After leaving his position as co-owner and operator of an industrial compliance engineering company, Drew Hicks, a former Marine and defense contractor, is joining 1819 News as its next senior vice president of operations.
Hicks has a lengthy resume in both defense and industrial fields in the Huntsville area after the Marine Corps.
After studying at New Saint Andrew’s in Idaho and the University of Idaho, Hicks completed his business degree online with the University of Phoenix while serving as an active duty Marine helicopter mechanic.
Hicks brings over 15 years of leadership experience, building, scaling, and optimizing organizations across engineering services, software, government contracting, and industrial compliance.
After his service, he managed defense programs supporting U.S. military customers, overseeing multiple aspects of operational efficiency, including coordinating with teams, developing operational systems, streamlining processes and more.
After his work in the defense industry, Hicks started a process safety consulting and engineering firm in Huntsville, where he lives with his wife and six children.
Hicks says he chose to leave his lucrative career after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, which motivated him to seek meaningful action in the political sphere with work he believed would make a difference.
“Following Charlie’s assassination in September, I seriously considered running for office, having lightly considered it beforehand,” Hicks said. “As a Marine and Christian father, I was completely unprepared to see a courageous young man murdered on an American college campus. I was further unprepared for the lack of response from those who didn’t share my faith and conviction for God and country.“
“This moved me to go all in on my small business, which I share with a few of my brothers in Christ. After much prayer, I decided not to run for local government office, though through 1819, I was so encouraged to find a voice of truth and light fighting courageously to expose evil and promote local, true reporting," he added.
1819 News CEO Bryan Dawson was ecstatic to announce the addition to the team, noting Hicks’ self-sacrifice in joining the team and his commitment to the mission of the organization.
"I couldn't be more excited to welcome Drew Hicks as our new Senior Vice President of Operations," Dawson said. "Drew's eleven years of distinguished service as a United States Marine, including multiple deployments, forged in him the kind of leadership, discipline, and operational excellence that our mission demands. He then took those military operations skills into the private defense sector, where he delivered outstanding results."
"What truly sets Drew apart is that he is willingly stepping away from a successful private-sector career because he believes so deeply in the mission of 1819 News," he added. "We are committed not only to fearless reporting but to the preservation of our way of life and the advancement of Christian Civilization. Drew shares that conviction at his core, and I have no doubt he will be instrumental in helping us strengthen and expand our work across Alabama and beyond.”
“After becoming friends with Bryan and a series of projects together, we became convinced that I could bring my operational training and conviction to support the incredible work at 1819,” Hicks continued. “This opportunity fills me with excitement, turning a career in operations and execution into a meaningful investment in this worthy mission.”
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