Operator. Leader. Professional.

Kevin Kinkade

Lessons earned in combat. Applied in business.

Marine Recon and Force Recon platoon commander. Combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Now a Senior Vice President at PIMCO, writing about what the hardest days of war teach us about leading people anywhere.

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high ground
/hī ɡround/
noun

1. terrain that gives an advantage over an opposing force. (military)

2. a position of moral or ethical superiority. (figurative)

In combat, you fight to take it — because whoever holds the high ground sees first, decides first, and survives. In business and in life, you fight to keep it — because it's far easier to lose than to take back.

Kevin Kinkade has fought for both.

Why Listen to Kevin
Military

Captain, U.S. Marine Corps. Recon & Force Recon platoon commander, 2005–2013. Combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Military Free-Fall Jumpmaster, Joint Terminal Attack Controller, Combat Dive Supervisor.

Corporate

Senior Vice President at PIMCO, leading portfolio management technology for a roughly $200 billion alternatives business. Previously PwC, First Republic Bank, and venture firm TCV.

Education

U.S. Naval Academy graduate — ranked first of 193 in the Marine officer assessment. MBA, USC Marshall School of Business. MIT Chief Technology Officer Program.

Author & Speaker

Author of High Ground (forthcoming). Speaks to leadership teams, sales kickoffs, and veteran-transition programs on leadership under pressure.

The Book

High Ground

Lessons earned in combat. Applied in business.

In 2010, Kevin Kinkade led a Recon platoon in Afghanistan's Helmand Province through the kind of days no leadership course can simulate — including the day a team was overrun and three of his Marines didn't come home.

He began writing it down in country. Then he stopped. More than a decade in corporate leadership later, he understands why those pages mattered — and what they have to say to anyone responsible for other people.

Coming soon. Join the list below to be notified when it's available.

About the Book
High Ground book cover — A Memoir of War & Leadership by Kevin Kinkade
Kevin Kinkade's Force Recon platoon in Afghanistan
The Person Behind the Pages

From Now Zad to the Boardroom

Before the book, there was a platoon — and a promise to tell its story honestly. Kevin's path runs from Marine Force Recon through some of the most contested ground in Afghanistan, into a second career leading teams in corporate America.

Different uniform. Same job: take care of your people and accomplish the mission.

Read Kevin's Story
Keynote Speaker

Leadership Forged Under Fire

"The high ground isn't given to anyone. You earn it, you hold it, and when you lose it, you fight to take it back. That's true on a hilltop in Afghanistan and it's true in every organization I've worked in since."
— Kevin Kinkade
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Hold the Line

Honest reflections on leadership, resilience, and the people who shape us — plus first word when High Ground is released. Written by Kevin.

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