LOS ANGELES — Art delaCruz spent 22 years in the U.S. Navy, flying as a Naval Flight Officer, instructing at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, and commanding a strike-fighter squadron. Since July 2021 he has led Team Rubicon, the veteran-powered disaster-response organization, as its chief executive officer.

This profile is part of #250for250, a NexfinityNews series marking America’s 250th anniversary in 2026 by recognizing 250 veterans and the leaders who serve them — Americans whose commitment to country did not end when they left the uniform. delaCruz is honored for channeling the skills of military veterans into disaster relief that helps communities survive their worst days.

A Career in the Cockpit

Born and raised in Minnesota to parents who immigrated from the Philippines, delaCruz built a 22-year Navy career marked by six combat deployments as an F-14 and F/A-18 Naval Flight Officer. He served as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, known as TOPGUN, and commanded Strike Fighter Squadron 22. He also spent a year as a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow at McKinsey & Company and accumulated nearly 4,000 flight hours. He was aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise on September 11, 2001.

delaCruz earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master’s in operations management from the University of Arkansas. After retiring from the Navy, he worked in strategic planning in the aerospace and defense sector at Northrop Grumman.

As a squadron commander, delaCruz led a unit operating roughly $950 million in aircraft, and as a Secretary of Defense Corporate Fellow he advised senior Pentagon and congressional leaders on organizational effectiveness. He has said that the most formative leadership lessons of his career came less from flying than from the responsibility of developing and supporting the sailors who served under him — a people-first orientation he later carried into the nonprofit world.

Joining Team Rubicon

delaCruz joined Team Rubicon in 2016 as chief operating officer, later becoming president and COO. In those roles he is credited with scaling the organization’s operations dramatically, with revenue growing from roughly $8 million to $42 million. In July 2021 he succeeded co-founder Jake Wood as chief executive officer.

What Team Rubicon Does

Founded in 2010 by U.S. Marines Jake Wood and William McNulty in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, Team Rubicon mobilizes military veterans, alongside first responders and civilians, to respond to disasters and humanitarian crises at home and abroad. Its volunteers, known as Greyshirts, now number more than 180,000. The organization is headquartered in Los Angeles. In simple terms, it channels the skills and drive of former service members into helping communities prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters.

Leading Through Crisis

delaCruz took the top job in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which Team Rubicon pivoted from disaster response to public-health support and distributed more than 1.6 million vaccinations. He has described the organization’s subsequent challenge as managing “The After” — sustaining the capacity, volunteers, and funding built during the pandemic and redirecting them toward Team Rubicon’s core disaster mission at a larger scale.

Analysis

delaCruz embodies Team Rubicon’s founding premise: that veterans, having lost the structured purpose of military service, can find renewed meaning in disaster response. His transition from the cockpit to the C-suite, and his succession of a charismatic founder, also tested a question many growing nonprofits face — whether an organization built on a founder’s vision can institutionalize that vision under professional management.

Conclusion

Under delaCruz, Team Rubicon has continued to grow into one of the most recognizable veteran-led humanitarian organizations in the country. The measure of his tenure will be whether its expanded capacity translates into durable impact when the next disaster strikes.

Key Takeaways

• Art delaCruz has been CEO of Team Rubicon since July 2021, succeeding co-founder Jake Wood.
• He served 22 years in the U.S. Navy as an F-14/F/A-18 Naval Flight Officer, TOPGUN instructor, and commander of Strike Fighter Squadron 22.
• As president and COO, he helped grow Team Rubicon’s revenue from about $8 million to $42 million.
• Team Rubicon, founded in 2010 by Marines Jake Wood and William McNulty, fields more than 180,000 volunteers for disaster response.
• During the pandemic, the organization distributed more than 1.6 million COVID-19 vaccinations.

Sources

• Team Rubicon — Leadership and Board: https://teamrubiconusa.org/about-us/leadership-and-board/
• Team Rubicon — Art delaCruz Goes from TOPGUN to Top Gun: https://teamrubiconusa.org/news-and-stories/aapi-leader-art-delacruz-goes-from-topgun-to-top-gun/
• Wikipedia — Team Rubicon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_Rubicon