companies, Mr. Kouvaris was a senior manager and Certified Public Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand LLP (predecessor to PricewaterhouseCoopers) in Boston. He currently serves and has served as a director of Millwall Football and Athletic Club plc, Coastal Medical Transportation LLC, AcuityLink LLC, Virtyx Inc., Affinity Solutions, Inc., FleetCor Technologies, Inc., ACA Capital Holdings, Inc., and Vanguard Modular Building Systems, LLC, among others. Mr. Kouvaris holds a B.S. in Accountancy from Boston College.

Jon Lauder was raised in a rural community in Minnesota and spent his formative years playing ice hockey on the rinks in his hometown. After graduating college, he served 28 years in the United States Marine Corps retiring in December 2022. While in the Marines, he completed multiple combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan including non-combat assignments in Israel and South Korea. He spent his last 4 years on active duty as the Marine Corps’ liaison to the United States Senate working on military issues germane to the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, and Veterans Affairs committees. Jon currently lives in Springfield, Virginia with his family. In 2023, he joined the Warrior for Life Fund as an official ambassador.

Growing up as the oldest of six children on the South Shore of Massachusetts, he and his younger brother Mike shared a passion for hockey, with both aiming to play at the college level. Greg played high school hockey at the Tilton School in New Hampshire, while Mike attended Thayer Academy in Massachusetts.

After high school, Greg went to college in Vermont but eventually followed his passion for skiing, leading him to Aspen, Colorado. There, he owns and operates Hamilton Sports. As a Gold Star brother, Greg felt a strong connection to the community his brother Mike loved, and he became involved with the Warrior For Life Fund, which has provided significant support to Mike’s surviving wife and children. Greg’s dedication to this community ensures that other families can benefit from similar opportunities.

Greg and his wife Ashley are expecting their first child in May and currently reside in Basalt, Colorado. It’s heartwarming to see how Greg has turned his personal experiences into a commitment to helping others. How wonderful that they have a new addition to their family on the way

Mark Mowers grew up in upstate NY.  He attended and played hockey for the University of New Hampshire graduating with a Sports Management degree in 1998.  After college Mark played 13 years of professional hockey including stops in Nashville, Detroit, Anaheim and Boston before finishing up his career in Switzerland.  Post playing career brought him back to the arenas where he has been an NHL Scout for the past 12 years, currently working for the Minnesota Wild.  Mark also does real estate in the state of New Hampshire.  He is involved with the Boston Bruins Alumni Organization recently being voted on as a board member.  Mark and his wife Jana have two daughter and currently live north of Boston.

Tim Dyer grew up skating on the frozen ponds in southern New Hampshire.  He holds a degree in Finance and Entrepreneurship from Babson College. He currently owns a wealth management firm helping individuals and families invest wisely while minimizing taxes. In 2017 Tim participated in the Guinness Book of World Records for the highest altitude sanctioned hockey game ever played at over 14,000 feet.  Tim his wife Tara and two young boys reside in San Diego CA.  He proudly serves as the west coast ambassador for the Warrior for Life Fund.

Tom Phalon is a retired Master Chief Petty Officer who served 24 years as a Navy SEAL with SEAL Team FOUR and Naval Special Warfare Development Group. A native of upstate New York, he grew up playing hockey—a sport that shaped his core values of discipline, teamwork, and resilience. Now living in Virginia Beach, Tom continues his service as a Captain with Southwest Airlines and as an Ambassador for the Warrior for Life Fund, where he brings decades of leadership, military experience, and community connection to the mission.

Since 2012, Tom has been a driving force behind the Warrior for Life Fund and Virginia Beach Hockey, coaching and mentoring youth while helping veterans and active-duty service members find purpose through the game. As an ambassador, he champions programs that foster mental well-being, recovery, and resilience, engages with donors and sponsors, and remains a steadfast advocate for those transitioning out of service. His unique blend of military, aviation, and hockey experience makes him a powerful voice for the community he continues to serve.

As a New Jersey native, Brian was raised with strong family ties to law enforcement and like many of his teammates and colleagues, was deeply affected by the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. After graduating from The Citadel in 2009, Brian deferred his commission for two years to sign a free agent contract to play professional baseball. Following (3) seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Newark Bears, and Somerset Patriots, Brian served as the Officer-in- Charge of the US Military All Star Baseball while awaiting orders to attend the US Army Aviation School of Excellence, where he earned his wings as a UH60 Blackhawk Pilot and named the Honor Graduate.

As a combat aviator, Brian completed multiple deployments to the Middle East before entering the National Guard, during which time he deployed numerous times to Africa, South America, and Iraq as a contractor with Blackwater. In 2016, he completed an inter-service transfer to the US Navy, where he served as a Troop Commander with Special Reconnaissance Team TWO and deployed numerous times supporting OGA missions across multiple theatres. His tours of duty represent the cross-section of a diverse range of individual experiences, strategic and operational readiness and a ubiquitous set of soft skills.
Brian received his MBA from Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business in 2019 while on active duty as a plank owner of Naval Special Warfare’s Future Concepts & Innovation Directorate. In this role, he served as a direct report the Admiral as a uniformed subject matter expert on advanced technology trends with the potential to deliver competitive advantage across the USSOCOM enterprise.

Following multiple years building and expanding NSW’s emerging technology portfolio, Brian transitioned from Active Duty and while still serving as a Reservist with SEAL Team 17, was named the first Chief Innovation Officer to Wentworth Financial and its venture holdings company, Irongate Capital. After the company’s successful acquisition in 2021, he returned to active duty, recently appointed as the Commander, Naval Special Warfare TF UxS, overseeing all autonomy and robotics initiatives for the SEAL teams.

Brian skillfully leverages his comprehensive knowledge of the finance, government and professional sports industries to foster new and relevant partnerships with elite talent that transcends traditional norms. In addition to his commitment to uniform, Brian regularly takes part in external seminars, keynote speaking engagements and leadership symposiums for advancing technologies, national security, human optimization and organizational performance. He continues to coach baseball part-time at San Diego State University and advises multiple MLB organizations to optimize performance and leadership for their players, coaches and front office personnel.