Meet Kevin MacRitchie, a visionary leader and dedicated family man whose career is marked by a deep commitment to service and empowerment. As the Chief Executive Officer at Tactical Rehabilitation, Inc., Kevin brings a charismatic and transformative approach to leadership, blending extensive expertise in operations, sales, and market expansion with an unwavering focus on fostering meaningful connections.
With an exceptional track record in driving business growth, talent development, and eco-system services, Kevin has cultivated a reputation as a change agent who inspires teams to achieve remarkable results. His leadership philosophy centers on elevating others—whether by guiding cross-functional teams to success or mentoring individuals to fulfill their potential, Kevin’s dedication to fostering purpose and mutual support resonates throughout his work.
At the heart of his life is his wife Kimba, whom he describes as his greatest inspiration and priority. Striking a balance between personal and professional life, Kevin embraces the role of a rancher at home, finding joy and reflection in riding horses, playing drums, and supporting his children and their 4H horse community.
For Kevin, leadership is about creating opportunities, both in the workplace and beyond, and sharing life with people of common purpose. By building strong partnerships and nurturing future leaders, he not only ensures the success of his team but also enriches the lives of those around him. For Kevin, success is not just a goal—it’s a shared journey of purpose and connection.
Career Journey
Kevin’s career began unexpectedly when a college professor, Joe Sass, pressured him into taking an internship that would set the course for a series of remarkable successes. Joe’s insistence was pivotal in launching Kevin’s career, providing him with the momentum that led to numerous opportunities. Over the course of two back-to-back internships, Kevin gained insight into the world of technology, the workforce, and the complacency that often prevails within established organizations. However, he was placed in a team designed to break the mold and revitalize the company. This exposure to change and innovation set the stage for Kevin’s future roles as a change agent.
Kevin’s career took off with Cisco, where he spent over 24 years, followed by 4 years as a Cisco Fellow with NetHope, using technology to create positive, far-reaching change across nearly every industry around the globe. His experiences taught him that investing in good people, being the leader they need, and setting lofty yet achievable goals can lead to success. This philosophy doesn’t just result in professional achievements; it fosters a sense of pride and inspiration that motivates people to continue doing great work and contributing to the success of the organization.
With a background in Operations, Information Systems, Math, and Music, Kevin is naturally driven by efficiency. Whether at work or at home, he’s constantly seeking the most effective ways to approach challenges. To him, the world is like a series of math problems, and finding the right equation to solve them brings excitement. Kevin’s ultimate goal is to inspire others to embrace problem-solving for the greater good, empowering teams to make meaningful, positive change wherever they can.
Creating a Safe Space for Innovation and Learning
Kevin’s role, when viewed traditionally, involves overseeing the company’s operations, setting the vision and strategy, and guiding the team through the organization’s objectives to support its mission and goals. However, Kevin sees his role as much more than just a leadership position. He views his primary responsibility as one of fostering leadership development and creating a safe environment where team members can freely share ideas, experiment, explore new paths, succeed, and, just as importantly, fail without fear of retribution. He firmly believes that we learn the most from our mistakes, while successes provide less insight into personal growth and development.
Drawing inspiration from his wife, one of the world’s greatest horse riders and trainers, Kevin likens business leadership to horseback riding. Just as riding a single horse doesn’t make one a great horseman, a leader’s growth stems from the experience of navigating diverse challenges, roles, and situations. By offering a range of experiences, functional roles, and contexts, he creates opportunities for future leaders to develop a broad skill set while ensuring safety nets and mentorship are in place to guide them along the way. This approach ensures that they can approach each situation with positive intent and grow into well-rounded, capable leaders for the future.
Kevin finds immense joy in this part of his job — balancing the process of learning, both through successes and challenges, and helping to shape the next generation of leaders who can sustain the honorable work the organization is doing. His leadership style centers on finding the good in others. Every day, Kevin enters meetings and casual conversations with the sole purpose of inspiring and uplifting those around him. By recognizing and celebrating the strengths of others, he fosters an environment where people feel valued and empowered to inspire others in turn. He also places great importance on self-awareness, both recognizing his own weaknesses and strengths and helping others do the same. Kevin believes that by surrounding himself with people who bring diverse perspectives and insights, he can address blind spots and continue to grow as both a leader and a person.
At the core of Kevin’s leadership is the belief that focusing on positive intent and actions leads to positive results, creating an environment where everyone is uplifted and motivated to contribute to the organization’s success.
Sharing the Power of Positive Communication in Building Strong Teams
Kevin’s love for his teams and the people he works with is at the heart of his leadership style. Whether in professional or personal settings, Kevin makes a point to express his appreciation, saying “I love you” at the end of every conversation, meeting, or interaction, whether it’s with employees, friends, or family. He never says goodbye, instead expressing that he looks forward to speaking or seeing them again soon. For Kevin, life is far too short not to show people how much they are appreciated. He believes that every interaction is an opportunity to build stronger, more meaningful connections, and he never wants to leave someone feeling like the last time they spoke was the final time. Instead, he fosters a sense of excitement and anticipation, setting the stage for future collaborations and the potential for even greater accomplishments together.
On a broader scale, Kevin wishes to see society embrace the positive side of life and of people. He often notices a tendency for skepticism when people offer help, with others quickly questioning the motives behind acts of kindness. Kevin believes that, too often, people jump to conclusions about ulterior motives, assuming that someone offering help is expecting something in return. While he understands the need for caution in some contexts, he stresses that, in many cases, people are simply trying to be helpful or build partnerships that benefit everyone involved. Kevin hopes for a shift in mindset, where people take the time to understand the genuine intentions of others before assuming the worst. He likens this to the idea that it takes a village to raise a child — meaning that success often requires collaboration and the help of others. He adds, “Just as we rely on others to help us grow, so too should we be open to partnering with others to achieve greater success.”
The Role of Change and Transformation in Leadership Growth
One of the greatest risks Kevin has taken in his professional career has been stepping into leadership roles where he was perceived as an outsider, someone without the deep, established experience in a particular market. He’s encountered the common refrain, “But our market is different,” which is often used to justify why a particular market or industry is unique and more difficult to navigate. However, Kevin believes that this mindset is limiting, as every industry faces similar challenges. The most successful leaders, regardless of their industry or market, are those who are able to adapt, learn, and apply their knowledge across different contexts. They do not view new markets or challenges as barriers but as opportunities to learn and innovate.
Kevin’s approach to leadership involves taking the time to understand each new market, drawing from past successes, and then crafting strategies that will lead to further success. He embraces change, not out of a desire to disrupt, but because he understands that growth often requires transformation. Kevin avoids a myopic view, recognizing that the best solutions often come from being open to new ideas and making improvements where necessary, while always remaining rooted in the practices that have proven successful.
With this mindset, Kevin continues to grow his leadership team and expand the business, always with the goal of better serving both patients and providers. He fosters creativity and seeks out countless partnerships to drive success, remaining committed to driving positive change while ensuring that what works exceptionally well is preserved. Kevin’s leadership philosophy focuses on continuous improvement, learning, and collaboration, all of which are key to the ongoing success and growth of the business.
Message for Career Development
In high school, Kevin envisioned a future as a Ski Instructor, Musician, and Horseman, with no clear intention of following a traditional career path. However, a series of interventions from his parents and employers led him to pursue higher education, where he agreed on a course of study that would leave open the option to return to his original passions later on. It was in college that another pivotal moment occurred, thanks to Professor Joe Sass, who encouraged Kevin to take on an internship. This experience introduced him to a completely different world, one far removed from his initial interests, and ultimately set him on the path to the career he has today.
Drawing from his own journey, Kevin advises young students and those early in their careers that a career is not just about a single job but the culmination of all you have done and learned along the way. He emphasizes that each role you take on is just “the job of the moment,” while your career is the sum of your experiences, both successes and failures, and how you use those to do good going forward. He encourages people to leverage their past experiences and skills to continue growing, while also passing on their knowledge to others.
Kevin’s core message is that success and failure are personal; they are shaped by the choices we make and the effort we put into our work. It’s important to take your journey seriously, recognizing that your path is one of constant learning, adapting, and contributing to the success of others.
