HX5 CEO Margarita Howard Keeps Steady Fellowship Pace

Two fellows a year, every year since 2021. That is the rhythm HX5 has kept with the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program, a Department of Defense SkillBridge initiative that places active duty service members with civilian employers during their final months in uniform.

The program traces back to March 2011, when the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation launched Hiring Our Heroes amid financial crisis unemployment and a wave of troops returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Corporate Fellowship Program itself began in 2015, giving service members a 12-week bridge into civilian work: four days a week with a host company, one day dedicated to professional development, all while still drawing military pay and benefits.

More than 500 fellows have graduated from the program since it began, with an 80 percent hire rate and average starting salaries near $70,000. Large contractors like Lockheed Martin and Booz Allen Hamilton participate, alongside technology companies and smaller firms such as HX5.

WHY SMALLER FIRMS PARTICIPATE DIFFERENTLY

For a company of roughly 1,000 employees, hosting eight fellows since 2021 carries real weight. Large defense contractors can absorb dozens of fellows annually through dedicated military recruiting teams, but smaller companies like HX5 must weigh fellowship commitments against day to day operational capacity and staffing needs.

CEO Margarita Howard, a service-disabled veteran herself, sees the steady two-per-year pace as intentional. Rather than reacting to immediate hiring needs, HX5 treats fellowship participation as an ongoing commitment tied closely to Margarita Howard’s own military background.

“My background was influenced by military service,” Margarita Howard says, pointing to her own Air Force experience as the reason she prioritizes structured veteran pathways over sporadic recruiting efforts. That approach has made HX5 a consistent, if modestly sized, presence within the broader Hiring Our Heroes network of participating employers nationwide. See related link for additional information.

Learn more about Howard on https://about.me/margaritahoward