Colonel (Ret.) Mark Erwin
Colonel (Ret.) Mark W. Erwin served in the United States Army for over 25 years culminating his career as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Special Operations Command.
Colonel (Ret.) Mark W. Erwin served in the United States Army for over 25 years culminating his career as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army Special Operations Command. After being commissioned into Infantry from ROTC at Wake Forest University, he held leadership positions in Mechanized and Airborne Infantry to include command of an 82nd Airborne Company in Desert Storm. In 1995 Col Erwin was selected into Army Special Operations where he excelled. He commanded at every level of the nation’s most elite Special Mission Unit from Captain to Colonel. Since 9-11, Erwin was a key player in the Global War on Terrorism. He deployed numerous times to Afghanistan, Iraq and other countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa leading our nation’s most sensitive operations. He became a specialist in building teams of Joint, Interagency partners working closely with other nations’ leadership, both military and civilian. He commanded a 3500 man Task Force in Operation Iraqi Freedom that teamed with Coalition partners and Iraqis conducting stability operations throughout Iraq. Since his retirement in August of 2010, Mr. Erwin has been involved in multiple international business and security initiatives. In August of 2011, he founded Long Walk Enterprises, which assists commercial entities as they assess, initiate and execute opportunities in emerging markets. In April of 2012, Mr. Erwin became CEO of A&K Global Health, a medical travel company providing access to quality, affordable healthcare across the globe. In this role, he grew a Fortress Investment Group startup with 8 employees into a multinational operation with 60 employees and over $7M in existing contracts. In June of 2015, Mr. Erwin became a Senior Partner in Karakoram Group, which uses the worlds most experienced Special Operators to conduct Risk Analysis and Security support to commercial and government entities globally. He rounded out his corporate leadership experience as a Non-Executive Director for Heritage Oil, from May 2012 until June 2014, when the oil and gas exploration and production company was purchased and taken private from the London Stock Exchange. Mr. Erwin graduated from Wake Forest University in 1984 where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology. He completed the United States Army War College through a fellowship at the Central Intelligence Agency in Washington D.C in 2007.
